HI FELLOW READER! 

I’m Goh Qian Wei, an undergraduate from Nanyang Technological University, majoring in the field of Psychology.

When I was a child, my parents used to bring me to the different parks, beaches and reservoirs in Singapore during the weekends. These experiences have nurtured me to grow to love nature.

“So, what made me write a blog on Rapid Urbanization in Singapore?”

My experience of being close to nature in Vietnam, sparked me to write a blog on this topic. I hiked up Mount Fansipan, and took a cruise out to Halong Bay in Vietnam. The trips were on separate occasions, but the views I encountered for both were breath-taking.

This was taken at the midst of hiking up Mount Fansipan in 2010.

And this was the overview of Halong Bay, taken from a higher ground in 2014.

Being in touch with vast nature in Vietnam, it made me wonder, “Did Singapore used to have a mountain or large natural rocks that were removed due to urbanization?”

Though the answer was “no”, as i did my research, but i found out that several forests and biodiversities were lost through rapid urbanization in Singapore. My interest to this topic on urbanization grew, as i continue researching.

“What drove Singapore to urbanization?” 

“What have Singapore benefitted from rapid urbanization?”

“What are the consequences?”

These thoughts kept coming, and that is how this blog was being put together. Hence, I hope to not only give you greater information on rapid urbanization in Singapore, but also heighten your interest and awareness in what rapid urbanization in Singapore brings!