Our founding father, Lee Kuan Yew had a dream for Singapore to become a ‘Garden city’. He envisioned a clean and green city-state bustling with economic activity but yet remaining ecologically sustainable. Today, we have achieved that dream and Singapore continues to venture into new frontiers of green urbanism, which is used to describe a new movement of smart, secure and sustainable settlements.
One of the key aspects of being a Garden city would be enriching our lanscape with greenery. Green spaces are a valuable asset to our nation as they help to improve both the aesthetic and psychological aspects of our society.
Contact with the natural environment has shown to boost physical and mental wellbeing of individuals and communities. Engaging in physical activities helps to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
Recognising the value of nature in enhancing our quality of life, the Singapore government strives to maintain a liveable city through the development of ‘Eco-smart’ towns. By rethinking the way we do urban planning, our government seeks to create living spaces where man and nature can coexist in harmony. Our nation hopes to pave the way for the next generation to continue a green lifestyle which does not compromise on quality and comfort.
Here are some green facts about Singapore
Singapore is commonly recognized as an urban jungle but did you know that almost 30% of our country’s land is covered by greenery!
Despite having its vibrant city-state densely populated by skyscrapers and HDB buildings, Singapore has delicately and successfully balanced the concrete with the green. Housing over 2000 native plant species and having two million trees planted across the region, our streets are tastefully decorated with various species of flora and fauna, most of which are unique only to the south east Asian region. To name a few, Singapore is home to over 2000 native species, the more common ones being the Angsana tree (Pterocarpus indicus), the lipstick plant (Aeschynanthus pulcher) as well as River Tarenna (Tarenna fragrans) These species can be spotted along the local highways as well as our parks and gardens. 
Image created by blog author, using Canva.
According to a study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) and the World economic forum in 2017, Singapore competed against 16 cities across the globe and emerged champion as the world’s greenest urbanized city. Researchers ranked the various cities according to its Green View Index (GVI) which is a scale for the percentage of canopy cover for a particular region, from 0 to 100. This data was computed by measuring the percentage of trees and foliage via Google Street View. 
Image: Source
Given how far we have come, I realised the importance of holding on to this dream our founding fathers had for this nation. How then can we continue to be a good role model to a world. Can this city balance the needs of the urban while preserving our natural heritage? How then can Singapore continue to strive towards building a green city? Let us embark on a journey towards discovering the various green spaces on our sunny island. I hope that this blog will allow you to gain a deeper understanding about Singapore’s clean and green history and inspire you to play your part in our conservation efforts. Enjoy!