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People need reminders to be more giving to others sharing common spaces

Our MRT walkways, malls and other spaces used by the public have started to feel more crowded over the years. This is because our population has been growing with more people moving here to live and work.

People need reminders to be more giving to others sharing common spaces
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Benjamin Seet Chong En

Our MRT walkways, malls and other spaces used by the public have started to feel more crowded over the years. This is because our population has been growing with more people moving here to live and work.

While there are pragmatic reasons for such growth, human traffic congestion erodes our quality of life.

There are certainly technical solutions such as building more walkways, but they only go so far.

Another solution that Singapore can adopt is to have new social norms and practices.

Tokyo sets an example for us on how social norms ameliorate congestion.

In Tokyo, people walk on the left and pass on the right. Singaporeans, in contrast, tend to walk in the middle of a walkway, blocking those behind them.

The people in Japan's bustling city are also mindful of not blocking exits at lifts or the entrances of malls, for example, while Singaporeans are less mindful.

Lastly, in crowded areas, people in Tokyo occasionally check behind their backs (or blind spots) to make sure they are not blocking anyone. Singaporeans, on the other hand, remain oblivious.

Given such social norms, it is more pleasant to walk around in Tokyo even though its population is denser than Singapore's.

Such norms, I believe, will be quickly adopted by people here if the authorities spearhead their introduction.

In a relatively short span of time, Singaporeans have normalised the act of keeping to the left while riding on escalators, as well as giving way to alighting passengers on MRT trains. Likewise, introducing "rules of the road" for pedestrians will have obvious benefits, and I believe people will take kindly to it.

 

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