As a fast-growing city in the 1960s, Singapore's process of urbanization meant the local forests and environment were being sacrificed to make room for buildings and more people. Singapore recognized this issue and decided to focus on being a garden city, which would encourage eco-friendly initiatives and have plants growing on buildings.
Singapore's environment is very unique because it has seemingly fully merged with the city. More than half of the naturally occurring flora and fauna (plants and animals) in Singapore are in natural reserves, and these reserves are not very large (as Singapore is somewhat small to begin with). For this reason, Singapore's government dedicated 10% of its land to natural parks and reserves and also hopes to preserve the remaining wildlife.
Being an island nation, Singapore has greatly profited from its ports and harbors and closeness to the South China Sea. For years, Singapore has become a central hub for trade and a port city, which greatly benefited Singaporeans. Additionally, unlike its neighbors, Singapore is not prone to natural disasters, as it is not near any major fault lines (so no earthquakes or volcanoes) and surrounding islands (Malaysian and Indonesian) protect it from tsunamis.
