This is a Singapore that is foreign to me. And yet, it’s not just what has sprung up on the reclaimed shores of the financial district that appears unfamiliar to me. Almost everywhere I go, something old has been replaced by something fresher or buildings are being given aesthetic surgery.

 

On Cecil Street, where my office is located, the façades of many old buildings (and, by old, I mean office towers that were built in the 1960s and 1970s) have undergone major facelifts. In fact, I had trouble finding my old office, masked as it was by newfangled neighbours.

 

Possibly no other country does urban renewal the way Singapore does. From the gleaming temples of luxury on Orchard Road and Marina Bay to the reincarnation of old-world neighbourhoods such as Tiong Bahru and Little India, the physical face of Singapore has changed. But, more than that, these transformations have come about in a relatively short space of time.

 

The recent remaking of Singapore has happened at such a swift pace that it has spawned a host of growing pains. Most palpably, it is felt in the quality of life and the cost of everyday living. There are now 5.18 million people on this tiny island. On the MRT, at the Louis Vuitton shops, in the heartland coffeeshops, there are people everywhere. In fact, Singapore has already become more crowded than Hong Kong. Government data as at end-June 2010 for both countries shows that Singapore had 7,126 persons per sq km while Hong Kong had 6,540.

 

On a global scale, Singapore’s population density ranks third, after Monaco and Macao, according to the UN’s 2010 World Population Data Sheet. A large part of the increase in the number of Singapore’s population has come from the import of foreign workers. This was most notable during 2007 and 2008 when the growth in the non-resident population jumped 14.9% and 19% respectively. These newcomers were largely brought in for the fast-growing services sector and for construction and manual jobs.

 

However, the population has also grown because of immigration. Between 2005 and 2009, the rise in permanent residents has been in the high single digits, with the biggest spikes charted in 2005 (8.5%) and 2009 (11.9%). Added to that, tourists have been streaming in to play Black Jack, go on amusement park rides and shop. International visitor arrivals have spiked 30% since 2005 and the numbers are on course for a new record in 2011. On average, Singapore has been getting a million visitors a month.