Forest project puts Singapore’s ‘city in nature’ vision to the test

Much of her time living in the western estate of Sunset Way revolves around the adjacent forest, where she and her family watch hornbills glide over the canopy.

“The neighbourhood lives with the forest,” said the media producer, 68. “It has shaped the character of our home and community.”

But the chirps and faint crickets may soon become a lived memory. On July 10, Singapore’s Housing Development Board (HDB) announced plans to clear about 15 of 23 hectares (56.8 acres) of Maju forest for public housing in the coming years.

Residents like Teoh have since called for greater transparency in the planning process. “Seeing a place so rich in life reduced to a coloured polygon on a planning map was devastating,” she said. “It felt like watching a living neighbour transformed into a development parcel.”

Educator Anna Ng chose to build a home at Clementi’s Sunset Way some two decades ago to allow her children to grow up alongside nature in a city state filled with skyscrapers. “When the kids were young they could just ride their bikes around the estate and even wander into the forest,” she said.