ASEAN Australia Smart Cities Trust Fund (AASCTF)
Guided Learning Programme: Analysis & Decision-Making
Leveraging the Science of Cities
for Liveability, Sustainability & Resilience
Dr Limin Hee
D i re c to r, C e n t re fo r L i v e a b l e C i t i e s
1 December 2022
The Need for a Science of Cities
The future of humanity and the long-term sustainability of the planet are
inextricably linked to the fate of our cities.
- Geoffrey West
We are living in a VUCA world and cities are complex.
volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous
3
In a dense and growing city, We can neither tinker with just one system nor neglect the
bottom-up self-organising behaviours from the people.
interdisciplinary
law of unintended
consequences
challenge of reductionism
big data
cities as
interdependency
complex systems
emergence
embracing experimentation
new tools for the science of cities
Extracted from keynote speech by Mr Peter Ho at WCS 2021 webinar, Making Sense: Leveraging the Science of Cities
Liveability, Sustainability and Resilience are COMPLEX problems (Bettencourt)
Cross-cuts Scales Interconnection of heterogeneous Whole is more than the
needs and challenges sum of its parts
Individual
Changing Diverse needs Approach urban challenges
demographics and in a system of systems
and lifestyles expectations approach
Neighbourhood
Urban Evolving social
greenery and networks
well-being
Resource
City
Climate change circularity
and
environmental
conditions Post-pandemic
recovery and
Urban Systems adaptation
…
The “Planner’s Problem”:
Cities are complex but it is impossible to plan the city in detail (Bettencourt, 2014)¹
Knowledge Problem Calculation Problem How City Governments can
Respond
It is impossible to • Provide the necessary conditions
We do not have all predict and evaluate and information for individuals to
knowledge required each possible better self-organise in the everyday.
to understand the scenario due to the
state of the system self-organising • Draw upon emerging insights from
nature of complexity science, to identify the
large/dense cities weak signals of emerging issues
and key levers which influence how
cities operate effectively.²
*Note: “Planner” in this case refers to those in the city
planning, policy making and urban management space
Source: ¹The Uses of Big Data (Luis Bettencourt, 2014)
²The Challenges of Governance in a Complex World (Peter Ho, 2017)
Enablers for a Science of Cities: Big Data
Ubiquity of big data Rise of artificial intelligence Scientifically-informed planning
• The last couple of years alone • The rise of AI allows for analyses • Better predictive management
accounted for 90% of the data of a greater variety of datasets in will bestow upon government
generated since the advent of novel combinations to discover agencies the ability to track
the Internet. new patterns and trends. and monitor sustainability
performance in tandem with
• Coupled with high population and economic
performance computing, growth
unstructured data can be
converted to useful content.
Big data facilitates person-centric planning by enabling scientific analysis across
scales and disciplines (Bettencourt).
Cuts across Scales Interconnection of heterogeneous Whole is more than the
needs and challenges sum of its parts
Individual
Changing Diverse needs Approach urban challenges
demographics and in a system of systems
and lifestyles expectations approach
Neighbourhood
Urban Evolving social
greenery and networks
well-being
Resource
City
Climate change circularity
and
environmental
conditions Post-pandemic
recovery and
Urban Systems adaptation
…
8
RESTRICTED / SENSITIVE NORMAL
Enablers for a Science of Cities: Collaborative Ecosystem
Government
Researchers
Agencies
Sustainability
Challenge
Citizens Companies
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Support Long-Term Land-Use Planning: URA Digital Planning Tools
Image source: URA
E.g. ePlanner and 3D Urban Planner Platform – integrative platform that lend insights on holistic design
for urban development
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Enhancing Liveability: Integrated Environmental Modelling (IEM)
Solar irradiance
Solar Irradiance Study
Wind-flow Analysis
Modelling platform that integrates urban planning and
design process with environmental simulation for the
town level Wind-flow Analysis
Noise Modelling
Image sources: HDB
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Enhancing Liveability: Integrated Environmental Modelling (IEM) at Tengah New Town
Smart Smart
Integrated Irrigation
Construction
System Smart
Rainwater
Sump Pump Pulse of the
Heartlands
EV Ready Car
Smart Water Parks
Smart Lighting Sub-Meter
Urban Farming
Smart Enabled Centralised
Homes Cooling
System
New Urban
Smart Energy
Kampung
Solar PV Town
Car-Lite
Rainwater
Planning
Harvesting Smart Hub
Smart PWCS LED Lighting
District
Landscape
Masterplan Integrated
Smart Water with Biophilic Digital Delivery
Pump Estate
Elevator Regen Management Features
System System Chutes for
Recyclables
Urban Water
New Lift
Smart Socket Harvesting
Sensors
& DB
Urban
Digital Twin
Environmental
Water Efficient Modelling
Fittings Carpark MV
Monitoring
Legend Dual Bicycle
New initiatives for Racks Hybrid PPVC
Tengah
Initiatives tested
in Punggol
Image source: HDB
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Enhancing Liveability: New Urban Kampung Programme
Image source: HDB
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Enhancing Liveability: New Urban Kampung Programme
Image source: HDB
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Enhancing Liveability: Planning for Dense and Green Vertical Cities
Source: WOHA
Developer HDB Singapore
Architect WOHA
Landscape Architect Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl Singapore Pte. Ltd
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Enhancing Liveability: Planning for Dense and Green Vertical Cities
SPATIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS HUMAN MOBILITY MAPPING SOCIO-SPATIAL ANALYSIS
• To examine the network structure • To understand emergent • To analyse correlations between
and centrality measures of movement patterns and space mobility patterns, occupancy
Kampung Admiralty use in spatial network time, user types
• Identify expected and • People counters, Bluetooth • Analyse nodes/spaces with
unexpected performance of tracking and local potential to encourage social
landscape nodes interaction
Vertical Cities: Complex Emergent Patterns of Movement and Space Use in High-Density Urban Contexts Images source: SUTD Cities: Urban Science and Design for Density
Led by SUTD, in collaboration with MND CLC, URA, HDB
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Towards a City in Nature: A science-based approach to integrate nature and greenery
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Towards a City in Nature: NParks’ Remote Tree Measurement System (RTMS)
Image sources:
The Straits Times
Uses LiDAR scans and machine learning to
automatically map the locations of individual trees
and extract tree measurement
Image sources:
NParks
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Towards a City in Nature: Smart Gardens@Gardens by the Bay
Autonomous
Inspection
Drones
Smart Waste
Bins
Smart
Lighting
Lake Health
Sensors Smart
Soil Irrigation
Sensors
From 1948 - 2016 By 2100
Annual mean temperature Daily mean temperature projected to increase
rose at an average rate of by
0.25°C 1.4°C – 4.6°C
per decade
Image source: Ian Wui
Leveraging the Science of Cities for Better Urban Planning
Towards Climate-Sensitive Design: Cooling SIngapore
Decision support system for outdoor thermal comfort
assessment
Intensity of UHI in Singapore at 5pm
Further scientific knowledge required for climate-
sensitive design of the urban environment, to
address urban heat challenge in Singapore
Image sources:
Anthropogenic heat released by buildings in the CBD area Cooling Singapore
THANK YOU
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