The history of public space is often the same history as discrimination and revolts. It is because public spaces are intended to be open-ended, in order for the public to enjoy and express themselves. In societies where the government is put in place and supported by its people, this same...

Seemingly, rising aspiration for common space and community life in many cities faces two counter currents: The receding and underperforming states in producing and reproducing public spaces, and the acceding private corporations to being the major producer of private spaces-public places. By...

Across different cultural practices, the perception and meaning of public space varies significantly. ‘Public space’ has dominated discourse on the nature of space with community and state ownership, its counterpart being ‘private space’. Traditionally, they have been viewed as polar...

The following sections are included:Singapore TodayApplying Spatial Justice

The end of the railway in Singapore came after 108 years of operation, a vestige of the British Empire, a very specific space in a very different time. The trains were charging first-class passengers 56 cents, according to The Straits Times (2 January 1903), to leave the original station on Tank...

The following sections are included:Introduction: Worries About the VoidDesign HistoryThe Void Deck GambleManaging The Legacy of the Void Deck GamblePropositions

The phenomenon of illegal architecture, whether in urban or rural areas, is something that many people first notice when they arrive in Taiwan. People are usually shocked by how much of such illegal architecture there is. However, after a while, when one compares this with the major construction...

The following sections are included:IntroductionA Colonial Space: From Exclusivity to Inclusiveness… and ContestationA Ritualised Space: Festivals and Community-BuildingAn Authentic and Transcendental SpaceA Local Space Gone GlobalA Space of Urban Planning and Policy RelevanceA Disputed Space:...

The following sections are included:PreambleDynamics of Everyday SpacesCities are Shaped by Time and Mental StructuresThe AnalysisTrap of the Thin Crust and the Management of ChangeAppendix

The term ‘hawker’ is defined as someone who travels selling goods, with no one fixed location. With that in mind, the term ‘hawker centre’ is almost ironic in its attempt at ‘locating’ this once nomadic trade. Yet somehow over the years, this term has become an iconic part of the...