Ways of inhabiting: spatial appropriation in Singapore

Abstract

Spatial planning in Singapore is mostly a top-down process which has resulted in the erasure of local spatial history and the creation of exclusionary urban spaces (Hee, 2017). As such, individuals living in Singapore have little agency over the changes that happen in urban space. This project investigates various types of spatial appropriation to understand urban informality in Singapore, and the ways in which they empower individuals and communities to take back claim to the city, mainly through creating greater spatial justice and creating spaces of comfort, belonging and commitment. The project will also seek to understand the impact of spatial appropriation on an individual’s mental image of the city by using hand drawn maps as a tool to visually articulate one’s lived experiences. I aim to present these investigations as a way to understand spatial practice in Singapore through lived experience.