WEEKEND ENCLAVES - A SIGN OF PUBLIC SPACE SEGREGATION BETWEEN SINGAPOREANS AND FOREIGN WORKERS

Abstract

Immigration have been one of the key drivers in Singapore’s economic growth. The inflow of low-skilled foreign workers, however, may have some negative implications on the country’s goals towards social sustainability. One potential concern is the existence of spatial stereotypes such as “weekend enclaves” where Singaporeans and foreign workers occupy separate locations despite conducting same social activities. Using the case of “weekend enclaves”, this is the first study that comprehensively investigates causes and outcomes of socio-spatial segregation between Singaporeans and foreign workers. It contributes to the literature by providing a deeper understanding of how the existence of spatial stereotypes affect social interactions among two distinct social groups. Estimation results from the Ordered Logit Regression models with the sample of 340 Singaporean survey respondents demonstrate that stereotypes and demarcations for public space, instead of a lower comfort level with foreign workers, are the main driver of their choice of weekend activity locations that are segregated from foreign workers’ locations. Results also show that the level of social interactions of Singaporeans with foreign workers has a significant, positive association with their frequency of sharing public spaces. These findings together suggest that existence of spatial stereotypes against socially disadvantaged groups influence public space sharing, and in turn, has a negative effect on social interactions between different social groups. These findings provide urban planners and policy makers a new viewpoint of how public space planning can influence spatial segregation and social interactions. The hierarchical structural guidance from the state government on public spaces may have shaped public norms of civility. As stereotypes of public spaces persist, it has led to further spatial segregation and the lack of social interactions between the social groups, which would be a potential threat to social sustainability.