Administrative divisions of Singapore

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Administrative divisions of Singapore
Subzones of Singapore, one of the many ways Singapore is locally divided

states
. However, for the purposes of administration and urban planning, it has been subdivided in various ways throughout its history.

As of 2022, Singapore has a total land area of about 753 km2 (291 sq mi), not including its sea area.

History

Historically, these subdivisions have been based on postal districts, especially during the colonial era. When local elections necessitated the setting up of electoral districts, however, it began to supplement postal districts as an alternative form of local governance, since each electoral district is headed by a member of parliament who represents and speaks for the respective electorates.

Administrative and electoral divisions

Community Development Council districts

Community Development Council districts of Singapore
Republic of Singapore
Created byPA Act 1997
Created
  • February 1997 [1]
  • 11 November 2001 (Finalized)
Number5 districts (as of 2015)
Government
Subdivisions

Established in 1997 by the PA Act, there were 9 districts formerly, governed by 9 different Community Development Councils (CDCs). In 2001, the 9 districts and CDCs were then reformed into 5, namely the North East CDC, North West CDC, South East CDC, South West CDC and Central Singapore CDC.[1][2] Each district is then further divided into electoral constituencies and town councils.

The council boundaries follow that of the existing political divisions, with each handling between four and six

SMCs and roughly dividing the country's population into equal parts. Each CDC is managed by a Council, which in turn is headed by a mayor and has between 12 and 80 members. The members are appointed by the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the People's Association
.

The role of the CDCs is to initiate, plan and manage community programmes to promote community bonding and social cohesion within local communities.[3] The electoral boundaries of Singapore are relatively fluid, and are reviewed prior to each general election. The districts are composed of the constituencies and electoral districts (the latter as of the 2015 General Elections).

There are currently five CDCs, namely the

Town councils

The first town councils were set up in September 1986 by the Town Councils Act, with the main purpose of

Housing Development Board.[5] As the estates were centrally managed, the standardised rules that the board had set for all housing estates made HDB towns monotonous in appearance and problems faced by residents in the different estates were not addressed fast enough.[5]

Town councils boundaries are drawn based on electoral district boundaries. A town council area can consist of a

Group Representation Constituency (GRC), a Single Member Constituency (SMC), or a collection of neighbouring GRCs and SMCs controlled by the same political party. The Members of Parliament head the town councils of their constituencies. Town councils boundaries do not correspond to new town boundaries; different parts of the same HDB town may be managed by different town councils.[6]

There are currently 17 town councils as of 2020:[7]

Town Council Constituency
Aljunied–Hougang
Aljunied GRC
Hougang SMC
Ang Mo Kio
Ang Mo Kio GRC
Kebun Baru SMC
Yio Chu Kang SMC
Bishan–Toa Payoh
Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC
Marymount SMC
Chua Chu Kang
Chua Chu Kang GRC
Hong Kah North SMC
East Coast
East Coast GRC
Holland–Bukit Panjang
Holland–Bukit Timah GRC
Bukit Panjang SMC
Jalan Besar
Jalan Besar GRC
Potong Pasir SMC
Jurong–Clementi
Jurong GRC
Bukit Batok SMC
Yuhua SMC
Marine Parade
Marine Parade GRC
MacPherson SMC
Mountbatten SMC
Marsiling–Yew Tee
Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC
Nee Soon
Nee Soon GRC
Pasir Ris–Punggol
Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC
Punggol West SMC
Sembawang
Sembawang GRC
Sengkang
Sengkang GRC
Tampines
Tampines GRC
Tanjong Pagar
Tanjong Pagar GRC
Radin Mas SMC
West Coast
West Coast GRC
Pioneer SMC

Constituencies

Town councils are then further subdivided into different constituencies, which are classified as either Single Member Constituencies (SMCs) or Group Representation Constituencies (GRCs). The boundaries of the electoral constituencies are decided by the Elections Department, which is under the control of the Prime Minister's Office.[8]

Other administrative subdivisions

URA Master Plan boundaries

Regions

The five regions of Singapore are groupings of the planning areas.

Planning areas

In the 1990s, the

Neighbourhood Police Centres
.

Survey districts

Singapore is divided into 64 survey districts, of which 34 are mukims (originally, rural districts) and 30 are town subdivisions.[9]

Postal districts

Postal districts were numbered from 01 to 83 under the new system implemented on 1 September 1995. Census data and most forms of internal boundaries had been based on postal districts until the introduction of new

planning boundaries in the 1990s.[citation needed
]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Full map of CDCs released for first time". The Straits Times, p. 25 (Retrieved from Newspaper SG). 21 August 1997. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  2. ^ "First 2 CDCs preparing for launch". The Straits Times, p. 27. (Retrieved from Newspaper SG). 17 February 1997. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  3. ^ Fernandez, W. (19 August 1996). PM Goh urges young to rally behind him. The Straits Times, p. 1. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; The Straits Times, 19 Aug 1996, p. 24.
  4. ^ Low, A. (1 September 1986). Town councils take over from HDB. .The Straits Times, p. 8. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
  5. ^ a b Ngoo, I., et al. (7 April 1987). My kind of town. The Straits Times, Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Koh, T., et al.
  6. ^ Town Councils Act (Cap. 329A, 2000 Rev. Ed.)
  7. ^ "Town Councils (Declaration) Order 2020". Singapore Statues Online. 29 July 2020.
  8. ^ Alex Au Waipang, 'The Ardour of Tokens: Opposition Parties' Struggle to Make a Difference', in T.Chong (eds), Management of Success: Singapore Revisited (Singapore, 2010), p. 106.
  9. ^ "Land Titles Search". Singapore Land Authority. Archived from the original on 1 November 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2016.

External links