The government recognized the negative impact of poor environmental conditions on the city-state’s image, as well as the Singapore River’s historical importance and potential for redevelopment. With the completion of the Golden Shoe District development, the government turned attention to transforming the Singapore River, which began with an environmental clean up. Although the earlier urban renewal efforts saw significant state involvement, the private sector took a leading role in the renewal of the Golden Shoe area. To fuel growth in the commercial sector, the government started the redevelopment of the commercial heart of Singapore in the Golden Shoe district with the objective of creating revitalized Central Business District (CBD). This was largely due to the establishment of the Asian Dollar Market in 1968. The rapid modernization of Singapore’s economy created significant demand for commercial development by the late 1960s. Prior to redevelopment, the area consisted of low-rise but densely laid out commercial and retail establishments, as well as overcrowded shop-houses sitting on highly fragmented land parcels. One of the first major urban renewal projects took place in the Golden Shoe area, which was envisioned as the new commercial heart of Singapore’s finance sector. The Urban Renewal Unit was created in 1964 under the Building Department of HDB to take charge of the urban renewal program in the Central Area of the city. Having established supporting legislative mechanisms, development strategies based on action programs and an effective public housing program by the mid-1960s (including a HDB 5-year building program), the government started to focus on urban renewal. The 1964 Planning Bill amendment also supported urban renewal, as it introduced a development charge system, requiring developers to pay to the State a part of the benefit arising from the grant of development permission. The Land Acquisition Act (1966) streamlined land acquisition, allowing the state to secure private land for public benefit without excessive financial cost. Two new authorities – the Planning Department and the Housing and Development Board (HDB) – were set up in 1960 to take over the Singapore Improvement Trust’s (SIT) land-use planning and public housing provision responsibilities, respectively.Īdditionally, several legislative changes were implemented in these years that contributed to subsequent urban renewal efforts. This created a centralized, single tier government, which helped expedite decision-making. This began by reorganizing the planning and housing development agencies.
Despite the problems, the government did not create an urban renewal program, but instead worked to establish an effective system of urban governance. When Singapore achieved self-governance in 1959, the housing shortage in the overcrowded city center was severe because of the post-war population boom, an influx of immigrants, and the destruction of housing stock during the war.