THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE 2016 - americas.uli.org · The Urban Land Institute is a global,...

DR . CHEONG KOON HEAN � 2016 NICHOLS LAUREATE

RECIPIENT OF THE 17TH ANNUAL URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

J.C. NICHOLS PRIZE FOR VISIONARIES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT

THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

2016J.C. Nichols Prize

FOR VISIONARIES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT

2016_CHEONG_layout_12pg_0112 V5.indd 1 12/9/16 1:35 PM

ABOUT THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

The Urban Land Institute is a global, member-driven organization comprising nearly 40,000 real estate and urban development professionals dedicated to advancing the Institute’s mission of providing leadership in the responsible use of land and creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide.

ULI’s interdisciplinary membership represents all aspects of the industry, including developers, property owners, investors, architects, urban planners, public officials, real estate brokers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers, and academics. Established in 1936, the Institute has a presence in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific regions, with members in 80 countries.

The extraordinary impact that ULI makes on land use decision making is based on its members sharing expertise on a variety of factors affecting the built environment, including urbanization, demographic and population changes, new economic drivers, technology advancements, and environ-mental concerns.

Peer-to-peer learning is achieved through the knowledge shared by members at thousands of convenings each year that reinforce ULI’s position as a global authority on land use and real estate. In 2016 alone, more than 3,200 events were held in 340 cities around the world.

Drawing upon the work of its members, the Institute recognizes and shares best practices in urban design and development for the benefit of communities around the globe.

More information is available at uli.org. Follow ULI on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.


ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development 1

The Urban Land Institute J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development was established in 2000 to recognize a commitment to the highest standards of community building, and to serve as a symbol of land use leadership that reflects both ULI’s mission and the values of the prize’s namesake, ULI founding member Jesse Clyde Nichols.

THE ULI J.C. NICHOLS PRIZE FOR VISIONARIES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT: A SYMBOL OF LAND USE LEADERSHIP

THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE J.C. NICHOLS PRIZEF O R V I S I O N A R I E S I N

U R B A N D E V E L O P M E N T

Nichols, one of the most highly regarded real estate developers of the pre–World War II era, understood that while a development must make economic sense, it must also enrich the surrounding community; his guiding principles were “building for permanence” and “beauty is value added.” Among his most well-known developments is the Country Club District, an iconic neighborhood in Nichols’s hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, that reflects his commitment to outstanding design. Built during the 1920s, the neighborhood is anchored by Country Club Plaza, which Nichols envisioned not just as a place to shop, but also as a focal point for the community—a role it continues to play in the 21st century.

Dr. Cheong Koon Hean, chief executive officer of Singapore’s Housing & Development Board, is the 2016 Nichols laureate and the first Nichols Prize recipient from Asia. Previous prize laureates are as follows: 2000—Joseph P. Riley Jr., former mayor, Charleston, South Carolina;2001—The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. senator (D-New York);2002—Gerald D. Hines, founder and chairman, Hines;2003—Vincent Scully, former architecture professor, Yale University;2004—Richard D. Baron, chairman and chief executive officer, McCormack Baron Salazar;2005—Albert B. Ratner, cochairman emeritus, Forest City Enterprises;2006—Peter Calthorpe, founder and principal, Calthorpe Associates;2007—Sir Stuart Lipton, partner, Lipton Rogers LLP;2008— F. Barton Harvey III, former chairman and chief executive officer,

Enterprise Community Partners;2009—Amanda M. Burden, former commissioner, New York City Planning Commission;2010—Richard M. Daley, former mayor, Chicago;2011—His Highness the Aga Khan;2012—Peter Walker, partner, PWP Landscape Architecture;2013—J. Ronald Terwilliger, chairman emeritus, Trammell Crow Residential;2014—Dr. Judith Rodin, president, Rockefeller Foundation; and2015—Lord Richard Rogers, founder, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.

These highly talented, dedicated individuals have applied their skills in urban planning, design, development, teaching, and governing to create the best outcomes for cities around the globe. But, even more important, these visionaries have inspired others with their passion to make a positive, long-lasting impact. In this regard, each Nichols laureate is carrying on the legacy of J.C. Nichols, whose commitment to excellence in ULI’s early years continues to influence the Institute’s work in the 21st century.


2 ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development

Dr. Cheong Koon Hean, a widely acclaimed architect and urban planner credited with shaping much of Singapore’s urban landscape, is the 2016

recipient of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. The prize, which is ULI’s top honor, recognizes a person whose work demonstrates a commitment to the creation of communities that reflect the highest standards of design and development.

Dr. Cheong, whose career in city-building spans 35 years, is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Singapore’s Housing & Development Board (HDB), which builds and manages public housing for more than 80 percent of the city-state’s population. Prior to taking this position, she served as CEO of Singapore’s Urban Redevelop-ment Authority, where she played a key role in several transformative developments, including Marina Bay and the Jurong Lake District.

Dr. Cheong is the 17th Nichols laureate and the first from Asia. In September 2016, she spoke with Urban Land magazine, the Institute’s flagship publication, about the lessons learned from planning Singapore.

Urban Land: Why did you decide to pursue a career in planning and development?

Dr. Cheong: I first chose to study architecture because it marries the arts and the sciences together. I was strong in technical subjects, but also loved the arts, and I was fortunate to be granted a Colombo Plan Scholarship to pursue architecture in Australia. On my return to Singapore, I worked in urban planning for the Singapore government, and I found that planning could have a much greater impact on people than architecture. I stayed with it, and obtained a master’s degree in planning from London. As an architect, you focus only on a single development, but as an urban planner, you are able to shape an entire city.

Actually, the best skill set for city-building combines architecture and planning. You need the ability to look at things very strategically and understand government policies, but you also need to understand the physical third dimension. It’s a combination of breadth and depth.

Urban Land: What challenged you most about planning Singapore?

Dr. Cheong: Singapore is a very small and densely populated city-state with 5.6 million people. Because we are a city and a country, we have a different set of planning challenges from other places such as London or New York. We have to plan for everything, from power plants and water

An Innovative PlacemakerBy Trish Riggs

Dr. Cheong Koon Hean is the 2016 recipient of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. She is an acclaimed architect and urban planner credited with shaping much of Singapore’s urban landscape.

2016 DR. CHEONG KOON HEAN, RECIPIENT OF

THE 17TH ANNUAL URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

J.C. NICHOLS PRIZE FOR VISIONARIES

IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT

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sufficiency to catering to our military needs. As we are land-constrained, it requires us to look at things in a very long-term way because there’s little room to make mistakes.

Urban Land: You helped reshape Singapore’s urban landscape with some innovative developments, particularly Marina Bay and Jurong Lake District. What made you think these areas had potential?

Dr. Cheong: Our long-term planning approach meant that we reclaimed land at Marina Bay since the 1970s in anticipation of the need to grow the city. The reclaimed land also relieved growth pressure on the existing city and enabled us to conserve many of our historic districts. Because Marina Bay was a greenfield site, we could build a new city that would give Singapore a new signature image as a global city.

We weaved a combination of “blue and green” elements into Marina Bay—blue being the water, because we’re an island state, and green being plants, which grow well in our tropical climate. Marina Bay is a part of our main central business district [CBD], and it has water and gardens. Even in this very dense, land-constrained setting, we set aside 100 hectares [247 ha] of land for three waterfront gardens to provide much-needed “green lungs” for the city. This makes Marina Bay very distinctive from other cities.

The area around Jurong Lake was part of a larger industrial area. We wanted to develop it as a new regional center with housing, commercial, and recreational uses. With the introduction of a new high-speed rail station here in the future, it will become Singapore’s second CBD. Although the area is perceived as an industrial area, we had capitalized on some of the wonderful elements there, such as a manmade lake and parks and a new science center, to create an attractive commercial node that will entice developers to invest there.

In Singapore, we [public officials] are very good at convincing investors and developers of what something could be. We saw the potential in Marina Bay and Jurong, and we helped others see it, too, so that they would invest and build. Of course, to instill confidence, we had to ensure that we put the infrastructure in place to support developments.

Urban Land: What have you learned from directing development as a public official that would benefit those in the private sector?

Far left: Designed by Singapore’s Housing & Development Board as a modern, compact response to high-rise, high-density urban living, the Pinnacle@Duxton rises above the historic heart of Singapore’s central city district. Its seven 50-story blocks, a first for public housing, are linked by two sky bridges that function as recreational and community spaces and which offer 360-degree views of the city skyline.

Left: SkyTerrace@Dawson and SkyVille@Dawson showcase the Housing & Devel op ment Board’s “Housing in a Park” concept with striking exteriors softened with lush greenery. Featuring scenic views of the surrounding landscape, these developments have ushered in a new generation of modern living envisioned by the Housing & Development Board under Dr. Cheong’s leadership.

DR. CHEONG KOON HEAN, RECIPIENT OF

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J.C. NICHOLS PRIZE FOR VISIONARIES

IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT

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Dr. Cheong: The fi rst is that there is value in having a long-term perspective. Developers who take the long view tend to develop higher-quality projects. They will also take better care of their asset base to enhance and retain their value over time. This is good for the city.

The second is the importance of investing in high-quality, future-ready infrastructure. Good infrastructure will serve a growing city well and give confi dence to developers to put investments into the city.

Third is the importance of building a trusted brand. As a public offi cial, I work hard to make Singapore a trusted brand. We have in place a strong governance system that gives investors a level playing fi eld and greater certainty. We also do what we say. That’s why we have been able to attract billions of dollars in investments. Similarly, in the private sector, you must build a strong and trusted brand as a company.

Urban Land: What in your view makes for the most successful public/private partnerships?

Dr. Cheong: It would be ideal for both the public and private sectors to have a shared long-term vision for the city and for both sides to strive for high-quality design and development. This can take place only if planning authorities consult the private sector and the community when formulating our plans, so that there would be greater alignment and buy-in. Long-term plans must be cascaded into detailed plans that are implementable. And, long-term plans must be reviewed regularly, because the world is changing so quickly. Almost every city has wonderful plans, but the big question is: can they be implemented? That’s the challenge.

The public sector should also have a “facilitative” mental mode, and not be a “regulator” only. The best public/private partnerships are those in which the public sector facilitates the private sector developments through the right incentives and guidelines. Government must invest in good infrastructure to support orderly development. In this way, we can tap private sector enterprise and resources to help realize our plans.

Urban Land: Much of your work has focused on improving the quality of life in Singapore. How can a dense city be designed to become more livable?

Dr. Cheong: First, at a macro level, you have to be diligent about long-term planning to ensure that land is set aside to meet both economic and social needs. Beyond commercial use, the city must be supported by suffi cient schools, hospitals, parks, and recreational facilities.

Second, you have to make sure the city works, in terms of transport infrastructure and utilities.Another important element is to provide adequate affordable housing. When Singapore

became an independent nation, the fi rst thing we did was commit to providing affordable housing, which is why the Housing & Development Board was formed. We started building very basic

The transformation of Punggol into a modern, sustainable waterfront town is the culmination of numerous innovative solutions developed by the Housing & Develop-ment Board. Punggol waterway, Singapore’s fi rst manmade river, spans the entire eco-town, providing an iconic waterfront amenity for residents. Waterway Terraces, an expansive housing project, overlooks the waterway.

“Livability is about building communities and encouraging interaction among people. You have to create places that bring people together. Public spaces and placemaking become critical if a city is to be livable.” —Dr. Cheong

©2016 HOUSING & DEVELOPMENT BOARD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.



housing. The quality of public housing has improved tremendously over the years. In fact, some people tell me that they can hardly tell the difference between new-generation public housing and private housing.

You also have to strive for good urban design and architecture. The denser a city is, the more thoughtful and innovative the urban design needs to be to reduce the denseness by creating an “illusion of space.” For example, by linking up many of our smaller parks with park connectors, we expanded our recreational space multiple fold. We introduced vertical sky-rise gardens. Whenever greenery had to be removed from the ground due to building footprints, we replaced it skyward.

By interspersing lower-rise buildings and parks between high-rise buildings, we have been able to relieve the denseness and give people more breathing room.

And, of course, livability is about building communities and encouraging interaction among people. You have to create places that bring people together as a community. Public spaces and placemaking become critical if a city is to be livable. At a project level, creative design can encourage interaction and the building of bonds between neighbors. For example, we design “community living-rooms” and three-generation playgrounds to encourage interaction among residents of all ages.

Urban Land: You mentioned affordable housing as a priority for Singapore. How have you addressed that challenge?

Dr. Cheong: In Singapore, we house some 82 percent of the population in about 1 million public housing flats in 26 towns and estates. And of that 82 percent, nine in ten actually own their own homes, achieving one of the highest homeownership rates in the world. People buy public housing rather than rent it.

We want the people of Singapore to have a stake in our young country, and that’s why we push for homeownership. Homeownership changes people’s mind-sets and attitudes. It motivates people to work in order to own their own home, and to take better care of their own property. Their flat can also be monetized in old age to serve as an additional retirement resource. So, homeownership is a critical policy pillar in Singapore.

We make homeownership affordable with grants and discounts. Singaporeans can also make use of their Central Provident Fund, a compulsory retirement savings plan, to pay for their housing mortgage. They and their employers contribute to this personalized fund that has resulted in a monthly 37 percent savings rate for every working Singaporean. Part of the fund is

© 2016 URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Marina Bay, a massive innovative development created from land reclaimed by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority in anticipation of the need to grow the city-state.

“Because Marina Bay was a greenfield site, we could build a new city that would give Singapore a new signature image as a global city.” —Dr. Cheong




set aside for retirement savings and for health insurance, while the remaining 23 percent of their savings in that fund can be used to purchase housing.

Our policies also encourage families to live close together for mutual support and care. We offer special grants if you live with or near your parents.

Aside from building new buildings, we have massive rejuvenation programs to remake our heartland. We keep rejuvenating our older towns so that we continue to maintain a good-quality physical environment for these towns. However, not only do the buildings grow old, but people grow old with the towns. So, we introduced initiatives such as the selective en-bloc redevelop-ment program, which involves the government repurchasing old fl ats and resettling residents into newer fl ats nearby. We then inject new housing on the repurchased site so that more young families can move back and help retain the vibrancy of the town.

Urban Land: What gives you the most hope about cities going forward?

Dr. Cheong: What gives me hope is that the world’s future lies in cities, because more than half of the world’s population now resides in cities. People come to cities because they offer economic opportunities. There are a lot of synergies and brain power when a lot of people come together. Cities are an engine for growth.

The potential of using technology in urban planning also gives me hope. Technology can enable cities to overcome many of the constraints they used to face in terms of resources and land. For example, Singapore has successfully harnessed technology to achieve self-suffi ciency in water in time to come, despite being land-constrained. The use of smart technology can help us to be more sustainable and deliver services effi ciently.

The world’s future depends on the future of our cities. This means we need to be spending more time solving urban issues so we can harness the full potential of cities.

Urban Land: What are you most proud of regarding your career?

Dr. Cheong: When Singapore fi rst became an independent nation, we were a city of slums and squatters. Fifty years later, even though we are a land- and resource-constrained city-state, we’ve built a city that is highly livable, and that offers our people a good quality of life and economic opportunities. It took a massive collective effort over the years to get us to where we are today. That makes me very proud.

The iLight Marina Bay Festival at Marina Bay.

“Even though we are a land- and resource-constrained city-state, we’ve built a city that is highly livable, and that offers our people a good quality of life and economic opportunities.” —Dr. Cheong.




THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE J .C. NICHOLS PRIZE FOR VISIONARIES IN URBAN DEVELOPMENT JURY MEMBERS

2016 JURY MEMBERS

Marilyn Jordan TaylorJury ChairDean of the University of Pennsylvania

School of DesignPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

Marilyn Jordan Taylor became dean of the School of Design at the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 after spending more than 30 years as partner, architect, and urban designer at Skid-more, Owings & Merrill, where she led the firm’s practices in airports, transportation, and urban design and served as its first female chairman. She is internationally known for her distin-guished and passionate involvement in the design of large-scale urban projects and civic initiatives.

Taylor is distinguished as well for her civic and professional leadership, having served as a member and Rockefeller Fellow of the Partnership for New York City, president of the American In-stitute of Architects (New York City chapter), visiting professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, chairman of the New York Building Congress, founding (2001) member of New York New Visions, and chairman of ULI Worldwide (2005−2007).

Dana CrawfordChairman, Urban Neighborhoods Inc.Denver, Colorado

Award-winning preservationist Dana Crawford pioneered the redevelopment of Denver’s historic Larimer Square in the mid-1960s, creating a festival shopping area from the neglected and abandoned buildings of the city’s original main street. Today, Larimer Square serves as a prototype for the revitalization of forgotten main streets and architectural landmarks throughout the United States.

In addition to her many business accomplishments, Crawford has given much of her time to both local and national concerns. She served nine years on the board of directors of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with six of those years spent on its executive committee. In 1995, the National Trust awarded her its highest honor, the distinguished Louise DuPont Crowninshield Award.

Crawford worked with Preservation Action for 15 years, serving as president for two years; and she served on the national advisory council for Project for Public Spaces. Crawford has been on the board of the Downtown Denver Partnership for more than 30 years and has been active with the Platte River Greenway Foundation, the Denver Art Museum, Historic Denver Inc., the Colorado Historical Society and Foundation, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

Ellen Dunham-JonesProfessor, School of Architecture,

Georgia Institute of TechnologyAtlanta, Georgia

Ellen Dunham-Jones is an award-winning architect, professor, and coordinator of the MS program in urban design at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She serves on the policy subcommittee of the AIA Design and Health Leadership Group, is on the board of Commons Planning, and is a fellow and past board chair of the Congress for the New Urbanism.

A leading authority on suburban redevelopment, Dun-ham-Jones lectures widely, conducts workshops with munici-palities, and consults on individual projects. She and coauthor June Williamson wrote Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs (Wiley, 2009, 2011, 2013). The book’s documentation of successful retrofits of vacant big-box stores, dead and thriving malls, and aging office parks into more sustainable places has received significant media attention on PBS and National Public Radio as well as in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Urban Land, and other venues.

Dunham-Jones taught at the University of Virginia and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining Georgia Tech’s faculty to serve as director of the architecture program from 2001 to 2009.



Mark JohnsonPresident, Civitas Inc.Denver, Colorado

Mark Johnson is a leading landscape architect, designer of public space, and strategist for the regeneration of core cities. At present, he is leading the regeneration planning for the decayed north side of downtown St. Louis, the design of the North Embarcadero in San Diego, and a master plan for the waterfront on the Harlem River in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan.

Johnson is a core member of the Working Group for Sus-tainable Cities at Harvard, an arm of the Harvard Center for the Environment; a lecturer with the Institute of Design and Health, Stockholm; and a regular lecturer and participant in urban vision and community-building strategies with the Urban Land Institute and several universities.

He has led many complex projects that have had a trans-formative impact on cities: three riverfront parks in Denver; a master plan for Balboa Park in San Diego; a waterfront plan for Memphis; and a corridor plan to connect historic neighbor-hoods along Brooklyn’s Atlantic Avenue. Johnson recently completed the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan. In addition, he has been deeply involved in the redevelopment of the Stapleton International Airport in Denver continuously since 1988 and is a primary author of the highly acclaimed Stapleton Redevelopment Plan.

Sir Stuart LiptonFounder, Lipton Rogers Developments LLPLondon, England

Sir Stuart Lipton, the 2007 recipient of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize, has been a commercial developer since the late 1960s. He is responsible for over 30 million square feet of development that has made significant changes to London, including major campus projects at Broadgate in the City of London; Stockley Park Heathrow; Chiswick Park, Chiswick; and H.M. Treasury.

Typical projects are large and complex, involving major infrastructure changes, complicated engineering solutions, and high-rise buildings. His residential experience over many years includes Hollandgreen, Kensington; the Silvertown, a 50-acre, 7 million-square-foot mixed-use project in East London; and Elizabeth House, Waterloo, a 1.4 million-square-foot mixed-use project.

Lipton was the founding chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, a U.K. government initia-tive, and a member of the Royal Fine Art Commission. He has been a board member of the National Theatre and the Royal Op-era House and has been involved in many other public buildings.

NICHOL S MANAGE MENT COMMIT TEE

THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE J.C. NICHOLS PRIZEF O R V I S I O N A R I E S I N

U R B A N D E V E L O P M E N T

Smedes York, Committee ChairChairman, York Properties Inc.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Kay N. CallisonMiller Nichols Charitable Foundation

James M. DeFranciaPrincipal, Lowe Enterprises

Real Estate Group

Harrison FrakerProfessor of Architecture and Urban

Design, Department of ArchitectureDean Emeritus, College of

Environmental Design

Paul GoldbergerContributing Editor, Vanity Fair

Kathleen B. CareyPresident and CEO, ULI Foundation

Douglas S. KelbaughProfessor of Architecture and

Urban PlanningA. Alfred Taubman College of

Architecture and Urban PlanningUniversity of Michigan

Jeannette Nichols Miller Nichols Charitable Foundation

Wayne NicholsNichols Agency

Patrick L. PhillipsGlobal CEOUrban Land Institute

ULI STAFF

Urban Land Institute Staff Liaison to Management Committee

Daniel LoboSenior Director, AwardsUrban Land Institute

Kathryn CraigSenior AssociateUrban Land Institute


The Urban Land Institute J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development was established to recognize an individual or a person representing an institution whose career demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of responsible development. The $100,000 prize honors the legacy of legendary Kansas City, Missouri, developer J.C. Nichols (1880–1950), a founding ULI member who is widely regarded as one of America’s most infl uential entrepreneurs in land use during the fi rst half of the 20th century.


THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE 2016 - americas.uli.org · The Urban Land Institute is a global,...

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