In Germany, clean light industries are distributed among towns and villages. It would be good to have offices in new towns here too and not just concentrated in the Central Business District.

They could be clustered around, heartland MRT stations like Yio Chu Kang and Bishan, for example. This supports the local workforce and reduces travelling time.

There is a need to really mix up the islandwide balance of residential and commercial units.

With the strong Internet and networking capabilities of today, and the fact that e-mail is now considered formal correspondence, work locations can change too.

The Urban Redevelopment Authority is taking steps to add homes to the city, which is a start (More homes planned in city centre to inject vibrancy, March 28). But condominium units bought by foreigners may be left empty for much of the time. To really make the city area vibrant requires local families to move in. How about a new HDB town with shopping and a primary school at Marina Bay?

Markus Ruddock