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

A Panorama of The Downtown Core

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 it 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. The Central Area is the collective term for a group of financial and commercial districts in centre of Singapore which was previously otherwise known as the Central Business District and was renamed to accommodate the expanded function of the area. ... A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ... Singapore is divided into 55 urban planning areas by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, organised into five regions. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate The Murray River in Australia A waterfall on the Ova da Fedoz, Switzerland A river is a large natural waterway. ... Singapore River The Singapore River is a small river in terms of physical attributes, but of extreme historical importance to the country of Singapore, the political entity which shares its name. ... A drainage basin is the area within the drainage basin divide (blue outline), and drains the surface runoff and river discharge (green lines) of a contiguous area. ... The Central Area is the collective term for a group of financial and commercial districts in centre of Singapore which was previously otherwise known as the Central Business District and was renamed to accommodate the expanded function of the area. ... The Central Business District of Sydney, Australia. ... For other uses, see Skyscraper (disambiguation). ... Modern-day Raffles Place, the financial heart of Singapore. ... Public Administration can be broadly described as the development, implementation and study of government policy. ... Parliament House The Parliament House of Singapore is a public building and cultural landmark and houses the Parliament of Singapore. ... The existing Supreme Court building houses the Supreme Court of Singapore, where it commenced operations on 20 June 2005 after more than 65 years at its old premises. ... City Hall & Old Supreme Court, Singapore The City Hall (Chinese: 政府大厦) in Singapore is a national monument gazetted on 14 February 1992. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Taj Mahal Big Ben Saint Basils Cathedral Azadi Square in Tehran For other senses of this word, see landmark (disambiguation). ...

History

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

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.

The skyscrapers surrounding the center of Raffles Place.

The mouth of the Singapore River contained the old harbour for the Port of Singapore, so naturally, the city grew up around it. Even 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, and specified elements like the Commercial Square (now Raffles Place) and the European Town as well as various other commercial and administrative entities located between the two areas. This would later become the Downtown Core. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1296x972, 442 KB) Description: Singapore city skyline at dusk as viewed from the Pan Pacific Singapore. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1296x972, 442 KB) Description: Singapore city skyline at dusk as viewed from the Pan Pacific Singapore. ... Modern-day Raffles Place, the financial heart of Singapore. ... Shenton Way (Chinese: 珊顿道) is a major trunk road in Singapores central business district, most known for the commercial skyscrapers flanking both sides of the road. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 149 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1024x768, 149 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... City Hall & Old Supreme Court, Singapore The City Hall (Chinese: 政府大厦) in Singapore is a national monument gazetted on 14 February 1992. ... An aerial view of Singapore, showing the Padang on the right, surrounded by Singapore Parliament building, new and old Supreme Court building and Swissôtel The Stamford. ... Modern-day Raffles Place, the financial heart of Singapore. ... Keppel Container Terminal in Singapore The Port of Singapore refers to the collective facilities and terminals that conduct maritime trade handling functions in Singapores harbours and which handle Singapores shipping. ... FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. ... 1823 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (6 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was the founder of the city (now country) of Singapore, and is one of the best-known of the many Britons who created the largest empire the world has ever seen. ... Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (6 July 1781 - 5 July 1826) was the founder of the city (now country) of Singapore, and is one of the best-known of the many Britons who created the largest empire the world has ever seen. ...

Problems

The main problem is high office and commercial space rents. In 2006 alone, rents approximately tripled for some units. This forced many tenants not to renew their tenancies and to seek less expensive premises outside the Downtown Core. Another serious problem is the lack of parking. This can only be overcome either by increasing parking charges (already regarded by Singaporean motorists as high) or providing more car park lots at new buildings in the area.

References

• Downtown Core Planning Report 1995. Urban Redevelopment Authority. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and one of the departments under the Government of Singapore. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ... is the 196th day of the year (197th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Draft Master Plan 2003 - Central Region
• Some snapshots from downtown Singapore