The Downtown Core is the historical and downtown centre of the

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

and the main commercial area in Singapore excluding reclaimed lands with many integrated resorts such as the Marina Bay Sands, one of the most expensive buildings in the world, with a luxurious standalone casino at Bayfront Avenue. There are many skyscrapers in Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Marina Bay CBD with a height limit of 280m. It is one of the eleven planning areas located within the most urbanised Central Area, forming the latter's dense urban core. It is bounded by

Rochor Rochor is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. Rochor shares boundaries with the following planning areas – Kallang to the north and east, Newton to the west, as well as Museum and the Downtow ...

to the north,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...

to the northeast,

Marina East Marina East is a planning area located in the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore, covering of reclaimed land. It is the location of NTUC Club's Marina Bay Golf Course (formerly known as the Marina East Course) and the Gardens by ...

and

Marina South Marina South is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. It is largely home to Gardens by the Bay as well as the Marina Barrage. The name has also been used to refer to the larger peninsula the plannin ...

to the east,

Straits View Straits View is a planning area located in the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. The area is currently relatively undeveloped, with fewer commercial developments compared to the adjacent Downtown Core. Straits View planning area ...

to the southeast, Bukit Merah to the south, as well as Outram,

Museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

and

Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Planning Area, althou ...

to the west. As the financial Heart of Singapore, the Downtown Core houses the headquarters and offices of numerous corporations, as well as the

Singapore Exchange The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is also a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian ...

. The area is also home to many governmental institutions, notably the seat of

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and the

Supreme Court of Singapore The Supreme Court of Singapore is a set of courts in Singapore, comprising the Court of Appeal of Singapore, Court of Appeal and the High Court of Singapore, High Court. It hears both civil and criminal matters. The Court of Appeal hears both ...

. Singapore's modern history began in this area, when

Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...

and representatives of the

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

landed along the banks of the

to set up a free port in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. As the old harbour grew along the mouth of the river bank, the city naturally expanded around it, creating what is now the Central Area. The name "Downtown Core" remains relatively unheard of and the term Central Business District (CBD) is commonly used in conversation instead. However, the area known as the CBD actually comprises a smaller area within the Downtown Core itself, taking up the south-western and western portions of the planning area, consisting largely of many skyscrapers. It is made up of eight subzones,

Anson Anson may refer to: People * Anson (name), a give name and surname ** Anson family, a British aristocratic family with the surname Place names ;United States * Anson, Indiana * Anson, Kansas * Anson, Maine ** Anson (CDP), Maine * Anson, Missour ...

, Cecil,

Clifford Pier Clifford Pier was a former pier located beside Collyer Quay at Marina Bay within the Downtown Core of the Central Area, Singapore. The pier, which opened in 1933, ceased operations in 2006. In 2008 the site was converted into a restaurant, On ...

, Maxwell, Phillip,

Raffles Place Raffles Place is the centre of the Financial District of Singapore and is located south of the mouth of the Singapore River. It was first planned and developed in the 1820s as Commercial Square to serve as the hub of the commercial zone of Sing ...

and

Tanjong Pagar Tanjong Pagar (New Rumi Spelling, alternatively spelled ''Tanjung Pagar'') is a historic district located within the Central Business District in Singapore, straddling the Outram, Singapore, Outram Planning Area and the Downtown Core under the ...

and

Marina Centre Marina Central or Marina Centre (Chinese: 滨海中心; ms, Marina Pusat) is a zone of reclaimed land within the Downtown Core in the southern part of Singapore. Together with the Marina South area, it encloses the sheltered Marina Bay. Sun ...

. The core of the CBD has since extended well beyond its boundaries and the term is even often at times used to refer to the Central Area as a whole.

History

Aerial panorama of Singapore's Downtown Core

As a fledgling colony, the area which is now known as the Downtown Core was the financial, administrative and commercial centre of the colony. In 1823, Singapore was reorganised according to the

Raffles Plan of Singapore The Jackson Plan or Raffles Town Plan, an urban plan of 1822 titled "Plan of the Town of Singapore", is a proposed scheme for Singapore drawn up to maintain some order in the urban development of the fledgling but thriving colony founded just th ...

Sir Stamford Raffles Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles (5 July 1781 – 5 July 1826) was a British statesman who served as the Lieutenant-Governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816, and Lieutenant-Governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. He is ...

, which specified elements like the ''Commercial Square'' (now Raffles Place) and the ''European Town'' as well as various other commercial and administrative entities located between them. This area later became the Downtown Core.

References

External links

Draft Master Plan 2003 - Central Region
{{Authority control Downtown Core (Singapore)