PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION OF NATURE: RESTAURANTS IN SINGAPORE’S PARKS

Abstract

As a social construct, the concept of nature is infused with ideologies, and understandings of the concept are filtered by knowledges, or representations, of nature that are produced by many domains of influence. The examination of social constructs of nature in Singapore have typically focused on the influence of the state through the development of parks. In neoliberal Singapore where a premium is placed on economic development, and economic activity is prevalent even in parks, economic actors may also influence people’s understandings of nature. This thesis thus aims to foreground business as an actor and mediator in the production and consumption of knowledges and experiences of nature in Singapore. To this end, this thesis examines the material, discursive and performative productive and consumptive processes and practices of restaurants and their customers in Singapore’s parks. Findings reveal that restaurants produce nature through their marketing operations, namely, advertisements and restaurant environment. Restaurants can also mediate the consumption of nature by structuring the customers’ practices on the way to and at the restaurants in the parks. In the consumption of nature, customers also play a role in the interpretation and bodily experience of nature, and in the sharing of their experiences. The kinds of nature produced and consumed may thus have discrepancies, and reflect the underlying values and ideologies different actors have on the concept of nature