Impact of the Business Improvement District (BID) on Place Management in a Global City-State: Emergence of a New Governance?

Following the growth and impact of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) as a legitimate tool for place management and urban revitalization in global cities such as New York and London, a pilot BID scheme was introduced in Singapore in 2017. This study aims to understand ways in which the pilot BID scheme is shaping emergent forms of place management in Singapore, in comparison with its global city peers. This study uses empirical findings from interviews with pilot BID stakeholders in Singapore, expert observers, and BID leaders in the UK and USA to analyze strategies being implemented by BIDs through the “new governance” framework. Its primary research focuses on three pilot precincts as case studies for analysis: Singapore River One (SRO), Discover Tanjong Pagar (DTP) and Raffles Place Alliance (RPA). The study reveals that policymakers privilege the BID due to its structural qualities as an innovative partnership-based place management tool with a sustainable funding model. In Singapore, conditioned by the pilot’s parameters and the city-state’s unique urban governance dynamics, BID managers are grappling with transforming a legacy “free rider” mindset in their communities. Yet, the “imported” nature of the model faces adaptability issues in a vastly different local context. The study further reveals that the BID as a tool for place management in Singapore is being conceptualized in a technically and creatively bounded way, preventing emergent alternatives, such as the Experience Improvement District (XID), to come to the fore.