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So where is an alien supposed to land its flying saucer in Singapore for a dramatic entrance as it demands to be taken to our leader?Looking down from that spaceship hovering hesitantly over the island, the interplanetary visitor would see the choice of a few urban plazas - with more to come as promised by the recently unveiled Urban Redevelopment Authority Draft Master Plan.迷你倉But where is that definitive public square, that one grand space where Singaporeans might converge upon in times of national events? And even if we had such a space, would we grumpily head that way in the heat and humidity without the lure of fireworks and goody bags?Consider the open-air mediaeval squares of Europe like the beautiful shell-shaped Piazza del Campo of Siena; or the National Mall unrolling like an endless emerald carpet in Washington, DC; or Trafalgar Square with its watchful statues in London. They draw the eyes, hearts and spirit of people... as well as potential extraterrestrial visitors.The spaceship noses its way towards the Padang in Singapore, its captain excited by what looks like a rival flying saucer near the field. The "UFO" is then disappointingly identified as a non-flying object; it is the circular top part of the current Supreme Court building. The nearby old Supreme Court building and City Hall are assertive, beautiful structures which point to the Padang in front of them as being Singapore's grand public square (or oblong, if you insist). And it was so for years.The field was a witness to historical, political as well as literal fireworks. National Day parades, big sporting events and New Year's Eve celebrations. Should the alien land in the Padang today, it might find startled cricket enthusiasts who would respond to its demands to be taken to their leader by directing it to recently retired cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar in India. Or perhaps people would point to that wayward runner of last Sunday's Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore. He completed barely 6km of the 42.195km route, but crossed the finishing line by the Padang as the Singaporean "winner" for a couple of hours until he was disqualified.The venue undoubtedly has historical weight, but it has become more usually like that pleasant place you glance at as you drive by or ride by in a bus on the way to somewhere else.Could the Draft Master Plan proposal to partially or temporarily close roads near the Padang give the old, green heart of Singapore a helpful squeeze? Make it more inviting for people to hang out there?I mop the perspiration from my face as I wonder if we are too attached to air-conditioning to want to hang out in a sun-baked public space without a specific event to distract us from the weather. People are willing to sweat it out or be soaked by the rain at an outdoor place like The Meadow in Gardens by the Bay for the indie music scene's upcoming Laneway Festival Singapore. We h自存倉ad to cycling or hiking trails prepared to perspire. I love the green spaces we have here, but I cannot help thinking the people I see sprawled on the grass in parks at mid-day have got to be tourists thawing from wintry temperatures back home.Our increasingly impatient alien looks up from the old Padang and spies with its one eye the Marina Bay Sands building with what looks like another possible spaceship balancing on top of it. Would our extraterrestrial being find a futuristic indoor public square there involving massive amounts of air-conditioning or creative cooling solutions like in the Gardens by the Bay conservatories?Perhaps this is Singapore's own take on the public square. Perhaps, here, we gather in cool comfort inside malls. They are our public squares with glass walls, air-conditioning and muzak. Bigger ones like The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and Ion Orchard, along with lots of foreign visitors. Something approaching to but not as iconic as the tourist-filled Times Square in New York.But traditional town squares were planted at the crossroads of important trade routes where the exchange of goods and ideas took place. There are goods galore in malls along Orchard Road but the trading of ideas takes place elsewhere. Could it be Hong Lim Park's Speakers' Corner?More than 4,000 people turned up there at the inaugural Purple Parade on Nov 30 to raise awareness about the special needs community. But without a cause to draw the crowds, the place is more of a sleepy, leafy space. Our alien visitor would have to land there on a very specific date to be greeted by purple-clad people.Perhaps the rationale is to move away from having sensitive rallying points like Cairo's Tahrir Square which was the scene of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, or the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, which saw anti-government protesters surging around it recently? With an estimated 100,000 people taking part, it was then the largest protest since nationwide elections in 2011. The Thai location had in earlier years been the focus of mass demonstrations calling for a return to democracy.So where does one go to see the heart of Singapore? How about the Marina Bay Floating Platform where National Day parades have been held for the past few years? It, too, is a space energised by specific events. When the show is over, it falls silent. Could the Singapore Sports Hub, due to open next year, be the one? But will you need a ticket in hand to get in there?Meanwhile, it looks like the best way for ET to make its demands to most people in Singapore is by reaching for the phone.Singapore, along with Hong Kong, leads Asia Pacific's smartphone penetration at 87 per cent."Take me to your leader," ET says, its face popping up on smartphone screens all over the island.We gather together in that mobile virtual public square, holding our battery-operated smartphone hearts in our hands.denise@sph.com.sg迷你倉