US-originated UrbanPlan is a scenario-based workshop on real estate development, which has been
jointly adapted to Singapore’s context by CLC, ULI and IREUS. Source: CLC
Public officials from development and infrastructure agencies take on roles of private developers to deliberate on the concept
proposal and bidding price for the development site. Source: CLC
Volunteers from the industry review and facilitate the teams’ proposals by asking questions to help participants think more
critically about the development objectives. Source: CLC
The teams present and defend their development proposals to the Concept Evaluation Committee comprising senior
representatives from the industry. Source: CLC
Property developers and public service officials don’t always see eye to
eye. While the former is motivated by profit, the latter seeks optimal social
outcomes that balance the needs of various stakeholders. The UrbanPlan
Workshop for Public Officials was created to bridge these different interests.
It allows Singapore’s public service to step into the role of a private developer
so as to gain insights into development and recognise the trade-offs between
social objectives and financial goals.
This scenario-based workshop was first introduced in the United States by the
Urban Land Institute (ULI), a non-profit research and education organisation.
The 15-hour workshop saw participants form development teams and respond
to the redevelopment of a blighted site in a fictional community. While originally designed for high school students in economics or government
courses in the junior and senior years, UrbanPlan has since been used to train
government officials to discuss the issues, trade-offs and economics at play
in land-use decisions. In the Asia-Pacific, UrbanPlan is being adapted for
high schools, universities as well as governments in Singapore, Hong Kong
and Manila.
UrbanPlan in Singapore
Working with the ULI and the Institute of Real Estate and Urban Studies
in the National University of Singapore (IREUS), CLC tailored UrbanPlan
to suit Singapore’s development and land-bidding system. The Singapore
version was designed around a two-envelope system in which the concept
proposal and bidding price are separate but key evaluation criteria. Following
two pilots in November 2018 and January 2019, the inaugural UrbanPlan
workshop was launched on 28 February 2019. Participants from planning and
development agencies, including the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA),
Housing and Development Board (HDB), JTC Corporation and Land Transport
Authority (LTA) formed property development teams and took on the role of
the private sector.
Each team member assumed one of five roles: Financial Analyst, Research &
Marketing Director, Project Architect, Head of Community Relations and Project
Coordinator. They then worked together to assemble a competitive proposal
for a fictional development. Not only did they have to craft a vision, the group
also had to decide on its target market, develop a site design with land use and
amenities, conceptualise a financial model and submit a bid for the land parcel.
Involving the Industry
To inject a sense of reality into the workshop, experts from the real estate
industry were invited to facilitate the proceedings. These volunteers attended
pre-workshop training sessions for capacity building and they challenged
participants during the workshop to think more critically about development
issues and their specific roles and responsibilities. In addition, the final
concepts were evaluated by a committee consisting of senior members of
Singapore’s real esate industry. The committee heard the teams’ presentations
and challenged their proposals as would happen in an actual bid for land. They
then decided which concepts could advance into the next stage, which was
when the teams’ second envelope were revealed. The highest bid was awarded
the development contract.
A Tool to Nurture Public-Private Partnerships
The interactive workshop helped public service officers understand the
considerations and challenges faced by developers, particularly on how the
return on investment and the process of land acquisition function in a real
estate development process. By jointly working on a case study, participants
across the different agencies also learnt how the private sector understood
planning norms and design options, financial returns, and community relations
priorities. This would be useful towards realising successful public-private
partnerships in Singapore. UrbanPlan can also be potentially adopted as a
community engagement tool for development projects that involve multiple
stakeholders.
About the Writer
Phua Shi Hui
Shi Hui is a researcher at the Centre for Liveable
Cities. Her research focus includes master and
urban planning, innovation districts, governance and
development. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Real
Estate and a Master’s degree in Urban Planning from
the National University of Singapore.