Singapore redefines a city with an abundance of green spaces

It is a challenging task to find room for green spaces. This is especially true for the world's most densely populated ones. Singapore is one such city and in downtown Singapore, when anyone wants a new park to stroll, he might have to turn toward the sky. The CapitaSpring tower is an example of what humans can create to ensure a mix of modern living amidst an abundance of greenery. Its soaring glass and aluminum facade apparently bursts open to reveal plants and trees growing hundreds of feet above ground. From the street level, anyone can queue up to enter an elevator that leads to this so-called "Green Oasis." The spiral garden path winds past exercise equipment, benches and tables on its journey through four stories of tropical flora. The 919 feet high, CapitaSpring is now one of Singapore’s tallest skyscrapers. 'Biophilic' skyscraper bursting with 80,000 plants opens in Singapore. The 51-story building houses over 80,000 trees and plants across 90,000 square feet of landscaped area, which also includes a shady covered plaza at its base.

On the top floor of the building, visitors can stroll through a massive 4,500-square-foot rooftop farm. It supplies fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers to three on-site restaurants. Incidentally, an urban farmer who tends to the garden estimated that it generates nearly 220 pounds of produce on a monthly basis. Most of the plant species found here are indigenous to Singapore and thus adapted to the year-round heat and humidity. This is a commendable achievement. Moreover, the placement of greenery follows a certain pattern. It "mimics the plant hierarchy of tropical rainforests." Those that require the least direct light lying beneath a "canopy" of taller trees. The tower can be considered a vision of a future where city and countryside can coexist with culture and nature. The government of Singapore has long promoted itself as a "garden city." This is a term applied to the country by its founding father and former prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew. That was in the 1960s. Subsequently, planners have embarked on citywide tree-planting programs and landscaping projects in its vast public housing complexes.

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Singapore turns 50 – celebrates with parades, fireworks

Singapore gained Independence only 50-years ago but, the way it has developed itself to a major tourism center and business hub is impressive. Its unrivaled economic success in a region that used to be struggling with poverty and political instability is for otters to emulate.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 10 August 2015.

In order to celebrate, its fighter jets screamed through the sky and nationalist songs blared while the leaders made speeches and people were treated to free rides on trains and buses.
However, alongside its quantum leap from a poor colonial port to a wealthy metropolis, its people are now grappling with a growing resentment over political restrictions, an influx of foreign labor and the ever increasing cost of living.
The credit for the rise of Singapore should go to its founder and longest-serving leader, Lee Kuan Yew, who died in March at age 91. He had run a virtually one-party state as PM for more than three decades. He did not tolerate any political dissent.
It may be recalled that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited Singapore last year to attract investment in her state and had signed three major agreements – food park at Dankuni worth Rs 1000 crores, Calcutta Riverside Development worth Rs 200 crores, shipbuilding, oil and gas exploration in Sector V that would generate employment for 500 persons in two years’ time.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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