Despite being only 17 miles long and 31 miles wide, yet being home to over 5.6 million people, Singapore is still the greenest city and Asia, and the only Asian city on the global top 10 list of most sustainable cities. In my postcard I wanted to underscore the ways in which the people and government of Singapore are working to make the nation itself a sustainable system.
Along the bottom of the postcard are waves that represent Singapore’s innovation in making high-quality water universally accessible despite the challenges of being a densely populated island, through methods such as the reuse of reclaimed water, estuaries as freshwater reservoirs, seawater desalination, and the establishment of protected areas in urban rainwater catchments.
Emerging from the waves in the middle of the postcard are the signature Supertrees from Gardens by the Bay – an urban nature park – which are symbolic of the country’s ambition to have 80% of its buildings achieve Green Mark Certification by 2030. On the top left corner of the postcard is a cluster of Vanda Miss Joaquim orchids – the national flower – which is representative of the fact that Singapore is also known as The Garden City because of its abundant lush greenery and efforts to maintain vast public parks and nature reserves despite minimal land area.
The background, showing a radiant sun highlights the fact that being equatorially located, solar is Singapore’s most reliable renewable resource, and as such the country is advancing research in this space through the world’s largest floating solar photovoltaic testbed. Finally, the Merlion – the national symbol of Singapore – on the right side of the post card represents Singapore’s steady resolve in pursuing its goals toward a more sustainable future.
Work from:
Sustainable Systems with Professor Jan Mun
