Singapore: the garden city

The island state gives new meaning to its moniker, with sustainable efforts blooming across the city

- HANNAH BRANDLER

Locals watched our convoy of vintage Vespa sidecars zip through the roads of Singapore, before we routed towards colourful Haji Lane, with food scents accompanying us along the city’s narrowest alleyway. It was the first time I had experienced the sights of a city while also unwittingly becoming one, with fellow tourists papping photos as we passed. The ride also gave me a first-hand glimpse of Singapore’s green transition, with glass high-rises draped with canopies of lush foliage and living walls standing out in the urban landscape. I was told that this biophilic vista is set to pollinate further, with Singapore aiming to plant one million more trees and make 80 per cent of its buildings green by 2030. Aside from boosting our adrenaline levels, this themed tour run by social enterprise Singapore Sidecars made for a wonderfully visual introduction to the city-state’s goal to become AsiaPacific’s leading sustainable MICE destination.

STRIVING FOR SUSTAINABILITY 

One of the main excuses for not behaving sustainably is the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mantra felt by those not yet experiencing the repercussions of the climate crisis. Singapore does not have this luxury, with 30 per cent of its land less than five metres above sea level. “[Sustainability] is not just another feather that we want to put in our cap. We realise that it is existential,” said Poh Chi Chuan, executive director exhibitions and conferences at Singapore Tourism Board (STB). As a result, the Singapore Green Plan 2030 is set on advancing the national agenda on sustainable development (see greenplan.gov.sg/targets).