SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY OF URBAN CONSERVATION - TIONG BAHRU

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine if Tiong Bahru conservation area is socially sustainable from the residents’ perception and bridge the gap between planners and residents by providing relevant recommendations to resolve the challenges raised by respondents and problems noticed. The study was conducted through a survey with 100 residents of Tiong Bahru and in-depth interviews with 15 residents, 2 planners from the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Head of Research in Southeast Asia from Jones Lang LaSalle. The factors affecting social sustainability identified in this paper are (1) Sense of place and identity, (2) Quality of life, (3) Social inclusion and equity, (4) Community access and participation, (5) Community stability. In order to assess if Tiong Bahru conservation is socially sustainable, two conditions must be fulfilled; the central tendency measured using all data values must obtain a mean that is smaller than 2.6 and similar sentiments must be shared across different age groups, determined using one-way ANOVA. Survey findings fulfilled the first condition but falls short of the second condition as similar sentiments were not shared across all age groups for ‘Sense of place and identity’. The findings also revealed ‘Sense of place and identity’ to have the strongest presence in Tiong Bahru conservation while ‘Quality of life’ to have the least. Both the survey results and interviews facilitated the formulation of recommendations to guide the direction and future decisions that urban planners and policymakers can consider in planning and the formulation of policies.