Participants were broken up into smaller groups to brainstorm ideas at the 100 Resilient Cities workshop for Singapore. Source: The Centre for Liveable Cities
CLC Executive Director Khoo Teng Chye gave an introduction to participants at the start of the workshop. Source: The Centre for Liveable Cities
Participants came together to brainstorm ideas at the 100 Resilient Cities workshop for Singapore. Source: The Centre for Liveable Cities 
Participants came together to brainstorm ideas at the 100 Resilient Cities workshop for Singapore. Source: The Centre for Liveable Cities 
Ideas are consolidated in post-its and shared with other participants during the workshop. Source: The Centre for Liveable Cities
Written By Lim Wei Da and Tan Guan Hong
Resilience is a concern amongst many cities today. For Singapore, it has
been embedded in our pursuit of a competitive economy, a sustainable
environment and a high quality of life for its citizens.
As part of Singapore’s participation in the 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) network,
the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) is collaborating with 100RC and relevant
stakeholders to develop a publication that examines how the city-state has
approached and built its resilience over the years and how Singapore is
strengthening its resilience against potential shocks and stresses in the future.
To aid this effort, a recent workshop brought together a diverse range of
stakeholders to discuss the gaps, opportunities and actions on two identified
challenges: Climate Change and Changing Demographics.
Several key themes emerged from this session:
(a) More effective engagement of stakeholders to foster a greater sense of shared responsibility
The layperson often finds it difficult to understand their role and
involvement in building resilience, be it dealing with climate change or
fostering a cohesive society. They may be aware of climate change, but many do not see how it directly impacts them or how they can address
the issue as individuals. Similarly, most also understand the need for a
cohesive society but cannot relate it to their individual action or behaviour.
There is a need for more effective communication of Singapore’s resilience
risks, challenges and opportunities to different stakeholders, and also
greater multi-stakeholder dialogue and engagement.
(b) More targeted efforts to foster impactful collaborations and actions among stakeholders
Workshop participants agreed that more could be done to empower
a broader range of stakeholders to explore and co-create solutions
that addresses Singapore’s resilience challenges. There could be more
platforms to catalyse greater ground up action through better coordination
and facilitation. A better flow of information and data for stakeholders
will also allow them to engage in informed, constructive and impactful
collaborations.
(c) Better understanding of the links and dependencies between challenges
Building resilience requires us to take a total systems approach and have
a good understanding of the interactions between different systems
within the city. We may have done well in addressing resilience gaps within
specific systems — for instance, economy, environment and society —
but these systems are inter-dependent. While much have been done on
understanding and addressing the physical impacts of climate change,
further considerations could include how climate change impacts issues
such as an ageing population, a culturally diverse population, class divides,
regional and local economies, etc.
(d) Move from a rules-based society to one based on values
Singapore is currently a very rules-based society where the government
sets out many guidelines and regulations on what can or cannot be done.
It also comes out with multiple strategies and narratives to guide society’s
actions. A common set of values (e.g. Care, Respect, etc) can be developed
to guide actions across stakeholders and sectors instead. This could be
useful in the face of increasingly diverse and complex challenges.
About the Writers
Lim Wei Da
Wei Da is a researcher at the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC). His research areas
cover knowledge development in urban environmental and resilience issues.
He holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Sociology from the National
University of Singapore.
Tan Guan Hong
Tan Guan Hong is a researcher at the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC). She focuses
on ageing-related research at CLC and is currently working on urban planning for
an ageing population, particularly senior living options. She holds a Bachelor’s
degree in Sociology from the National University of Singapore.