🇸🇬 earthrise - Singapore: Asia's Greenest City - earthrise (feature)

Known as Asia's greenest city, and with one of the highest population densities in the world, Singapore has long favoured innovative environmentally friendly ideas.
It's a low-lying island and city-state in which the majority of the population lives in high-rise public housing. However, challenges from rapid urbanisation, sea level rise and a changing climate are pushing planners and policymakers to find innovative ways of coping with the pressures of growing demand.
From vertical farms to living buildings, Singapore is on the cutting edge of environmentally sustainable urban solutions that have the best interest of the country's future at heart.
Russell Beard travels there to meet some of the entrepreneurs who are helping the island city-state earn its green title.

[@MultiSciGeek]

This is great! I think Singapore can really prove that big cities can be green and comfortable.

[@Realist-sh3dg]

Visited Singapore in 1964. Amazing transformation.

[@fakuri913]

wait, how old are you?

[@Realist-sh3dg]

e smith 73

[@truthseeker000000]

Please come visit Singapore again sometime soon!

[@acajudi100]

Ernie Hacker 1995, but I kept up.

[@darrendelong]

WOw, that was before Singapore gain independence. You should come Singapore again.

[@rashidalm6705]

Wish more cities were like this.

[@canadiandude24]

Toronto is pretty green, look at it on google maps its 50% forest

[@krollpeter]

It is not the number of trees or the % of green space alone. There are high numbers of old trucks, busses and vans that really pollute. Especially construction equipment is literally breath-taking here. Or, government is keeping everything looking nice by re-painting frequently. Often that would not be needed, a bit of touching-up or facade cleaning would yield the same result. Many public places are kept freezing cold by air-con systems. Draping a bit ivy around the high rise buildings makes it looking a bit lesser inhuman, but for the overall climate it does not do much. The historical decision against the own food industry in Singapore should be re-thought. Now certain food items have eye popping price tags, among them some types of vegetables. On an individual level, people's behaviour is much more wasteful in comparison to where I come from. The usage of plastic bags is abundant, the water-wasting type of top-loading washers commonly used here, or driving shortest distances by car are some examples. The unwillingness to maintain things is actually scary. People dump things instantly if something does not work anymore well or does not look good anymore, they don't bother with repairs or cleaning. Most cars are taken off the road before they even reach 10 years of age.

[@jeremywck8757]

Peter Kroll And where do you come from? Singapore is not perfect, but, we do our best with what we have. We are not there yet, but, which country is? Realistically, can Singapore be food-independent? The Del Monte plantation in Cacayan De Oro, Philippines is bigger than the whole of Singapore!! Which country in the world do not import some food items, even if they produce the same items locally? Individual behavior is exactly that, individual .... It is very much dependent of family values and upbringing, etc. Tell me where you come from and I will point out all that is not right with your country too. You do not fully understand the situation and circumstances and you are here complaining, condemning and criticizing. Give credit when credit is due and give constructive criticisms instead of "we are so much better where I come from" Can you be more mature, gracious and objective?

[@laturista1000]

Maybe San Francisco can get on board with this? They are smart and open to new thinking. Sustainable future is the only way to go or else the laws of physics will decide our fate. Humans cannot go against the law of physics.

[@paulmacfarlane207]

People are to greedy it will never work .We are doomed to destroy this good Earth.

[@summerc.5369]

I just came back from visiting Singapore two days ago. It is even greener than I remembered it to be. I applaud them for always making room for greeneries despite land constraints. Despite its increasing population, I still saw a lot of open spaces, parks, and gardens. Gardens by the Bay is much bigger than I anticipated. My feet hurt trying to find my way out!

[@nickngunjiri4282]

Amazing. I wish in Kenya we can adopt this. Kudos Singaporeans

[@NewmaticKe]

Both countries started on the same footing in 1963

[@mohamedburhan7260]

@@NewmaticKe one is a country and another is a city state

[@NewmaticKe]

@@mohamedburhan7260 is it country?

[@kibetronoh2376]

Nick in Kenya we still have large tracts of land. Everybody in the countryside grows their own veggies. I bet in Singapore food is way expensive than in Kenya. But sure in the future when Kenya is densely populated then our descendants will have to adopt vertical farming.

[@NewmaticKe]

@@kibetronoh2376 Anything in Singapore is way expensive than Kenya. GDP per capita ppp is 60x

[@leandrogabrielsalviagarram9224]

This demonstrates modern cities can be sustainable

[@angelyroses]

This is super inspiring and mind-blowing, especially the vertical-garden farm, so self-sustaining. I love it.

[@Rajiveee]

This is why still am subscribed to Al jazeera, just when i get dissapointed how a very narrow opinion is propagated in this channel you get this gem of a show.... Just amazing work by both AL jazeera and Singapore

[@Joy3269]

God Bless Singapore. And May God Bless All our Singaporean Brothers & Sisters. We pray of the Peace, Progress Growth, Development Success, Military Power, Industrial Growth, Happiness & Prosperity of Singapore. Wish that all the Cities, Nations & Places in this World could be like Singapore. God Bless You All. Thank You.

[@kitchentimeinc]

My favorite city in the world, this coming from growing up with New York City.

[@iwanmuzaki8049]

thank you! how does singapore compare with new york city?

[@bethroesch2156]

This is a great idea and I think it has so many benefits for the whole community. Food, something to do for retired people or just to relax, a stronger sense of community, more people caring about how the whole neighborhood looks, the green definitely makes the city seem less harsh and being in a large, crowded concrete jungle, it would just be nice to feel connected to the Earth.

[@aaronb6741]

The WOHA Future Cities Concepts definitely look really cool. Would absolutely love to live in cities like that.

[@fredrickmigwe1101]

travelling is opening eyes to new things

[@flylcarusfly]

Thank you for this series, Al Jazeera.

[@fez877]

Happy to know our govenment is planning and taking initiatives, we still have a long way to go

[@smokebyshousugibangallery4550]

Hi Fez, We are a local furniture company in Singapore and we are glad that you believe in being sustainable. Many trees in SG are being chopped down for reasons such as clearing space for buildings. We reclaim and recycle this precious wood to be sustainable and also preserve SG’s heritage. Check out our video on this! :)

[@albyblue9535]

Singapore is A beautiful, peaceful, friendly and Great country. Eventhough is a little bit expensive for living cost. But its good!

[@lourembamrakesh6876]

Green City is the Greatest Masterpiece I have seen so far, wow this is real rocking 🤘😁🤘 this video need billions like.

[@assanemballo9796]

wow's so nice

[@chandrakanthuppari4048]

Singapore is a very good country And Singaporean people are very nice...i love the weather Very peaceful & calm

[@whyudontaddme]

I am surprise you love the weather. I love Singapore weather in the 80s, where temperature was under 28 degree Celsius, and I can run around under the sun from morning 8am till 10am. Now the sun is so painful on the skin. I hope that the effort that Singapore is making, will slow down global warming if not reverse this trend.

[@bernkoh1906]

Thank you

[@Koric135]

You love the weather?? WOW

[@bbcpersian3342]

We love Singapore yeah

[@Nicole-xr5gz]

Proud to be a Singaporean

[@kimoykalinago4154]

just beautiful!!! love this show

[@s0hail1]

Impressive

[@SufeeSyed19]

I love you Singapore

[@zzero9438]

seriously the best country in the world. and one without western democracy. that makes us think.

[@MarviRafaelMontecillo]

really? seems like they score one of the highest as having a free market

[@betatuberaggy]

z h, there's no prove that Spore is the best country in the world.

[@charliechanbkk195308]

Democracy created by the Cabal has been the focus on mind control to get people divided and controlled by grouping them in different groups, say, left centre and right ideologies. Now, these different ideas will start to see things differently and always contradict one another's as Cabal imposed WESTERN DEMOCRACY on all Developing Countries which literacy is in questions on understanding and agreeing each other's, now can you see why the world had always been on the conflicts every single day. So, do you think Democracy is really a solution to your Country? Democracy will work to a better degree if country's development and level of literacy are at par.

[@lotto5742]

All there is to do in Singapore is shop.

[@cccPaKYccc]

But Singapore is democracy.

[@assanemballo9796]

Oh waw

[@noveggiepls]

oh wow!

[@MrKadappan]

I love Singapore

[@siewhuang77]

A great transformation for Singapore.

[@sanjuansteve]

I was living in a condo tower in Puerto Rico and wanted to rent another apartment, set it up as a total indoor garden, rent a room in the garden apt for someone that would help maintain the garden, and then open for business as a grocery store / pick it yourself living farmer's market within the tower. It could also supply food for neighboring restaurants too and I think the concept could easily make for a good business model. I imagine one in half of all towers or other dense residential developments.

[@lyledeyounges1276]

Singapore is leading the way - it's great! You see it in many new urban plan projects in Europe now. It's a concept where you can't help thinking "why didn't we do this before...?!". It improves quality of life - that should be the focus in the future... no, now.

[@umshookcluck3613]

LyleDeYounges Yeah, alot of countries now are changing their ways, alot of volunteers in cleaning, saving the world.

[@user-ey3dz6cw2v]

Great! Singapore can participate in ABU Competition.

[@DurgeshKumar-zq1pg]

Cool

[@GarvitSingh-yg3jf]

goog video

[@GKP999]

To keep up with population growth, mainly through immigration, so much land that used to be green has been developed. And as a result of this rampant development, the temperature in Singapore has gone up. It has become much hotter now than when I was a child then.

[@rosewoodfarms]

This is a wonderful dream that is being implemented and with vision of future growth. I loved this video, bravo!!

[@smokebyshousugibangallery4550]

Hi Rose Courtney, We are a local furniture company in Singapore and we are glad that you believe in being sustainable. Businesses have a lot of power to make significant changes and should pave the way to being sustainable. Do check out our video on how we help reclaim SG’s precious trees. :)

[@bengyangtan2910]

I am a singaporean. I agree

[@alphestanley7194]

Malaysia could’ve continued the green infrastructure for example in selangor there is a building with about 8- 20 kilos worth of plants not a lot buts still

[@jh9301]

Good initiatives but not much momentum. Singapore is indeed a very top down society thus it will take much effort to make such ideas widespread.

[@matt6582]

Wish my country was rich enough to do all this . Alas , we are not

[@vuramvincent721]

what is the name of the building with red screen facade where the vegetation was growing ?

[@dliwmartian]

Oasia Hotel Downtown.The red aluminium mesh exterior supports more than 50 different species of plants, Designed by the same award-winning local firm - WOHA

[@vuramvincent721]

@@dliwmartian thank you

[@shoaib619]

wow

[@jakeryker546]

Oh singapore!

[@scin3759]

Asia taking the lead in sustainable living. Kudos for China too! As Murikkka sinks to the bottomless pit.

[@robinsurya3831]

Did we just have bjarke ingels as the host of the documentary?

[@irishfruitandberries9059]

Now imagine if every city did the same!??

[@agusmaulanaramdhono5265]

Yeah and park royal will operated in jakarta!!

[@fordgt402]

The forest in Yishun is gone , not much green left

[@keefyboi5307]

Yishun still have and dont dare to call Yishun destroit because its part of Singapore too.

[@bernkoh1906]

Yishun area is hot and humid.

[@krollpeter]

The temperature of Singapore island increased 5 degrees Celsius after concrete-sation? I did not know that. Now people, look.

[@zebimicio5204]

Peter Kroll it does. it's hotter than kl!

[@krollpeter]

I noticed in the evenings KL is much more pleasant, weather-wise.

[@greencityagri-tech.7505]

make green your city

[@leezhieng]

Singapore is heaven for the rich, not so much for the middle class and the poor.

[@MrJonslife]

Lee maybe you havent really seen the world.

[@certifiedbruh2180]

Hey im middle class. Im content with life

[@NewmaticKe]

I have a good life, my parents and kids too.

[@markoh210]

Lee you must be living in your country cave or jungle.

[@ultimaxed8239]

I would choose to live in Singapore over Malaysia in any single day

[@pratheepyoutube9417]

good morning now03/02/2018

[@syedjaffer2125]

is there any other city in Asia that can compete with Singapore?😟

[@truthseeker000000]

Yes...Seoul, Tokyo, Bangkok, Taipei, Shanghai, Hong Kong.... Like Singapore, they are all dynamic and cutting edge! They may not look as green as Singapore where I’m from, but they are incredible cities, unique in their own way!

[@ygt626]

tvee Not bangkok trust me.. KL maybe

[@MrJermson]

KL? You must be joking

[@ygt626]

MrJermson Why not?

[@arunlimbu9748]

Hong Kong

[@pinangjawa]

The one who owns land for gardening must be very rich.

[@truthseeker000000]

Only about 12-15 % of Singaporeans actually own their landed homes (houses not apartments). The rest live in high rise apartments

[@umshookcluck3613]

pinangjawa Everyone should do this.. use money for our benefits, improving the world and reviving it

[@mtksbctk]

still feels like a steam bath tho

[@jeremywck8757]

mtksbctk What to do when we are just 1 degree above the equator? But, we will find a way someday to air condition and/or climate-control the whole place.

[@mohdbinmuhammadasahbtmuham1418]

Saya rindu pada Singapura negara bersih di dunia dulu saya kerja kat Singapore tahun 90an suka naik MRT pusing pusing tengok bandar tengok pangsapuri cantik cantik belaka woww majulah Singapura negara yang cantik dan bersih ,💜💓💓💜💝💜💜😎😎💓😂 .

[@NewmaticKe]

Dont like the climate? Fine, we'll fix that too

[@Wolfangs88]

Anno 2070

[@mubashirali3777]

it looks animated

[@maggieadams8600]

I watched a video yesterday about how Singapore is buying up Cambodia's sand from the Cambodian coast line, and from the Cambodian government, but the people who live on Cambodia's coast, and the mangrove forests that thrive there, plus everything that lives within the shore line is being destroyed, so I'm not impressed with Singapore's "green" qualities.

[@whaatt6791]

That's been stopped since 2012, I saw that recently too

[@maggieadams8600]

@@whaatt6791 Oh I didn't know it had been stopped, thanks for letting me know and putting the record straight, I am relieved! :)

[@greyjay9202]

Dressing up a building in a shaggy layer of plants, does not make it "green." It makes it a high maintenance building, requiring a staff of people to tend to all that plant life. A green building is one which minimizes energy use, for heating, cooling, and lighting.

[@michaelwoods3850]

Due to covid-19 we no longer have to worry about over population

[@user-xs9js7rj8f]

Wish an Indian city would be like that

[@paulr1125]

Singapore has changed its own climate with the massive spread of concrete buildings and tarmac , all of which are heat sinks , and buildings above 8 floors which are far from ecological . Singapore is also number on in the world for light pollution and nobody talks about this wasted energy ,

[@tauceti8060]

How can 5 million people fit in an area of 300 square miles?

[@nexu6517]

Alpha581 Tolerance and unity

[@ClickOpenPlay]

Alpha581 Tall buildings, 75% of apartment blocks are 15 storeys and above

[@tauceti8060]

ClickOpenPlay Ok

[@milktoast8071]

Alpha581 lots of tolerance

[@jarenong]

we have daily purge killings. destresss

[@mazharjofficial3476]

What about the emission of CO2 in night time at those building? Isn’t it harmful for humans as the plants emit CO2 at night

[@PissMenn]

Actually some Indonesian small island were gone to extend the land of this so called environmentaly friendly city.

[@NewmaticKe]

$

[@ngrobert5054]

how about u come Malaysia I huge land

[@wayne2109]

The architect has a half singlish half ang mo accent

[@haebee]

the main problem is the ever-increasing population. it should be reduced to about 4 million to be comfortable. but that will never happen because.... politics.

[@JoseGomez-xd6fg]

A green city/country, yes. But at what cost? Watch "A Disappearing World: Singapore is harvesting land from Cambodia".- on The Atlantic's KZbin channel.

[@madeyzue]

singapore for work(job) JB Malaysia for home(rest) places and ground are wealth.

[@TubersAndPotatoes]

Singapore is running out of land, they have plans to start building underground. Can they really keep their green spaces, fighting against big money developers. If they really want to be green (plants, not about minimizing environmental impact), they need to be serious about green roof. If they can have the entire top areas of shopping malls become gardens, parks,and recreational public space, then I'd day Singapore has truely succeed as a "green" phyto friendly city.

[@johnchua1087]

TubersAndPotaties Find me another sovereign city state of this size and population that has 40% greenery and improving then I will buy your logic. Talk is cheap. People are zealous when someone appreciate what Singapore has done moreover Al Jazeera is not paid to do this so chill up.

[@fixxzitt]

The city is actually a whole country. In that persepective, it’s not the greenest.

[@ikrar26]

So singapore is a biggest city in the world or what ?

[@mrl6912]

Come to Forest City Country Garden to experience the prime model of future City.

[@ernestkj]

Yes, best location between the most 2 polluted industrial sites in Singapore and Johor port!

[@NewmaticKe]

Have you been?

[@BlackForesterSUV]

An almost empty city. Artificially constructed with 4 man made islands to house half a million people. This concept totally destroyed the eco system. Phase 1 and 2, almost sold out to China Chinese. If u are not rich, this place is not for u. When u talk about green, it must be sustainable, and for everybody, not just for rich and a one nationality, the Chinese.

[@ultimaxed8239]

Lol and 5 years later the Johor green city is just another PRC ghost town, just imported into Malaysia 🤣🤣

[@fazrulazlanmohdramly5669]

Is it true singaporean drinks their own processed urine? Its called Nuwater..

[@justnonsious8117]

#Punned!

[@dorupanda1437]

Water is always recycled, don't think that the water you drank has never been in someone's urine, feaces or corpse water. Its called water cycle. In fact Newater is cleaned from SG's sewage water and is stripped from every dirt and particle and is sterilised many times to the point that all bacteria is efficiently filtered, even the good molecules is lost. Newater is so pure that there is no nutrients compared to natural distilled water.

[@certifiedbruh2180]

NEWater. We use high-tech filtration systems to make sure germs are completely eliminated to treat sewage

[@whyudontaddme]

The reservoirs in Johore are so dry due to prolong drought, even those under Singapore management. So how did Singapore provide treated water for people in Johore? Yes, that is right, Malaysians are drinking Singapore's processed pee as well. Don't worry, you won't taste any difference, because it is pure water after reverse osmosis.

[@johnlzr]

We try to close the water cycle by recycling water. It's the same as astronauts on the international space station or submariners in a submarine who can survive months without additional sources of water. This is one aspect that makes Singapore green as well.

[@treopolis13]

except they stole 72 million tonnes of sand from Cambodia...

[@ajwamhadena2758]

Next time before you comment, do some research. Don't be mean and make false accusation. Singapore has stopped buying sand from Cambodia since 2012 and sand was definitely not stolen.

[@fafafifufu]

To spread lies and false infos are bad enough! But to display your ignorance and stupidity ....what do you strive for to fit in this society actually?

[@zafiraa9799]

You mean Cambodian government are that ignorant to have outsiders stealing sand and lands from them in broad daylight? Cmon!

[@maan1450]

Do some reading first before false accusations. Dun jus watch youtube all day where all is fed to you. Read/watch news and investigative journalism. It might be good for your brain too.

[@johnlzr]

You might like to educate yourself on this matter. The sand was bought legitimately from the Cambodian government. Nothing was stolen. This is a form of international trade. Countries buy resources from each other all the time. Iron, Coal, Marble, Precious and Rare metals and Oil. Why do you not accuse India of stealing Oil from Oil-producing nations or the US and Japan of stealing Rare metals for chip and EV production? Additionally, Singapore has stopped importing sand from Cambodia since 2012.

[@ligametis]

Cities still look a lot less beautiful than they were before ww2. At least they are upon ugly 1960-2000s buildings.

[@BS-xl7pm]

Manila is more greener

[@zaslouis3011]

green city but forcing teenager to serve national service

[@njay2752]

Honestly, two years of my life isn't much to ask for in return for a great military presence in the region, furthermore, the friends that can be made and values and other things that can be learnt would be invaluable to helping young ones integrate into society.

[@hahahalolx89]

Wooo. You just go to every video about Singapore and just mention about national service. I swear the video could be about the best laksa in Singapore and your response will be "ya great laksa but people are forced to serve in the military". And even after I tried to explain why we need national service. I guess a troll will just be a troll.

[@njay2752]

Raizulee1 Well you probably got nothing because you didn't want to, sure as heck people improved themselves from the experience just like all other experiences in life. For the record, NSmen get paid now. Also, you seem very jealous of those politicians with high amounts of income. Instead of complaining, why not be proactive and do something productive that can help you improve yourself. A start for doing something productive is to take my advice instead of starting a pointless argument ;)

[@zaslouis3011]

i'm sorry but singapore surely can be like australia or even canada and avoid military conscription.most of the country who has been affected by world war 1 & 2 disband their military conscription after 2010 . futhermore god create us to live a wonderful life and not get dragged into national service just because the threat are coming from muppets who wear suits. 2 years of life is precious buddy.

[@freeman3591]

zaslouis only idiot coward say forcing

[@ehbeesee2229]

Green yes but alot man made artificial things here.

[@arifsudarsono6509]

Why singapore is so boring ? 😂

[@NewmaticKe]

Look at your face...anything else is boring in comparison

[@albyblue9535]

Its not boring. Perhaps cos u dont stay there. I often come to singapore, and always be satisfied. Singapore is a safe and beautiful country.

[@albyblue9535]

@@NewmaticKe ignore him, man. Peace from Berlin. German 💙 Singapore.

[@ultimaxed8239]

Indon very salty🤣

[@rajasvlogs2061]

Not many Singaporean people to live this country because Singapore is too small. So they lived in Malaysia which is Johor

[@ernestkj]

wonder where u got this idea from? its Malaysian who work in Singapore lives across the border in Johor where its cheaper. Singaporeans who stays in Johor, Malaysia are really very little in ratio.

[@rajasvlogs2061]

Ernest Kwok cheaper in Malaysia but not Singapore, it's too expensive

[@rajasvlogs2061]

Ernest Kwok and now the workers are currently build and create a new island called forest city near in Johor.

[@weldon29]

AmericavJapan 1909 not a lot of Singaporeans live in jb, it is mostly the Malaysians who work in Singapore that live there

[@rajasvlogs2061]

nah i dont think so