PUBLIC SPACES IN SINGAPORE: THE PLAUSIBILITY FOR SELF-ORGANIZATION IN A STATE-DOMINATED CONTEXT

Abstract

This study aims to examine the plausibility of an alternate perspective on the urbanization process in modern Singapore against the critiques put forth by some urban planners and political writers. Another aim is to develop a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics that operates within the relationships between the state, the economy and the people in the local context of public spaces. The analysis will focus on both physical and virtual public spaces: Their developmental process, nature of utilization and the parallelisms between different domains. The working method established is to first determine the theoretical bases of current literature on urbanization processes in Singapore, so as to develop a critique against potential biases and mindsets. Thereafter based on the biases identified, an alternate theory is examined and tested for its plausibility against selected case studies representing the range of public spaces in Singapore. Due to limitations in length of writing, only selected authors representative of certain schools of thought are examined and only one case study typical of different genres of public space are chosen. Analyses of the case studies provide observations suggesting a highly plausible application of the theory examined, leading to an alternate perspective on the nature of local public spaces. From the findings, further speculations are made as to the important factors involved in the future planning for public spaces.