URBAN ANXIETY: A DIVERSITY OVERWHELMED DENSITY

Abstract

Density is a growing inevitability in cities everywhere. However, that is not new. What is, is its growth to unprecedented levels and at rates unheard of till today. In addition to this new urban territory, the concern over density in cities like Singapore is also entangled with issues of diversity. The resulting mix is a new shift in the social lives and wellbeing of Singaporeans. Diversity has long been part of the fiber of social life in Singapore. However, the introduction and subsequent influx of foreigners (including new citizens and permanent residents) in the local population has resulted in the need for locals to not just live with other `neatly ordered? Singaporean ethnic groups, but learn new ways to cope with a whole new set of others ? a new diversity. The rapid intensification of high-rise high density residential arrangements, coupled with the abrupt entrance of international neighbors living alongside will prove to be, just the right ingredients for urban anxiety. The combination of density and diversity may have led us to present anxieties, but learning how to marry this seemingly incompatible couple may also lead us out. Although density and diversity may be the issues at hand, design aims to be the key to resolving this conflict. The presence and use of public spaces in high density living arrangements are explored, scrutinized and improved upon. While witnessing the implosion of some of these typical spaces of interaction, we discover also the emergence of spaces of conviviality, giving hope also, for the creation of a new shared community.