ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that Singapore’s nation building has been predicated on a consciously planned process that has entailed the planned development of a city state, social engineering of Singapore’s society and a unique political structuring of one-party dominance within a democratic political system. Singapore’s viability as a country was seriously questioned and many political commentators wondered whether Singapore would be able to survive as a state. The success of Singapore’s urban development, economic progress and successful environmental management has been and continues to be a product of pragmatic, perceptive, planned policies that have been implemented with political will and economic foresight. Five ideological statements by the leadership that govern the planning process in Singapore can be included under the following headings: Socialism, Environmental Determinism, Possibilism, Multiracialism, and Communitarianism. Singapore’s economic vitality is also predicated on its transportation systems. The development of public housing was also a direct response to the long history of disease-prone, colonial Singapore.
