WHEN IT COMES to ranking the most liveable cities in the world, Singapore is often high on the list. In fact, according to a survey by human resources consultancy ECA International published earlier this year, Singapore is the most liveable city for Asian expats for the 14th year in a row.

Globally, it stands at number 25, and kept its position as the Asian city with the highest quality of living, according to human resources consulting firm Mercer's 21st annual Quality of Living survey, released in March.

Such rankings don't come about by chance, but literally by design. In 2018, at the Singapore University of Technology and Design's first Ministerial Forum, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that good design thinking was key in Singapore's journey from third world to first, and will be critical in its future transformation.