Singapore Modelling: Structures, Components, and Agencies of the Transnational Transfer of Urban Planning Knowledge

Urban models and planning knowledge are increasingly circulated across borders, often from North to South and West to East. This article examines Singapore’s state-coordinated export of planning knowledge through public agencies, government-linked companies (GLCs), and policy platforms. Based on a qualitative and process-oriented research design, combining project mapping, documentary analysis, and interviews, we conceptualize the “Singapore Model” as an evolving repertoire of planning components assembled and reframed over time. Rather than transferring the model wholesale, overseas initiatives selectively mobilize and recombine components under different institutional and political conditions. The study highlights the role of government-to-government (G2G) collaboration and state-backed infrastructures in stabilizing model narratives beyond market logics, and suggests rethinking how urban models gain durability and travel across regions.