THE SUSTAINABILITY OF HAWKER CENTRES IN SINGAPORE

Abstract

The shortage of land in Singapore has served as an impetus for its government to make strategic land use planning decisions. What kind of significance does hawker centres hold such that the Singapore government is continually investing its economic resources to maintain the trade and more recently, allocating large parcels of land to support the development of hawker centres?

Observed throughout the research paper is the physical transformation of the hawking trade in Singapore. From the streets to sheltered complexes to integrating into Singapore’s formal market system, hawker centres have become a symbolism of the Singaporean lifestyle. As it faces multiple threats to its survival in the fast-paced 21st century, the urban space raises doubts on its ability to remain relevant to Singaporeans and if more of it should be developed in the urban landscape of the land-scarce city-state.

This dissertation seeks to investigate how efficient it is to allocate land to building hawker centres, an eating establishment that has evolved following the processes of urbanisation and developmental progression in Singapore. A qualitative approach was adopted to question, interpret and formulate arguments to test the hypothesis of this dissertation.

Overall, the analysis revealed that the functions of hawker centres have been affected by urbanisation as Singapore failed to retain important characteristics and charm of the hawker centres as it progressed. It also suggested that there exists an intricate web of governing bodies in Singapore that dictates the direction of the country’s growth which can have a tremendous impact on the real estate system of the city-state. Through surveys and interviews, it was also found that sentiments among members of the public and hawkers, the two key groups of stakeholders of the urban space, that the availability of convenient alternative eating establishments is the most important factor that threatens the survival of hawker centres in the fast-paced 21st century.

Findings of this paper serves to benefit policy-makers as it presents a critical evaluation of the planning strategies adopted by the Singapore planning authorities.