Urban Redevelopment Authority

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (Abbreviation: URA; Chinese: 市区重建局; Malay: Penguasa Pembangunan Semula Bandar) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Singapore Government.

Not to be confused with Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh.
"市区重建局" redirects here. For the agency in Hong Kong with the same acronym and Chinese name, see Urban Renewal Authority.

Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore
Logo of the URA
Agency overview
Formed1 April 1974 (1974-04-01) (as Urban Redevelopment Authority)
1 September 1989 (1989-09-01) (as Urban Redevelopment Authority)
JurisdictionGovernment of Singapore
HeadquartersThe URA Centre, 45 Maxwell Road, Singapore 069118
Agency executives
  • Peter Ho Hak Ean, Chairman
  • Lim Eng Hwee, Chief Executive Officer
Parent agencyMinistry of National Development
Websiteura.gov.sg
The URA Centre at Maxwell Road.

Mission

The authority was established on 1 April 1974, and is of especially critical importance to the city-state, because Singapore is an extremely dense country where land usage is required to be efficient and maximised to reduce land wastage in the face of land shortage.

URA's responsibilities

Land use planning

URA's main responsibility is land-use planning. URA planners devise both long-term strategic land use plans and medium-term plans which are reviewed every five to ten years. These plans designate the land use and urban density for the entirety of Singapore, which is divided by URA into 55 planning areas.[1]

Development control

This is the responsibility of URA to evaluate and grant planning approval for development projects from the public and private sectors. In approving development applications, the URA states its goal is to foster orderly development conforming to the planning guidelines as stated in the statutory Master Plan and the existing control factors. URA tries to provide quality service when working in partnership with building industry professionals and the general public to foster development.

Urban design

URA is responsible for the urban design of the city. For areas of special interest, such as the Singapore River area, the Orchard Road shopping belt, and Marina Bay URA devises specific medium and short-term urban design and land use plans. It also works with other government agencies in enhancing the city's urban design.[1]

Building conservation

Building conservation in Singapore is the responsibility of URA, which issued a Conservation Master Plan in 1989. This plan laid down guidelines and processes for the conservation of culturally and historically significant buildings.[2] More than 7000 buildings in Singapore have been gazetted as conserved buildings.

Land sales

URA also sells land by tender on behalf of the Singapore government to meet demand from private developers.[1] URA deals with tenders for government land and applications to buy reserved land.

Car park management

The URA plays an important role in managing all public car parks outside of Housing Development Board estates. It provides information and services to the public in regard to coupon parking, season parking and heavy vehicle parking. URA also sets the bylaws to parking infringement and fines.

The URA Centre

In keeping with URA's function as the authority for urban design in Singapore, the URA Centre was conceptualised by URA's in-house architects. Kenzō Tange Associates and Kajima Design Asia Pte Ltd served as design consultants. The building consists of two blocks: a 16-floor tower block, and a 5-floor podium block.[3]

Main article: Singapore City Gallery

The URA maintains a regular and ever updated public urban planning exhibition on the first three floors of their headquarters. Highlights include three scale models of the island of Singapore, the central region, and the central area. Special exhibits and models on current projects and developments island-wide are regularly displayed as well.

  • Model in the lobby of the URA building.
  • Scale model of the island found in the Singapore City Gallery.
  • The Singapore City Gallery Exhibit - URA is responsible for the urban planning of Singapore.

See also

References
  1. "About Us". Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  2. "Singapore Conservation Program". Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  3. "Construction Excellence Awards 2000". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
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