Recognising the importance of family planning to national development, the government organised Singapore’s first national family planning campaign in 1960. The campaign aimed to raise public awareness on the need for family planning and the disadvantages of having ...

The Raffles Town Plan, also known as the Jackson Plan, refers to Stamford Raffles’s plan for the town of Singapore formulated in late 1822. Lieutenant Philip Jackson drew up a plan according to Raffles’s vision and the resultant plan was published in 1828. The ...

Letter writers made a living out of writing letters. Their services were sought after by those who were semi-literate as well as illiterate. The letters that they wrote were in calligraphic Chinese script and were used by the Chinese migrants living in Singapore ...

Urban planning in Singapore aims to optimise the use of the country’s scarce land resources for the diverse needs of both current and future generations of residents. It involves allocating land for competing uses such as housing, commerce, industry, parks, transport, ...

Urban planning in Singapore began in the 1820s when Stamford Raffles implemented a land-use plan later known as the Raffles Town Plan. However, for most of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, Singapore’s physical growth was haphazard and largely ...

Development guide plans (DGPs) are detailed short- to medium-term land-use plans completed between 1993 and 1998 as part of a comprehensive review of the Master Plan 1985. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the national land-use planning agency, divided Singapore ...

Liu Thai Ker (b. 23 February 1938 Muar, Johor, Malaysia –) is noted for his influence on Singapore's urban landscape as the former chief executive officer of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). Trained as an architect, ...

Reference Point is an electronic reference service provided by the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library. The service was launched in April 1996 by the former National Reference Library, the predecessor of the today’s Lee Kong Chian Reference Library, to provide reference ...

The National Reference Library (NRL) was located on the third floor of the National Library building at Stamford Road. It was formed on 16 January 1998, concurrently with the re-opening of the National Library that was closed for nine months of upgrading works. ...

The Library Supply Centre, located in Changi South, houses the Library Support Services (LSS) Division of the National Library Board. LSS performs the library functions of collection development, supply-chain management and bibliographic services.

Located off the southwestern coast of Singapore, Jurong Island is a manmade island formed through successive land reclamation works that joined up several offshore islands, namely Pulau Ayer Chawan, Pulau Ayer Merbau, Pulau Merlimau, Pulau Pesek, Pulau Pesek Kechil ...

The two-child policy was a population control measure introduced by the Singapore government during the 1970s to encourage couples to have no more than two children. It was part of the second Five-Year National Family Planning Programme (1972–75) that was unveiled ...

The Next Lap is a plan for Singapore’s long-term development. It includes ideas and proposals to make Singapore a nation of distinction. The term has also been used to refer to the period of time when Goh Chok Tong took over the premiership from Lee Kuan Yew in ...

Siglap is a residential district situated in the eastern part of Singapore. Noted in John Turnbull Thomson’s survey map of 1846, Siglap was originally known for its fishing villages and coconut plantations, before it was developed into a suburban residential district. ...

Amber Road is an “L”-shaped road that connects the junction of Haig Road and Mountbatten Road to Tanjong Katong Road. The road name was linked to the family of Joseph Aaron Elias, a successful Jewish businessman in early 20th-century Singapore. A popular landmark ...

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is Singapore’s national land-use planning and conservation authority. It was formed in 1974, though it has its roots in the Urban Renewal Department set up by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in the 1960s. Its mission ...

Yishun New Town is bounded by Sungei Simpang Kiri to the north, the proposed Admiralty Road East Extension to the east, Seletar Expressway to the south and Sembawang Road to the west. The town is named after Lim Nee Soon, a prominent businessman in colonial Singapore. ...

The People’s Park Complex is a high-rise mixed-use building in Chinatown, Singapore. Completed in 1973, it is a landmark project in terms of architectural design and boasts a number of superlatives, including being the largest shopping complex in Singapore and ...

Dutch economist Albert Winsemius (Dr) (b. 1910, Netherlands–d. 1996, The Hague, Netherlands) was an economic advisor to the Singapore government for 24 years. During that time, he contributed greatly to Singapore's economic development.

Located in the central region, the Bukit Merah planning area comprises 17 sub-zones. It is bounded by Alexandra Road to the west, Jervois Lane, Prince Charles Square and Alexandra Canal to the north, and Kim Seng and Outram roads to the east. The area spans approximately ...