Walking for Fun: What Made a Trip to Singapore Memorable

Last year, I had a leisure trip with my family to Singapore for a change of pace from the bustle of being a dad and an architect. For such trips, my wife and I prefer the relaxed and slow day approach of walking and taking mass transit over a guided tour. We like to see the sights and feel the walk to a destination so to speak, for the strongest memories are often connected to a physical action, and though walking may seem a mundane activity to ponder in this way, there are whole literatures and musings about how it actually forms the foundation of contentment and creativity in the human mind.

Singapore, for me, embodies this feeling of how walking from one place to another creates strong memories that endures better than a guided tour will ever give. I remember fondly the journey my family took to reach the Gardens by the Bay; from the hotel, we walk a few blocks to the nearest train station at Singapore Management University.

The underground station here was amazing, having light from the pools of the Mirror Fountain Railways reach the lower levels of the train station. We then took the train (if I remember correctly, the DT Line) to reach Bayfront station and from there a walk via an underground connection to Gardens by the Bay. Every moment of that walk was a little moment of discovery; finding out there is such a thing as a Lazada Mall, looking at the green spaces and parks, riding the train and enjoying the sights of a city designed for walking.

THE UNDERGROUND PEDESTRIAN ACCESS TO GARDENS BY THE BAY.

Together with enjoying the experience, the architect part of me still analyzed the reasons why this commute to a tourist spot was very memorable, and I break it down to these three elements:

1. Walkability – Efficient Pedestrian and Mass Transit. Everywhere you look and walk, you can see that Singapore was designed not for vehicles, but for the people who live, work, and play in it. Walkability is a term used in urban planning and architecture that simply means a space designed to allow pedestrians to have an easy time walking to anything of interest to them. Wide sidewalks and spaces for people are emphasized in the urban landscape. Shops, hawker centers, and vending machines (for both food and books!) are in easy-to-spot locations. Furthermore, once the destination is farther than walking, the availability of bus and train transit really allows for citizens and visitors of Singapore to reach any point of interest on the island. As discussed by Urban Design Lab in their research about the walkability of Singapore, the national goals of the country to provide housing and business growth was the main driver for implementing walkability from the ground up.

WIDE SIDEWALKS MAKE WALKING SAFER AND MORE PLEASURABLE.

2. Positive Distraction Spaces – Green Spaces, Landmarks, etc. Walking, even at a leisurely pace, will be a tiring experience if one travels in a monotonous or worse, an unpleasant environment. Especially with three kids in tow, walking would have been a challenge if we were not distracted by all the sights and sounds during the journey that makes the aching legs and joints go away. From the little (and not so little) parks and art sculptures, and water features, to places to sit and enjoy the views, Singapore abounds with all sorts of physical amenities that make the walk such a joy to do. Gardens by the Bay itself is a place that I wish should be done more in other countries as it embodies the concept of making walking a pleasant experience for everyone.

tHERE ARE MANY THINGS TO SEE ON THE WAY TO YOUR DESTINATION.

3. Legibility – Signage and Concept. In architecture and urban planning, legibility as defined by Kevin Lynch in his book The Image of the City as “one whose districts or landmarks or pathways are easily identifiable and are easily grouped into an over-all pattern.”

So in Singapore, legibility plays into all the signages to help tourists and citizens move from one destination to the next. So even I—a tourist in Singapore who was looking at this place for the first time—was able to reasonably understand in a short amount of time where and how to get to the place I wanted to go. Places with high levels of legibility create a very memorable experience since the stress of being lost is kept to a minimum. So, you remember the place in a more positive light.

If you want to know more about legibility, Urban Design Lab explains the 5 elements of this concept.

SIGNAGES EVERYWHERE FOR YOU TO FIND YOUR WAY EASILY.

Though I am sure there are other elements of architecture and urban planning I did not mention here, these three aspects of Singapore make it a treat for travelers with a family of three kids since it makes the trip a memorable experience (and a less exhausting adventure for parents). If you are a big family like us, Singapore is one of the best places to go for a family adventure.

On a side note, our destination in Gardens by the Bay was the sculpture Planet which was an artwork that my kids were fascinated with since the time we were stuck at home during the pandemic.

WE SAW PLANET AT LAST!