Urban informality and everyday (night)life: a field study in SingaporeIn recent years, cities at the cusps of postmodernism and cosmopolitanism have begun to recognise the social and economic gains generated by urban nightlife in terms of employment, tourism and civic boosterlsm. One would therefore expect to see from the 'contemporisation', commodification and control of urban nightlife a grodual demise of urban informality on the city streets at night. Taking the global city of Singapore as a departure point for our investigation, we argue that spatial and temporal urban modes of informal practices are not only alive and well but also co-exist alongside the formal night-time economy. Adopting a three-fold ethnographic approach that combines the research methods of flânerie, photography and narration, this field study uncovers everyday |night)life as it unfolds in the Banglodeshi ethnic quarter of Singapore's Little India. In so doing, this paper contributes to wider understandings of urban informality by revealing the significance of informal urban nightscapes on the everyday lives of urban dwellers and discussing their implications for a global city like Singapore. Globalisation and the night-time economyThe night is difTerent, its opposition to day marked by darkness and danger. But its fears are balanced by its freedoms. Night offers escape from the drudgeries of the day, the routines that define humanity in specific duties, obligations, and tasks. (Palmer, 2000,13) New Yorkers throng Times Square for the annual New Year's Eve countdown and remain fixated in the festive atmosphere until the early hours of the morning; Barcelonans stroll along Las Ramblas after a late-night order of tapas and are entertained by an array of quirky buskers; Tokyoites while away the moonlit hours with afterwork drinks in one of the many traditional kissatens (Japanese-style coffeehouses) dotted around the city; while, in the alleyways of Vancouver's most drug-possessed neighbourhood, heroin addicts search for their next fix. The night-time city plays a significant role in the lives of urban dwellers as it represents a time for merriment, socialisation, escapism and transgressive behaviour In a '24-hour city', an ordinary day in the life of an urban dweller need not cease at sundown; rather, cities are likely to be more intensely lived and experienced
Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Empire, was built from scratch in 582 CE. Its layout became the paradigm for many East Asian cities. Its residential wards have not been closely studied. Heng Chye Kiang’sVisualizing Everyday Life in the City: A Categorization System for Residential Wards in Tang Chang’an builds on the author’s research on the structure of a typical ward, its parcellation of residential land, residential density, the layout of houses, and a digital reconstruction of Yongning ward based on the theoretical framework the author established. The current study proposes that Chang’an’s wards be categorized according to their form, size, and content to construct a framework that offers a better understanding of their sociospatial complexity. After establishing a system of categorization, the author chose three representative wards—Taiping, Liquan, and Pingkang—for digital reconstruction, taking into account the road networks, estimated population density, size of residential plots, and type of residential compound, according to their owners’ social status, as found in historical records.
Public policy can significantly affect the design and quality of public spaces. This may be truer in Singapore than elsewhere. The making of new public spaces after Singapore's independence has been attributed to the extensive authority and perhaps draconian powers of the building authorities. Enacted in 1966, The Land Acquisition Act empowered the Singapore government to compulsorily acquire land for public development, facilitating the acquisition and combination of fragmented lots. Such land is sold by public tender to private developers through the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. The ensuing large footprint buildings with a strong public agenda have changed the landscape of Singapore. The resulting public spaces have been named State -Business Driven Public Spaces, or SBDPS, to reflect the close proximity and integration of state policies and business concerns. Through the examination of planning/ design policies, plans, circulars, and land sale packages, this study examines how the GLS programme evolves and responds to Singapore's economic and social conditions. It also explores the design review and evaluation process to reveal the hidden dynamics behind the development of public spaces, providing a clearer model to understand Singapore's urban policy and to compare it against the regulatory structures of other countries.
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