URA - Urban Redevelopment Authority

Steve and I happened upon a great place to visit.  If you walk out of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple in China Town and straight through the hawker center across the street from it, exit through the back, you will be face to face with the Urban Redevelopment Authority.  What an amazing place to go to!  It has plans for the next ten years for the island spelled out right in front of you!  

There is a big model of the island, complete with every building on the island.  Yes, yours is there:

If you look at the bulletin boards behind, you will see they are describing the expected changes in the central area.  They do that for most, if not all the areas.

Each area is also divided down into smaller portions throughout the building:

Here the buildings are bigger and you can see in more detail what is expected for the area.  If you look at the key for the maps, you will see what the different colors represent on it:

I found our little corner of the world on it right away:

See where the red arrow is?  That is us!  We live on the river and just a short way from the sea - you can see it at the bottom of this picture.

And they have the projected view of the new casino and hotel - all finished up.

Looks pretty, doesn't it?

Finally, if you need to know when the roads are going to be blocked off, what they are doing for conservation, the housing development plans or just see the master plan - it is all here in black and white:

And finally, if you really do not want to see all of this, you can go online to look it all over:

But, if you do that, you are missing a great experience.  Steve and I were here nearly two hours - and we really must go back.  It is a pretty darned amazing set up - and interesting as all get out.  We loved browsing the models, and we were so immersed in looking at them, we forgot to read the walls.  I think every city in the world should do this!  Open the plans up to the public, give us models to see and let us enjoy the plans for our area.  

What a great idea!  The place to go is HERE

We went on a port tour yesterday and I found out something new - there is a transportation department that does the same thing for the subways, buses and all other forms of transportation - lays it all out right in front of you.  I will post more on that tomorrow. 

If you go to the URB, please plan on taking several hours to tour it.  You will slip into oblivion as you get more and more into looking at the models and not realize how fast the time went.  We had no idea it would be as fascinating as it was!  Also, don't forget to go upstairs where there is more to look at.  You will really enjoy learning what Singapore has planned for its little country.  

And I really must say - it is an amazing little country. 

Meeting at the furniture store today at 1pm - are you going?  I think we have a nice little crowd meeting - Nicole will be pleased to see us!  Bible study first - I am really enjoying it.  

That is all for today  :-)  See you again tomorrow.