Downtown Core

The Downtown Core is the historic urban centre of Singapore and the country's primary commercial district. It contains the main central business district (CBD), with a high concentration of skyscrapers in Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Marina Bay. The Downtown Core is one of the eleven planning areas within the highly urbanised Central Area and forms the core of Singapore's central city zone. It is bounded by Rochor to the north, Kallang to the northeast, Marina East and Marina South to the east, Straits View to the southeast, Bukit Merah to the south, as well as Outram, Museum and Singapore River to the west. As the financial heart of Singapore, the Downtown Core houses the headquarters and offices of numerous corporations, as well as the Singapore Exchange. The area is also home to many governmental institutions, notably the seat of Parliament and the Supreme Court of Singapore. Singapore's modern history began in this area, when Stamford Raffles and representatives of the British East India Company landed along the banks of the Singapore River to set up a free port in Southeast Asia. As the old harbour grew along the mouth of the river bank, the city naturally expanded around it, creating what is now the Central Area. The term "Downtown Core" is rarely used in everyday speech despite being the official planning designation. Instead, the area is commonly referred to as the CBD, Central, the City Area or informally as the City, terms interchangeable with the Central Area as a whole. In practice, the CBD denotes an even smaller portion of the Downtown Core, covering its south western and western sections and comprising eight subzones; Anson, Cecil, Clifford Pier, Maxwell, Phillip, Raffles Place, Tanjong Pagar and Marina Centre, where high rise commercial developments are most concentrated.