Two
Asian Models of Planning Decision Making – Case Studies of the
Planning Process in Singapore New Downtown and Kaohsiung Multifunctional
Business District |
| Singapore and Kaohsiung, two major port cities in East Asia, have been facing urban physical changes through large-scale urban initiatives in the central city areas during the past decade. This paper explores how the distinctive planning systems in the two cities affect the local actions and help shape the physical environment and future scenarios. Two central city areas are investigated and taken as different Asian models for understanding the processes behind urban transformation. In Singapore, urban form making follows a top-down planning control system. In the 1990s, a new downtown plan was proposed at the reclaimed land, Marina South, using the concepts of through-block linkages, all weather comfort and separated multimodal pedestrian and transportation circulation. The ambitious plan is supported by the three tiers of Singapore’s urban planning system from the island-wide conceptual plan, district-wide land use plan to the site specific urban design guidelines. In the Kaohsiung city central area, we observe a different urban pattern of street networks, block systems and building types generated through an evolutionary process of urban growth from the north to the south over a few decades. At almost the same period, a new business center was proposed on a piece of large-scale industrial land along the waterfront near the existing central area. A relatively loose spatial and regulatory framework was provided in Kaohsiung, where an incremental process was adopted for dealing with the multiple and complex landholdings on the new waterfront business center. A recent governmental-initiated planning mechanism of “community architect” plays a certain role in the process through participation. The article finally raises the issue of participation in the shaping of better environment in Asia urban context. The two Asian models of planning provide some bases for discussing the fundamental questions of the participatory approach. |