Main content

A Tale of Two Cities: Singapore and Melbourne

In Singapore, Charlotte Ashton wonders whether lack of compassion is making people unhappy; Lynne O'Donnell finds that Melbourne's historic laneways are at risk of being sold off.

Singapore was recently named the world's most expensive city, and its citizens frequently rank among its least happy, too. After a few nasty incidents while living there, Charlotte Ashton began to wonder whether this lack of happiness might be down to a lack of empathy. But does Singapore really suffer from a 'compassion deficit'?

Melbourne's historic 'laneways' have become vibrant centres of culture, shopping and socialising. But as Lynne O'Donnell found out, they could be sold off by the authorities there. What might this mean for a city which - for three years in a row - has been named most 'liveable' in the world?

Presenter: Pascale Harter
Producer: Ben Weisz

Photo: Commuters wait for the train at the subway staion in Singapore on February 13, 2013
Photo credit: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images)

Available now

11 minutes

Last on

Thu 20 Mar 2014 20:50GMT

Broadcast

  • Thu 20 Mar 2014 20:50GMT