Today's Sunday Times published an opinion article by journalist Ignatius Low suggesting that Orchard Road's wayside trees be removed because they block the view of its buildings and decorative displays. I was moved to write an email to him in reply, which I reproduce below:
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Dear Mr Low:
I read with interest your opinion article on defoliating Orchard Road. I wish to point out a few disadvantages of your proposal:
1. Lack of shading and excessive glare
Overhead shelter from wayside trees screens out direct sunlight. If they are removed, the mid-day glare would make walking along Orchard Road unbearable. The wayside benches would certainly not be as popular as they are now, and while the ice-cream sellers along the shopping district will probably benefit from an increase in sales to sweaty and uncomfortable pedestrians, their workday would be very unpleasant.
2. Absorption of heat by concrete and built structures
Concrete and paving stones tend to absorb heat in the day due to direct insolation and release them at night when ambient temperatures are cooler. Surface temperatures on building surfaces and rooftops can reach up to 60 or 70 degrees Celsius at the height of day. Trees and groundcover (such as grass) on the other hand keep temperatures within limits by their transpiration. By removing them, the overall temperature of the surroundings will increase. This is not speculation: ambient temperatures in the city centre are 1-2 degrees greater than those in the suburban heartland. This is attributed to the aforementioned urban heat island effect. Higher temperatures will culminate in higher air-conditioning electricity bills and higher running costs for our shopping centres. Less people will be willing to walk in the open air, especially with new plans to connect all the Orchard shopping centres by underpass into a seamless air-conditioned warren, leaving very few people to admire the soaring architecture that the removal of trees has exposed.
3. Increased dust and suspended particulates
Orchard Rd, being a busy vehicular thoroughfare as well as a pedestrian one, naturally has a large amount of dust and smoke particles in the air from passing cars and vehicles. Idling engines, so common in a traffic jam, produce more particulates because of incomplete combustion. Trees and shrubs have a filtration effect and contribute somewhat to reducing dust in the air.
4. Aesthetic disharmony
The areas surrounding Orchard Road are high-value residential and commercial areas. Among the landmarks and prominent districts nearby are the Botanic Gardens, the Istana, the 'Embassy Row' along Napier Road, as well as residential areas in Grange Road and Tanglin. A large proportion of the air of exclusivity these places retain is due to the greenery planted in and around them. These serve to preserve privacy and soften the harshness of the urban landscape. Why else would the Istana, arguably the most exclusive and important residence in the city, be set within hectares of parkland? If Orchard Road's trees are replaced by, say, concrete sculpture or large umbrellas, its appearance would be disjointed from the adjacent districts.
5. Loss of tropical identity
Singapore is in an unusual position of having a First-World shopping district in the tropics. It is precisely the demands of a tropical climate that led to the original tree-planting campaigns of Singapore's early nationhood. We cannot duplicate the urban chic of say New York and Tokyo because it is unsuitable for our climate and surroundings. Indeed, during recent heat waves their inhabitants have suffered. Stripping Orchard of its trees would do injustice to the Garden City image our country has cultivated over the past few decades; quite literally it would be an injustice to the name of the road itself. At a time when tropical architecture is looking into rooftop gardens and other urban plantings as a means of temperature control and decoration, bare stones and paving tiles are steps backwards.
I hope you see what my point is: that trees are essential elements of the built environment in Singapore. Certainly you are not serious with your proposal and raised it only to provoke readers to think about how essential greenery is to our quality of city life.
Sincerely,
Brandon Seah
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3 comments:
The retard who suggested such an idea should be castrated! Everyone knows Orchard Road is ''Uniquely Singapore''. Where else can you find a shopping street well covered by tall and dense trees? Its part of the Orchard Road experience. Its never too good to be under a covered linkway or an air conditioned underground linkway all the time don't they know! This issue is also being debated upon in the forums that I frequent...
P.S. Shouldn't you sign off as She Gui Wen or Seah Kwee Boon instead? There are so many Brandon Seahs anyways...haha (lame laughter)
Ignatius's logic is not like our earth logic.
He states that:
Trees block lights
Dynamic cities are well lit.
Ergo, remove trees, cities become well lit, cities become dynamic.
By that same token:
Dynamic cities have hookers
We have no hookers (on Orchard road).
Ergo, import hookers.
He confuses the symptoms with the cause.
Hi Brandon,
Please send your article to the Straits Times! They may publish it as a response to Ignatius' article. His article reached thousands, so yours shouldn't just go to him. It's good to be reminded, once again, of the myriad benefits that trees and plants provide in our city.
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