Downtown Core (Singapore)

This article is about the urban planning area in Singapore. For the more general discussion, see Downtown.

A view of the Downtown Core of Singapore, with the Esplanade in the foreground.

The Downtown Core is a 266-hectare urban planning area in the south of the city-state of Singapore. The Downtown Core surrounds the mouth of the Singapore River and southeastern portion of its watershed, and is part of the Central Area, Singapore's central business district. It is one of the most dense areas in Singapore, even more than other divisions in the Central Area, to the extent that much of it is filled with skyscrapers. As its name implies, it forms the economic core of Singapore, including key districts such as Raffles Place and key administrative buildings such as the Parliament House, the Supreme Court and City Hall as well as numerous commercial buildings and cultural landmarks.

History

The mouth of the Singapore River contained the old harbour for the Port of Singapore, so naturally, the city grew around it. As a fledgling colony, the area which is now known as the Downtown Core was the financial, administrative and commercial centre of the colony. In 1823, Singapore was reorganised according to the Raffles Plan of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles, which specified elements like the Commercial Square (now Raffles Place) and the European Town as well as various other commercial and administrative entities located between them. This area later became the Downtown Core.

Gallery

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  The Downtown Core is one of the urban planning areas making up Singapore's Central Area, which is highlighted red.

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  The southern part of the Downtown Core, dominated by commercial buildings in Raffles Place and Shenton Way.

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  The northern part of the Downtown Core includes the Civic and Bugis areas. The City Hall and the Padang can be seen in the foreground.

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  The skyscrapers surrounding the centre of Raffles Place.

References

• "Downtown Core Planning Report 1995". Urban Redevelopment Authority. Archived from the original on 2007-06-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20070612192533/http://www.ura.gov.sg/dgp_reports/downtown/main.html. Retrieved 2007-07-15. 

External links

Singapore portal

• http://www.the-sail.com
• Draft Master Plan 2003 - Central Region
• Some snapshots from downtown Singapore