First Master Plan is approved

In December 1951, an amendment was made to the Singapore Improvement Ordinance that required the Singapore Improvement Trust to carry out a diagnostic survey of Singapore, and to prepare a master plan that would guide land use and development in Singapore.^[1] This was the first master plan of Singapore since Raffles’s Town Plan was initiated in 1822.^[2] In the following decades, the British authorities had adopted a laissez-faire approach towards town planning^[3] which, when coupled with a population explosion, led to the emergence of slums and overcrowding in the city area.^[4] This master plan re-introduced the concept of planned urban growth and included rural areas in land use plans for the first time.^[5] The draft of the master plan was completed in 1955 and then exhibited for a period of six weeks in 1956 to obtain public feedback.^[6] The final report of the master plan was approved by the government on 8 August 1958.^[7]

The diagnostic survey of Singapore was conducted over two years from 1952 to 1953, and involved studies on the land and building use of the central (city core), urban and rural areas, as well as traffic flow and the industries that would provide employment for the people.^[8] The aim of the master plan was to provide a blueprint to guide the physical development of Singapore so there would be adequate land for residents to live, work and play in a conducive environment.

The survey identified the following areas for improvement: ^[9]
(i) Improve conditions of overcrowding and poor housing in the central areas of the city.
(ii) Improve congestion in the central area, including traffic.
(iii) Provide sufficient housing, work, education and recreational facilities for a rapidly growing population that was projected to reach two million after 1970.
(iv) Reserve land for future development.
(v) Reserve land for industries that would provide employment for the population.

The following solutions were proposed in the master plan: ^[10]
(i) Reduce overcrowding in the city centre by increasing housing in the peripheral urban areas.
(ii) Clear slums and attap housing in the city and urban areas, and resettle residents in modern housing.
(iii) Introduce a “green belt” around the city to limit urban sprawl.
[The green zone would be used for public parks, playing fields, agricultural and other recreational or institutional purposes.]
(iv) Establish new towns in the rural areas based on the concept of satellite towns. [The three new towns – Woodlands, Bulim (later known as Jurong) and Yio Chu Kang – would be self-sufficient residential towns with schools, recreational areas, shops, health services and places of work. This would reduce the travelling distance for residents to reach their places of work, study or play.]
(v) Set aside land for new industries.
(vi) Build new roads and car parks.

Since its introduction in 1958, the master plan had undergone several revisions and updates.^[11]

References
1. Singapore. Ordinances of the Colony of Singapore passed during the year… (1951). Singapore Improvement (Amendment No. 2) Ordinance 1951. (Ord. 49 of 1951, pp. 1–4). Call no.: RCLOS 348.5957 SIN-[RFL].
2. Waller, E. (2001). Landscape planning in Singapore (p. 32). Singapore: Singapore University Press. Call No.: Call no.: RSING q307.12095957 WAL.
3. Singapore Improvement Trust. (1956). Annual report 1955 (p. 13). Singapore: Singapore Improvement Trust. Call no.: RCLOS 711.4095951 SIN-[RFL].
4. Waller, 2001, p. 32.
5. Waller, 2001, p. 32.
6. Singapore Improvement Trust. (1957). Annual report 1956 (p. 7). Singapore: Singapore Improvement Trust. Call no.: RCLOS 711.4095951 SIN-[RFL].
7. Singapore Improvement Trust. (1959). Annual report 1958 (p. 21). Singapore: Singapore Improvement Trust. Call no.: RCLOS 711.4095951 SIN-[RFL].
8. Singapore. (1955). Master plan: Report of survey (p. 2). Singapore: Printed at G.P.O. Call no.: RCLOS 711.4095957 SIN.
9. Singapore Improvement Trust. (1955). The master plan (p. 3). Singapore: Printed by Chip Bee Press. Call no.: RCLOS 711.4095957 SIN
10. Singapore Improvement Trust, 1955, pp. 4–5, 28.
11. Urban Redevelopment Authority. (2014, April 2). Introduction to Master Plan. Retrieved April 7, 2014, from URA website: http://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/master-plan.aspx?p1=View-Master-Plan