Critical foundational urban

planning knowledge for

practicing planners and
affiliated professionals
taught in a compact 2-day
learning format

Content based on planner

competencies identified by
the British, American,
Canadian and Australian
planning institutes

Covers topics for SIP Full

Member Admission Exam (in
1st quarter 2017) for nonplanning-degree candidates

24-25 NOV 2016

URBAN PLANNER
FOUNDATION PROGRAM

Register Early! Only 100 seat

capacity in the venue, about
20 seats have been prebooked by organizations

National Design Centre Auditorium

Fees: $1,000 | SIP members $500 | SIA/SILA/related institutes $750
Register at http://planning.org.sg/courses

This Program aims to provide an introductory package of foundational

knowledge that will enable practicing planners to properly understand the
origins and bases of current planning concepts, principles, norms,
standards and regulations in Singapore and other countries. Trainers are
from the Royal Town Planning Institute, the American Planning
Association, Singapore government agencies, universities and urban
planning consulting firms.

Origins of Key Urban Planing

Concepts
Health, Safety & Environment in
Landuse Planning
New Town Planning
Urban Transportation
Infrastructure Planning
Economic Infrastructure &
Industrial Development
The Singapore Planning System
The English Planning System
Urban Planning System in an
American City
The Planning System in China
Comparative Evaluation of Urban
Planning Systems

URBAN PLANNER FOUNDATION PROGRAM

Date: 24 & 25 November 2016

Venue: National Design Centre Auditorium
Fees: $1,000 | SIP members $500 | SIA/SILA and related institutes $750
(50% of these fees if enrolling for only 1 of the 2 days of the Program)
SkillsFuture Credit can be used (http://www.skillsfuture.sg/credit)
Registration will commence on 12 Sep 2016 at http://planning.org.sg/courses
Join SIP to enjoy the SIP member rate for this Program! Details at: http://planning.org.sg/Join-Us.
Application forms and supporting documents must reach SIP at least three weeks before the Program so
that there will be sufficient time to evaluate, approve and admit new members.

This Program aims to provide an introductory package of foundational knowledge that will enable
practicing Singapore planners to properly understand the origins and bases of current planning concepts,
principles, norms, standards and regulations in Singapore and other countries.
Trainers are from the Royal Town Planning Institute, the American Planning Association, Singapore
government agencies, universities and private consulting firms.
The content of this Program will be the subject of an SIP Full Member Admission Examination (for
experienced planners who do not have urban planning degrees) to be held in the first quarter of 2017.
Details of the Examination will be published on the SIP website at http://planning.org.sg/courses on 15
October 2016.

PROGRAM SUMMARY
(subject to change updates will be shown in the SIP website)

SN

Session

Time

Day 1: Urban Planner Foundation Seminar

1-1

Origins of Key Urban Planning Concepts

9:15 10:30 (75 min)

1-2

Health, Safety and Environment Considerations in

Landuse Planning

11:00 12:00 (60 min)

1-3

Post War British New Town Planning

12:00 12:45 (45 min)

1-4

Singapore New Town Planning

13:45 14:45 (60 min)

1-5

Urban Transportation

14:45 15:45 (60 min)

1-6

Infrastructure Planning

16:15 17:00 (30 min)

1-7

Singapore Industrial Park Planning

17:00 17:30 (30 min)

1-8

Economic Infrastructure and Industrial Development

Planning

17:30 18:00 (30 min)

Day 2: Comparative Urban Planning Systems

2-1

The current Singapore Urban Planning System

9:00 9:45 (45 min)

2-2

Origins & Evolution of the Singapore Urban Planning

System

9:45 10:30 (45 min)

2-3

English Urban Planning System

11:00 12:00 (60 min)

2-4

Urban Planning System in an American City

13:00 14:00 (60 min)

2-5

The Urban Planning System in China

14:00 14:30 (30 min)

2-6

Comparative Evaluation

15:00 18:00 (180 min)

DAY 1: URBAN PLANNER FOUNDATION SEMINAR

Origins of Key Urban Planning Concepts

Health, Safety and Environment Considerations in Landuse Planning
Neighborhood and New Town Planning
Urban Transportation and Infrastructure Planning
Economic Infrastructure and Industrial Development Planning
SN

Details

1-1

Origins of Key Urban Planning Concepts

1-2

Ebenezer Howard + Garden City + Green Belt

Le Corbusier + Tower in the Park
Clarence Perry + Neighborhood
Daniel Burnham + Comprehensive Planning
Standard State Zoning and City Planning Enabling Acts 1924+1928 +
Zoning + Setbacks + FAR etc
Town and Country Planning Act 1947 + Public Sector As Dominant
Developer + Planning Permission + Development Charge
English Structure Plans

Health, Safety & Environment considerations in Landuse Planning

Clean water, air and land for urban dwellers, protection of

environmentally sensitive areas, safety from hazards, sustainable and
resilient urban development
Basic health infrastructure: potable water, sanitation, flood alleviation,
groundwater contamination prevention, control of pollutive emissions
Environmental capacity
Land suitability
Strategic environmental analysis and environmental impact assessments
Landuse planning and control around hazardous installations
Seveso III
Quantitative and qualitative risk assessments
Emergency evacuation planning
Climate change accords and sustainable urban developments
Sustainability indicators
Resilient infrastructure

1-3

Post War British New Town Planning

1-4

Singapore New Town Planning

1-5

Three development waves

Strategic urban & regional development objectives
New Town planning and design concepts
Community services and facilities
Development, financing and municipal services models

Residential typology: low, medium, high, landed, strata subdivisions

The evolution of the Singapore public housing system: development,
financing, estate management
HDB apartments: pricing, sale conditions, resale, rental
Design parameters, community facilities provision standards, layout
Infrastructure
Environmental sustainability

Urban Transportation

Travel demand forecasting, trip generation, modes, models

Transit operations and comparisons: mass rail, light rail, tram, bus rapid
transit
Transportation demand management: COE, ERP, parking space limits
Road traffic engineering fundamentals
Road sections and infrastructure corridors
Walking, cycling, personal mobility device infrastructure
Smart urban transportation: traffic information, car sharing apps,
driverless electric cars

1-6

Infrastructure Planning

1-7

Singapore Industrial Infrastructure Development and Planning

1-8

Site climatic conditions and stormwater drainage solutions

Earthworks: economic and environmental factors
Electricity supply: landuse and electricity usage ratios, costs, efficiency
and environmental impacts of generation plants
Grid and offgrid supply, transmission corridors: overhead and
underground transmission
Water supply: landuse/population and water usage ratios, groundwater,
contamination issues, desalination plants
Sewerage, water treatment, water recycling
Solid waste disposal: landfill, incineration, environmental impacts
District heating and cooling utilities

Evolution of economic infrastructure and industrial development in

Singapore:
Jurong Industrial Estate, flatted factories
Science Park, wafer fab parks, one-north
CleanTech
Logistics parks
Jurong Port
Seletar Aerospace Park
Jurong Island petrochemical hub

Economic Infrastructure & Industrial Development Planning

Industrial and business park typology: manufacturing to technology to

chemical parks, bonded zones
Industrial park amenities
Security, pollution and hazard control
Industrial infrastructure: power, water, waste handling etc
Circular production, material reuse
Logistics and transportation infrastructure: warehouses, bulk liquid
tanks, ports, jetties, airports, railroad facilities, pipelines etc

DAY 2: COMPARATIVE URBAN PLANNING SYSTEMS WORKSHOP

The Singapore Urban Planning System

The Urban Planning System in an American City
The English Urban Planning System
The Chinese Urban Planning System
Comparative evaluations of the Singapore, American, English and Chinese planning systems

SN

Details

2-1

The current Singapore Urban Planning System

2-2

Plan-making: the process, plan contents

Concept Plan
Master Plan
Conservation and other plans & guidelines
Public sector plan implementation
Key public agencies and their roles (HDB, NParks, LTA, JTC, NEA etc)
Land safeguarding, Master Plan Committee
Government land sales
Development control
The planning permission process
Including appeals, adhoc rezoning etc
Mechanisms including development charge etc

Origins and Evolution of the Singapore Urban Planning System

Origins
Enabling legislation
1958 Master Plan and its evolution
1971 Concept Plan and its evolution
1990s Development Guide Plans
Development control process evolution over the years

2-3

The English Urban Planning System

2-4

The Urban Planning System in an American City

2-5

Comprehensive plans
Plan-making and public participation
Zoning ordinances and as-of-right development
Permitting and variances review, appeals
Form-based codes, inclusionary zoning
Zoning innovations eg incentive zoning, performance zoning,
transferable rights etc

The Urban Planning System in China

2-6

Hierarchy of development plans

Policies and guidelines
Plan-making and public participation
Development control process

Municipality and District Comprehensive Plans

Plan-making, expert evaluation panels and public participation
Landuse Control Plans
Development permitting process

Comparative Evaluation of the Singapore, English, American and Chinese

Urban Planning Systems

Framework for comparison

Evaluation criteria: public benefit, social-economic-political context fit,
flexibility and innovation, speed and economic costs, demand on
professional capabilities etc