Family Fun Adventure

Finding Cool Things To Do In and Around Singapore

by Christi Elflein

An Eco Outing in Punggol

Along the north-east coast of Singapore sits the waterfront eco-town of Punggol. It’s a great day trip for the whole family. You can jog, bike or even skate down the Punggol Waterway Park. There are playgrounds, scenic bridges, and themed zones to explore. And just off the boardwalk, there’s a bridge to Coney Island, a woodsy undeveloped 215-acre island, perfect for hiking, biking, digging your toes into the sand, and feeling like you’ve escaped the city.

Christi at the Coney Island Gates

While you’re exploring the area, keep a lookout for the green living elements that have been incorporated into this area. Punggol was a rural farming area until Singapore planned this area as a “new town” in the 1990s. Today, it is Singapore’s first waterfront eco-town with nearly 200,000 residents living in high-rise HDB flats. It serves as a living laboratory to test green ideas and technology.

Phebe roller blading across the Adventure Bridge

A few of the sustainability efforts underway in Punggol:

• Active Mobility: Walking and biking are promoted as a mode of transportation through the integrated pedestrian network and 40 km of cycling paths.

• Punggol Waterway Park: This 4.2 km long canal is Singapore’s longest man-made waterway. Nature is used to ensure its water runs clean. An eco-drain made of gravel runs the length of the waterway to filter pollutants from surface run-off before it enters the waterway and freshwater mangroves have been created to improve water quality and boost biodiversity.

• Solar Energy: A test-bed of solar panels has been installed on dozens of Punggol’s HDB rooftops. This energy is used to power lifts, pumps, and lighting. Excess electricity can be used by residents.

• Smart Lighting: Motion sensors are used to turn lighting on in common areas, like car parks and stairways, only when someone is present in the area.

• Rainwater Harvesting: The Treelodge@Punggol has a rainwater harvesting system to collect rainwater to use for irrigation and washing common corridors.

• Community Gardens: Many of the multi-story carpark roofs have been turned into parks with community gardens, encouraging urban farming, minimizing stormwater runoff and cooling the area. Urban greenery helps to counteract the urban heat island effect by reducing air conditioning usage.

• Eco-living: An environmentally responsible lifestyle is promoted through community events, organizations and programs.

Christi is an urban planner for an architecture firm in Florida. She moved to Singapore and joined AWA in 2019 and loves exploring her new city with her husband and two kids.