Beyond masters and master plans : participatory urban planning in Singapore

• Main Author: Lee, Ryan Kin Ho
• Other Authors: Felicity Chan
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia::Singapore; Social sciences::Political science::Public administration::Asia::Singapore
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/149817
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Through case studies of plans for the Lower Peirce golf courses and the Cross Island Line, this paper seeks to understand how Singapore, an archetype of a developmental state with a centralised planning system, incorporates public participation in urban planning. Qualitative research, consisting of thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, case data, and documents and literature, was employed. It was found that, beyond the typical factors such as participation structures or political systems, the following factors also influence participation and its outcomes: 1) a project’s imageability in the public’s mind, 2) the dominant state discourses and planning languages, 3) a project’s claim to being equitable, 4) the strength and fragmentedness of public support that parties can muster, and 5) the means of exchange and spaces for retreat between conflicting parties.