Vincent Hoong
Chief Executive Officer
Singapore Land Authority

Biography
Mr. Hoong is a lawyer by training with a law degree from the National University of Singapore. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School, Harvard University. After graduation, he was admitted to the Singapore Supreme Court as an advocate and solicitor and spent a year in private practice, specializing in banking and commercial matters. He then joined the Singapore Legal Service and held various judicial appointments in the Supreme and Subordinate Courts as an Assistant Registrar, Magistrate, Coroner and District Judge, respectively. In 2001, when the Singapore Land Authority was formed, he was seconded there and was subsequently appointed its Deputy Chief Executive. In 2009, he was appointed the Chief Executive. He holds the concurrent statutory appointments of Registrar of Titles and Deeds and the Controller of Residential Properties. Outside of SLA, he sits on the Singapore Academy of Laws Lawnet Management Committee and chairs one of its sub-committees.

Abstract


Against the backdrop of rapid urbanisation and climate change, cities need to get smarter so as to build sustainability in urban development and balance global competiveness with a high quality of life. The building of smart cities depends heavily on the geospatial awareness of location, mobility, and flow of people and resources. Geospatial technology enables the data that is collected by the city to be visualised, interrogated and analysed – creating new knowledge that is essential for the planning and development of a smart city. Geospatial land information fuels the smart city. Land information plays a critical role as it forms a common spatial platform on which all other geospatial data maybe geo-referenced and located. The development of a 3D land information model is also critical in the future as government, industries and public demand more realistic representation of real world features in 3D. In the quest to create knowledge, smart cities of the future will have to apply big data analytics technologies and tools to deliver information to enable the future smart cities’ outcomes. It is envisaged that this will be a tremendous growth area as much of the geospatial data and information that are currently available is yet to be tapped in a big way. Governments play an important role to promote and facilitate the sharing and use of geospatial data and information. Data should be made readily available to businesses and public as they too, have strong motivations to develop innovative services and solutions. Geospatial data policies and standards must also be put in place to enable interoperability and sharing of authentic information. Human capital forms the most valuable asset of smart cities. Their power should be harnessed by empowering them to contribute their visions of a smart city. Governments, academic institutions, businesses and civil society should work in concert to nurture a new generation of thought-leaders and citizens who are conversant in using geospatial information and technology to solve urban problems and provide innovative solutions.