Use Punggol as a lesson in development

I was recently at the Punggol Waterway Park and it is an impressive development. No one was there, however, and I could guess why.

It was the early afternoon on a weekend. The sun was blazing and the trees were small and few. The bare grass and concrete around the park did not help.

I looked at the woods in the vicinity and wished that I could be in the shade. Then I remembered that Punggol had been a forest/mangrove, razed for residential development.

We are spending money to recreate the waterways and replant the trees. And if the trees do not provide sufficient shade, the park will be used only in the early mornings and late afternoons.

The redevelopment at Mandai should take this lesson into account. Instead of something “spectacular” made primarily for tourists, we should have attractions targeted at residents, which need not be big nor fancy. (“Mandai area set for major redevelopment”; Sept 5)

Residents cannot visit the zoo or bird park every week, but can take regular walks in a nearby forest, if only to escape the city briefly.

This may not bring in the tourist dollar, but it brings positive externalities and makes Singapore a more attractive place to live in.

We may attract fewer tourists, but more longer-term residents, such as expatriates and students, to work, spend and contribute to the local economy. We should distinguish ourselves as a tropical city and not a hot, overdeveloped concrete jungle.

We must decide when to spend and when not to spend. Big-budget activities look good on a civil servant’s curriculum vitae, but may not necessarily be the best use of Singapore’s scarce natural resources.