Land as a Scarce Resource

• Land is an important resource - used for various purposes to meet our needs.

• total amount of land available in every country is limited.

• only 1/3 of the earth’s surface is land and of this, about half is covered by mountains, deserts, ice and swamps (pp 6)

• = scarcity or shortage of land to be developed for various uses.

• = amount of land that can be developed for various uses is limited.

= Land constraint

Scarcity of land in Singapore requires careful planning to maximize landuse

Reasons for Land Constraint

• housing

• industries

• agriculture

• towns and cities (urbanisation)

• Recreation

Housing

• As a result of rapid population growth in the last few decades, more land is needed for human activities.

• As a population grows, there will be increasing demand for housing.

• Singapore has built high-rise HDB apartments to meet the increasing demand for housing.

Industries

• To provide jobs for a growing population, the expansion of manufacturing industries and businesses is essential. Land has to be set aside for the growth of industries.

Towns and Cities

Rising demand for land

• The development of transport systems is impt for the efficient movement of people, goods & materials as a country develops.

The integration of transport networks (e.g air, sea and land) is necessary for a modern economy like Singapore to function well

Integration of transport networks at Ang Mo Kio hub

Eg. MRT -> Bus / Walk / Taxi

Agriculture

• As populations grow, countries have to find more arable land to produce food for their people. Thus, there will be increasing demand for arable land.

Arable land is land that is suitable for the growing of crops

Leisure and recreation

Rising demand for land

• With more people, there will be increasing demand for recreational spaces.

• Land will be needed for a wide range of amenities like golf courses, swimming pools, parks, gardens and nature reserves.

• For example, in the upcoming Marina Bay development, large areas of Marina South, Centre and East are set aside for ‘Gardens by the Bay’ and a golf course, along with the ‘Singapore Flyer’.

Reclaimed land

Limited supply of land

• Land makes up only about 30% of the Earth’s surface.

• However, not all land types are available for use. Some examples are swamps, marshes, low-lying coastal areas, deserts, land damaged by poor farming practices and abandoned mines.

An abandoned mine and its man-made hills of mining waste

Little Guilin used to be a granite quarry

Limited supply of land

• Even when there is available land, it may be designated for specific uses, such as water catchment areas. This leaves limited areas of land for other purposes such as industry and housing.

• In Singapore, more than half of the total land area is used for military training areas and water catchment areas.

Rising demand for land results from population growth

- increasing demand for housing

- growth of industries

- development of transport systems

- increasing demand for arable land

- increasing demand for recreational spaces

Limited supply of land

- not all land are readily available for use

- land may be reserved for certain uses

- Responses to rising demand for land

• The rising demand for limited land results in increased competition between different groups of people.

• Land scarcity and increased competition compel people to make decisions on how to best utilise a piece of land.

• The cost of not being able to use the same piece of land for its next best use is known as opportunity cost. E.g.:

• 1. The opportunity cost of building a hospital is the loss of the land used to build an MRT station for the residents.

Responses to land constraint

1. Increasing the price of land

• Some parts of the land are more expensive than others:

– near to transportation networks

– near to resources

– near to coastal areas

• Since there are so many competing needs, we should let those who need it more have the land

• But HOW do we know who needs it more?

• The concept of price mechanism.

Relocation of the population

Resettlement scheme… transmigration. E.g. Indonesia:

(recall map of Indonesia … Sumatra, Sulawesi, Irian Jaya, Kalimantan, W Timor)Population relocated from densely populated Java / Madura islands to sparsely populated islands).

Conserving land

• ensure that damage is kept to a minimum.

• Setting aside land for nature reserves is a method of conserving land.

• Nature reserves are protected for their natural heritage

Land clearance by deforestation

• a process whereby empty plots of land are created for various landuses.

• Demolish old buildings

• Deforestation to build homes and grow crops (pg 13)

Negative impact:

Forest fires breaking out

Rain forests are shrinking at a rate of 100 acres per minute...

Land Reclamation

• creation of dry land from an area covered by water

• process of recovering land that is damaged and abandoned and making it usable again.

• Landfill, empoldering and reclaiming derelict land are three methods of reclaiming land.

Brown areas: Reclaimed land in San Francisco Bay

Land reclamation: Landfill

• draining waterlogged areas such as swamps and marshes and filling them with material like sand to form dry land

Land reclamation: Restoring derelict land

• Derelict land refers to land that is badly damaged and cannot be used effectively.

• Land can be damaged by human activities and natural disasters like forest fires and severe floods.

Derelict land caused by human activities …

1. Improper farming practices

• when crops are continually grown, harvested and not given enough time to replace its nutrients.

• Excessive ploughing of land may cause soil erosion

• Animal grazing: Lack of natural vegetation (forest) and hence lack of plant roots to bind soil particles together

• Accelerated Soil erosion = removal of topsoil which contains the nutrients to sustain vegetation growth

[human induced desertification]

2. Mining activities

• Extraction and drilling for mineral ores permanently scars and disturbs the land surface

• Mining produces waste that contains toxic metals which may pollute groundwater and nearby water bodies.

How derelict land is reclaimed

• add fertilisers to restore the nutrients in the soil.

• derelict land damaged by mining activities

-> spoil banks have to be levelled and mining pools filled

-> Chemicals can be introduced to treat acidic soil and vegetation planted to prevent soil erosion.

• mines are expensive to restore

Land reclamation:Empoldering

• Empoldering - method of creating land from the sea through the use of polders.

• A polder is a piece of land in a low-lying area that has been reclaimed from a body of water by building dikes and drainage canals.

• commonly carried out in low-lying coastal areas

Land reclamation: Effectiveness of land reclamation

• limits to the amount of land a country can reclaim.

• Limitations of the current technology in landfill method

• cost of reclaiming land from deeper waters

• availability of sand for reclamation

• dispute over national territorial boundaries

• Land Reclamation in Singapore

• Land reclamation works in the past used to be carried out from depths of 5-10m. Today, reclamation works have to venture into deeper waters of 15m or so and this will incur much higher costs.

• It is also not so viable to pursue pushing reclamation further offshore because there is the competing need to maintain the sealanes and provide new and larger ports for the bigger ships to anchor in Singapore's limited sea space.

• Sand issue? Indonesia and neighbouring countries refusing to sell us sand

Impact of land reclamation (landfill)

When coastal habitats like mangrove swamps are reclaimed, the marine life and birds may lose their habitats and die.

Maximizing existing landuse

Maximising urban landuse in landuse planning:

• mixed landuse and

• high density building

e.g. Tokyo built upwards.

Advantages of mixed landuse Disadvantages of mixed landuse

convenience of having homes, jobs, services and facilities in the same area.

Construction and reconstruction -> costly

Wide range of amenities ensures that the needs of many users are met

increase in traffic congestion noise and

air pollution

High density building

• construction of taller buildings

• Such areas are known as high density areas because there are many people working or living per unit area.

• E.g. hong kong

Advantages of high density building

Disadvantages of high density building

scarce land is freed up for other landuses such as conservation and military installations.

crowded environment, traffic congestion and higher noise levels.

Reduce rate at which green spaces are developed

increase in stress levels and reduction of quality of life.

Maximising agriculture land use

• Terracing is the method of creating flat strips of land by cutting a series of steps into hill slopes.

• Irrigation is the watering of crops through artificial means.

• Soil-less farming is the method of growing crops without the use of soil.

Terracing

• hilly areas used to cultivate crops

• commonly used in the Philippines and Indonesia.

• Not a new method.

• thousands of years old.

Advantages of terracing

Disadvantages of terracing

inexpensive Difficult to construct

The bunds prevent the soil from being washed away

A lot of effort is needed to maintain the terraces after they are constructed.

Risk of soil erosion

flat land -> possible for modern machinery to be used, thus making farming more efficient

Irrigation

• allows farmers to grow crops in water-scarce areas

• initial costs of modern irrigation systems are high

-> modern irrigation systems are not widely used in many developing countries.

Advantages of irrigation Disadvantages of irrigation

grow greater amounts and wider varieties of crops.

May hold stagnant waters -> breeding sites for bacteria, mosquitoes and other pests.

areas that were previously unsuitable for cultivation can now be made arable.

poor drainage -> waterlogged -> damage to crops.

Computerised irrigation systems -> reducing the need for human labour.

high amounts of dissolved mineral salts in river water can cause damage to crops.

Expensive, especially in cases where a dam needs to be built

Soil-less farming

• enables crops to be grown closer together

• Eg. hydroponics and aeroponics.

Advantages of soil-less farming Disadvantages of soil-less farming

Plants can be grown closer together ->more crops can be grown at the same time

Costly to invest in high technology equipment and specially prepared nutrient solutions for plants

sufficient amounts of nutrients distributed evenly to the crop at regular intervals

prevent the growth of weeds or insects.

not practical in countries where farmers do not receive enough training to enable them to operate the high technology equipment

Land Use Planning in Singapore

Background:

• Land use planning authority in Singapore: Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)

– Role of URA:

• Prepare long-term strategic plans (Concept Plans) and medium term plans (Master Plans) to ensure sufficient land for future developments and to support continued economic growth.

– Land Use Planning Slogan: Make Singapore a place to Live, Work and Play

Land Use Planning Strategies

1. Land reclamation

2. Soil-less farming

3. Building upwards

4. High density building

5. Mixed land use

Master Plan 2008

1. New Business Hubs – Jurong, Paya Lebar (office, hotels, retail, residential, waterfront leisure destinations)

2. Living it up – more living options – Marina South, Kallang Bugis (river residences)

3. Serious about having fun – recreation at Lim Chu Kang, waterbodies, night life, arts

4. Home endearing homes – rejuvenation of older HDB homes

Resolve land constraint problem

Eg. max retail space in orchard by building an underground orchard mega-mall linking all shopping centres together