The Population Push

Ah, the joys of city living. As many of my friends will attest, I am pro-public transit all the way. In fact, public transit systems top my "benefits list" of big-city life. During the 6 years I called Chicago home, I cabbed it to work only twice and found the "L" to be a convenience rather than annoyance – the obvious exception being bitter winter days waiting 20-plus minutes on outdoor elevated train platforms. So why has my pro-public protocol taken a turn for the worse? Population, Planning, Pace, and Perspiration is why.

Singapore is the 3rd most dense country in the world and almost 4 times as dense as the Windy City. The population "problem" (if you can call it that) makes even the most docile commuter (like me) want to push people out of the way! But let's be honest here. I've done the daily commute on New York's Manhattan Island – an area much denser than Singapore – and never did I feel the population push as much as I have here. But unlike Manhattan's work-day population swell, as professions swarm in from elsewhere, workers in Singapore often come here...and stay. Live-in help (which undoubtedly is forgotten in the population density calculation) call places like Malaysia, Philippines, and India their true "home." So when we talk population, official calculations may lie askew.

But the population is as much an issue of distribution as actual numbers. City planning also contributes to commuting stress on the part of many an expat. While New York City boasts Central Park as its main reservoir of undevelopment, about 23% of Singapore's land mass is forest/nature preserves and 2/3 of the country's surface area is reserved for water catchment...places commuters wouldn't necessarily hang out. In addition, MRT stops are not commuter-only places of transit. They are housed inside large malls with restaurants, boutiques, grocery stores, and of course all the consumers that frequent them.

Pace and perspiration are one in the same. Except for the escalators which move at NASCAR speed, the pace here in Singapore is at a loitering level. For many a commuter heading to their professional places of work, showing up with arm-pit sweat marks from a quick commute is definitely faux pas. Even the workday, which starts late and ends late, is designed to avoid the hottest parts of the day (2 to 5 pm). For those used to the bustle of cooler climate commutes, you may find yourself packed-in and your promptness inpolite.

When it comes to the population push, commuters beware...Singapore will give you a walk for your money.