"[3] It also aims to explain how "forward-looking, long-term and integrated land use planning and partnership between private and public sectors is achieved" in Singapore.

The Gallery also presents "creative solutions to balancing different competing needs, the many live, work, play opportunities planned for, extensive conservation efforts and urban design strategies to create a more distinctive Singapore.

"[citation needed] The gallery, which had an initial cost of 4.2 million Singapore dollars, was opened on 27 January 1999 by Lim Hng Kiang, who was National Development Minister at the time.

[5] In 2011, the gallery was redesigned again, and reopened in August of that year, to include new exhibits such as a 270-degree panorama of life in Singapore and an 8-player multimedia game on urban planning.

The third floor comprises permanent exhibits on topics such as preservation of historically significant buildings, sustainable development, and urban design.

The Gallery, designed for self-discovery, has many interactive exhibits and stations, one of which is Central Area Discoverer, an interactive library of more than 100 video stories and 1,000 pictures of the centre's past, present and future, the urban planning efforts in finding innovative solution to space constraints and a growing population, balancing old world charm with an ultra modern cityscape.