# Green City, Best Home - **Source:** Ministry of National Development - **Published:** 2017-06-29T02:00:00.000Z - **Author:** Ministry of National Development - **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/green-city-best-home - **Topics:** Government & Policy, Sustainability & PropTech ## Featured rationale The investment could accelerate technologies that improve construction productivity, infrastructure resilience and estate maintenance, potentially enhancing Singapore’s future living environments. ## AI summary MND launched the $150 million Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme covering advanced construction, resilient infrastructure, new spaces and greater sustainability in June 2017. ## Original article The Urban Sustainability R&D Congress, organised by the Ministry of National Development (MND) with 16 other government agencies, will be held over two days from 29 June 2017 at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Guest of Honour for the Opening Ceremony Mr Lawrence Wong, Minister for National Development and Second Minister for Finance announced several key initiatives in support of R&D efforts at the Congress today. The initiatives include: Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme – The Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme (CoT) is a $150 million initiative that aims to build a highly liveable, sustainable and resilient city of the future. A multi-agency effort led by MND, the programme’s vision will be achieved through integrated development of R&D in 4 key verticals, namely, a) Advanced Construction, b) Resilient Infrastructure, c) New Spaces, and d) Greater Sustainability. The CoT R&D Programme will be a collective effort where stakeholders from industry, research community, and government will come together to work in tandem to develop innovative R&D solutions to address key challenges such as climate change, ageing infrastructure, resource constraints and demand for space. More details on Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme are provided in Annex A. Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Housing & Development Board (HDB), Imperial College London (ICL), and Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) – HDB, ICL, and I2R will be signing a MOU to embark on a research project to expand the capabilities of sensor networks, and strengthen the use of analytics and predictive modelling for better planning and resource optimisation in urban environments. The collaboration will bring together the technical expertise and knowhow of HDB with the research excellence of ICL and I2R, to develop a new range of capabilities to sense, monitor, model, predict, and manage diverse data, urban systems and activities. This will help to optimise estate maintenance and enhance the quality of the living environment. More than 1000 participants from government agencies, research institutes and private companies will be expected to attend the two-day Congress. The theme “Green City, Best Home” outlines the aim of this year’s Congress to focus on integrated R&D solutions at the land-energy-water nexus. This is in support of the national Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 (RIE2020) Urban Solutions and Sustainability domain’s efforts to create a sustainable and quality living environment for Singaporeans. In line with this, we have an expanded list of partners as co-organisers, including the Public Utilities Board (PUB), Energy Market Authority (EMA), and National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS). Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards 2017 Minister Lawrence Wong also presented the Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards to five outstanding projects that have contributed towards MND’s vision of making Singapore “An Endearing Home, A Distinctive Global City”. The winners for the Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards are: Distinguished Award URA’s project (In collaboration with I2R/A*STAR) – “Development of GIS-Enabled Mapping, Modelling and Analysis (GEMMA) to enhance planning processes and deliver better planning outcomes in Singapore” was highlighted for its collaborative ability which allows planners across agencies to come together to do land-use scenario studies and infrastructure staging plans. Land-use planning can now be done much faster, and with deeper insights. Merit Award HDB’s project (In collaboration with EDF and Veolia) – “Complex System Modelling Tool for HDB Towns” was commended for its significant impact on enhancing the liveability of HDB towns. Through simulations on a single integrated platform, HDB can now more accurately assess the trade-offs involved when faced with a myriad of green initiatives. This allows HDB to assess the collective effectiveness that different initiatives could contribute towards sustainability, while balancing the costs and manpower involved. Merit Award LTA’s project (In collaboration with NUS) – “Jagged Edge Profile for Cantilevered Noise Barriers” was lauded for reducing perceivable noise levels by up to 30% as compared to LTA’s conventional noise barriers. Besides being able to lower noise levels, the innovative design has also allowed LTA to achieve better coverage in terms of noise reduction by up to 3 times the height of the noise barrier. This cost effective and easily scalable design has already been implemented at LTA work sites along the East Coast stretch of the Thomson-East Coast Line. Special Mention HDB’s project (In collaboration with NTU, NUS, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic) – “A Biophilic Waterway@Punggol – Innovative Floating Wetlands and Freshwater-Tolerant Mangroves” was commended for its far-reaching ability to protect riverbanks, improve water quality and promote biodiversity. Since the implementation of the initiatives, a total of 92 bird species, 11 butterfly species and 17 dragonfly species have flourished along the Waterway. Monthly tests conducted at the waterway showed that the wetland plants, together with the freshwater-tolerant mangroves, can improve water quality by up to 30 per cent. Special Mention JTC’s project – “J-Ops”, an integrated smart estate and building operations system, was commended for reducing energy usage, improving the comfort of tenants, and increasing productivity and efficiency in the management of facilities, without substantially increasing manpower and costs for facilities management and maintenance. More details on the Minister for National Development’s R&D Awards and winning projects are provided in Annex B. Sembcorp-Energy Market Authority (EMA) Energy Challenge Minister Lawrence Wong will be meeting with more than 30 teams participating at the Sembcorp-EMA Energy Challenge. These comprise over 130 engineering students from various local Institutes of Higher Learning, including ITE colleges, polytechnics and universities. The teams will compete in a simulation game competition (“Power Quest”) to tackle real-life energy issues faced by Power sector professionals in their course of work. More information about the various collaborations in R&D, technology and youth engagement between EMA and Sembcorp can be found in Annex C. For more information on the Urban Sustainability R&D Congress, please visit http://www.mnd.gov.sg/urbansustainability/index.html. ## Chinese translation > Translation model: grok_cli ### 绿色城市，最佳家园 由国家发展部（MND）与其他16个政府机构合办的城市可持续发展研发大会，将于2017年6月29日起在新加坡新达城新加坡会议与展览中心举行，为期两天。开幕式主宾、国家发展部长兼第二财政部长黄循财今日在大会上宣布多项支持研发工作的关键举措。相关举措包括： “明日城市”研发计划—— “明日城市”研发计划（Cities of Tomorrow R&D Programme，CoT）是一项1.5亿新元的倡议，旨在建设高度宜居、可持续且具韧性的未来城市。该计划由国家发展部牵头、多机构协作，其愿景将通过以下四个关键支柱的整合式研发发展实现：a）先进建造；b）韧性基础设施；c）新空间；以及d）更高可持续性。“明日城市”研发计划将汇聚产业、研究界与政府各界利益相关方协同合作，开发创新研发方案，以应对气候变化、基础设施老化、资源约束与空间需求等关键挑战。有关“明日城市”研发计划的更多详情见附件A。 建屋发展局（HDB）、伦敦帝国学院（Imperial College London，ICL）与资讯通信研究院（Institute for Infocomm Research，I2R）谅解备忘录（MOU）—— 建屋发展局、伦敦帝国学院与资讯通信研究院将签署谅解备忘录，开展研究项目，以扩展传感网络能力，并加强分析与预测建模的应用，从而改善城市环境中的规划与资源优化。此次合作将结合建屋发展局的技术专长与知识，以及伦敦帝国学院与资讯通信研究院的卓越研究能力，开发新系列能力，以感知、监测、建模、预测并管理多元数据、城市系统与活动。这将有助于优化组屋区维修保养，并提升居住环境质量。 预计将有逾1,000名来自政府机构、研究机构与私营企业的参会者出席为期两天的大会。主题“绿色城市，最佳家园”概括了本届大会的目标，聚焦土地—能源—水纽带的整合式研发方案。这与国家“研究、创新与企业2020”（RIE2020）城市解决方案与可持续性领域努力为新加坡人创造可持续且优质居住环境的方向一致。据此，共同主办伙伴名单已扩大，包括公用事业局（PUB）、能源市场管理局（EMA）及国家气候变化秘书处（NCCS）。 2017年国家发展部长研发奖 黄循财部长亦向五个杰出项目颁发国家发展部长研发奖，这些项目为国家发展部建设“温馨家园、卓越全球城市”的愿景作出贡献。获奖项目如下： 卓越奖 市区重建局项目（与I2R/A*STAR合作）——“开发地理信息系统赋能的测绘、建模与分析（GEMMA），以加强新加坡的规划流程并带来更佳规划成果”，因具备协作能力而获表彰，使跨机构规划人员可共同开展土地利用情景研究与基础设施分期计划。土地利用规划如今可更快完成，并获得更深入洞见。 优异奖 建屋发展局项目（与EDF及威立雅合作）——“组屋市镇复杂系统建模工具”因其显著提升组屋市镇宜居性而获嘉许。通过在单一整合平台上的模拟，建屋发展局如今能更准确地评估面对众多绿色举措时的权衡取舍。这使建屋发展局可评估不同举措对可持续性的整体成效，同时兼顾所涉成本与人力。 优异奖 陆路交通管理局（LTA）项目（与新加坡国立大学合作）——“悬臂式隔音屏障锯齿形边缘剖面”因相比陆交局传统隔音屏障可将可感知噪声水平降低达30%而获赞扬。除降低噪声外，该创新设计亦使陆交局在噪声削减覆盖方面可达隔音屏障高度的3倍。这一具成本效益且易于规模化的设计已在汤申—东海岸线东海岸段的陆交局工地实施。 特别表彰 建屋发展局项目（与南洋理工大学、新加坡国立大学、义安理工学院及新加坡理工学院合作）——“榜鹅亲自然水道——创新浮岛湿地与耐淡水红树林”因其在保护河岸、改善水质与促进生物多样性方面影响深远而获嘉许。相关举措实施以来，水道沿线已出现共计92种鸟类、11种蝴蝶及17种蜻蜓。水道每月检测显示，湿地植物与耐淡水红树林一道可将水质改善达30%。 特别表彰 裕廊集团（JTC）项目——“J-Ops”综合智慧园区与楼宇运营系统，因其在不大幅增加设施管理与维修人力及成本的情况下，降低能源使用、提升租户舒适度，并提高设施管理的生产力与效率而获嘉许。 有关国家发展部长研发奖及获奖项目的更多详情见附件B。 盛宝—能源市场管理局（EMA）能源挑战赛 黄循财部长将与参加盛宝—能源市场管理局能源挑战赛的30多支队伍会面。参赛者包括来自各本地高等学府（含工艺教育学院、理工学院与大学）的逾130名工程学生。各队将在模拟竞赛（“Power Quest”）中竞争，应对电力行业专业人士在工作中所面对的真实能源问题。有关能源市场管理局与盛宝在研发、技术及青年参与方面各项合作的更多信息见附件C。 有关城市可持续发展研发大会的更多信息，请浏览 http://www.mnd.gov.sg/urbansustainability/index.html。