City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

CITY-LEVEL DECOUPLING: URBAN RESOURCE FLOWS AND THE GOVERNANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITIONS

knowledge about sustainable development, and community ownership. 180 Aggressive goals have been set in all four areas to be met by 2030, including a 35% improvement in energy efficiency from 2005 levels, achieving a recycling rate of 70%, improving accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as reducing domestic water consumption to 140 litres per person per day. 181

The ‘Singapore Way'

Aligning economic growth within environmental sustainability has meant the acceptance of certain operating principles that have come to be known as the ‘Singapore Way'; these include the importance of integrating and aligning planning, taking a long-view of development although it entails short-term costs, and being flexible in approach because many changes in technology and the global environment will be coming in the coming decades. 182

NEWater Visitor Centre, Koh Sek Lim Road, Singapore (Source: PUB, Singapore’s national water agency, 2009)

In 2008, an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development was set up to craft a strategy to ensure Singapore’s sustainable development in light of domestic and international challenges. The result was the Sustainable Singapore Blueprint that was jointly created by government, public and the private sector in an inclusive and participatory process including input from media editors and academia. 183 Goals will be reviewed every five years and adapted to improvements in technology and international developments, and the government will monitor and inform the public of progress. 184 1 billion Singapore Dollars -$- (US$808 million 185 ) was set aside by government as a budget to support the roll-out of the initiative and since 2009 additional investments have been allocated, in particular for improving energy efficiency in buildings, improving public transportation and for testing solar technology and applications. 186 Almost S$700 million (US$565 million) of the

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