The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has formalised a programme that will provide up to S$10,000 in seed funding for community-initiated projects to enliven public spaces, it announced in a news release on Monday (Apr 11).
The programme called Our Favourite Place will facilitate community interactions and more people to experience and enjoy interesting public spaces, URA said.
In order to qualify, projects must be primarily for the purpose of transforming an existing space – such as a space under viaduct, a disused plot of vacant land or a public area within a commercial or public building – into an “active, vibrant and accessible” public space for the community to use and enjoy, and must be demonstrably supported by the local community.
URA must also assess that the project is feasible to undertake and implement on-site, and applicants must demonstrate their ability to maintain the project.
Projects that are not supported by the local community include “for-profit” commercial activities, it said.
Successful applicants will be provided varying levels of support, which may include:
– One-stop assistance with agency consultation and advice on licenses required
– Up to S$5,000 seed funding for short-term projects of six months or less
– Up to S$10,000 for long-term projects of more than six months
– Matchmaking of potential space owners or sponsors to realise the projects
In addition, URA said it will organise networking workshops to inform people about the programme, and allow “like-minded individuals interested in activating public spaces” to exchange ideas and form a network. The first such workshop is scheduled in May, it added.
Interested applicants can apply via ura.gov.sg/ourfaveplace.
Our Favourite Place comes after an earlier public space programme piloted by URA in November 2013, under which it worked with private and public organisations on a variety of pop-up projects. One such project was Picnic in the Park, where picnic tables and chairs were set up at an area in Kampong Glam.
In November last year, the authority also awarded eight winners cash prizes of S$1,000 each in a competition for ideas on how to revive underused or forgotten public spaces.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 11 Apr 2016