TOPIC 1

THINKING
GEOGRAPHICALLY

Geography in Everyday Life

Notes
 1.1: Relationships
between people and 1.2: A sense of place in
nature in their neighbourhoods
neighbourhoods

Thinking
Geographically

1.3: Relationships between 1.4: Organisation of

locations in a neighbourhoods in
neighbourhood Singapore
 1.1.1: WHAT IS THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
PEOPLE AND NATURE?
Note: Feel free to use your own examples!

PRESENTATION TITLE 3
Local communities and nature
areas provide for each other.
• People depend on nature for many things:
• Essentials like air and water help humans survive
• Processes (like photosynthesis or pollination) provide a continuous
source of food
• Spaces for recreation to enhance and maintain humans’ physical
and mental wellbeing
• Ex. Nparks’ Therapeutic Gardens connect people with nature, reducing
stress, improving physical, psychological and social well-being.

TOPIC 1.1 4
• Nature areas are also dependent on local communities to
thrive
• Ensures plants and animals thrive by
• Bringing about environmental protection (through the nourishment of flora
and fauna)
• Encouraging one another to enjoy nearby nature areas in a sustainable
manner without causing irreversible damage
• Educating people about the sustainable use of nature and its resources
• Ex. Nparks organises a range of activities for schools during the
week of International Day for Biodiversity in May, such as the
Green Week campaign, educating youths about the importance of
protecting our natural environment.

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Local communities and nearby
nature areas also mutually affect
each other.
• Presence of green spaces and urban wildlife in
neighbourhoods enhance mental health and well-being of
local communities
• Human activities in nature areas can enhance biodiversity.
• Through reforestation:
• People gain enjoyment and enhance mental health and well-being
• Overall health of natural environment enhanced as more shelter
and habitat for urban wildlife is provided

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1.1.2: HOW DO PEOPLE
AND NATURE BRING
ABOUT BENEFITS TO
EACH OTHER?
:D

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Nature areas benefit people by…
1. Lowering air 2. Removing 3. Providing
temperature pollutants recreational space
• Trees provide • Photosynthesis • Nature areas
shade helping to allows plants to provide recreational
lower air remove pollutants space for variety of
temperature and freshen the air outdoor activities to
• Trees cool help human being
surroundings enhance and
through maintain well-being
evapotranspiration
1. Lowering air temperature
• Vegetation
• Provides shade and reduces amount of direct sunlight reaching the
surface (through localised change of temperature)
• Cools the surrounding air through evapotranspiration as water
that plants absorb through their roots gets released into air as
water vapour, using heat from the surroundings, cooling it.
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2. Removal of pollutants
• During photosynthesis,
vegetation absorbs carbon
dioxide and other air pollutants
(ex. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen
dioxide) and releases oxygen
• Small particles intercepted by
leaves, which get washed to
the ground when it rains.

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• Wetland plants trap suspended materials and absorb
excess nutrients in the water, improving water quality

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3. Provision of recreational space
• Offers numerous opportunities for outdoor activities
• Direct and frequent interactions with nature bring about
health and wellbeing benefits to people, reducing severity
and occurrence of health conditions

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People also bring benefits to nature through
community activities promoting
environmental protection
• Raise awareness about value of nature through
encouraging positive behaviour that does not damage
nature, encouraging sustainable use of nature and
resources
• Ex. Nparks Citizen Science initiative, Dagonfly Watch, trains
participants to identify different dragonfly species at assigned
sites, resulting in greater protection of species by raising
awareness of importance in environment
• Note: You may create your own examples, but you have to talk about the
who, what, for whom, when and why

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• Local communities can also organise or participate in
conservation efforts
• Clean-up programmes to reduce pollutants from the environment
help restore natural habitats and provide healthy environment for
species to thrive
• Ex. Waterway clean-up programme organised by the Waterways Watch
Society creates opportunities for schools to pick up trash from the Marina
Reservoir.

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 1.1.3: WHAT ARE THE
DISADVANTAGES PEOPLE
AND NATURE BRING TO
EACH OTHER?

D:

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People bring disadvantages to
nature by…
• Causing soil erosion and damaging
vegetation
• When people hike along non-
designated trails in nature areas:
• Cause soil compaction which prevents
rainwater from infiltrating the surface,
leading to higher surface flows and
soil erosion as flowing water washes
away soil particles
• May also trample on vegetation,
damaging plants and affecting growth
• Ex. In 2014, human activities led to severe soil erosion and
habitats degradation in Bukit Timah Nature Reserve,
leading to limited to public access to nature reserve for 2
years.

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• Deforestation and construction of roads/buildings leads to
significant soil erosion

• Look! A link-back to Sec 2 Chapter 11!

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• Worsening pollution in natural areas
• Littering can worsen pollution in natural areas.
• Animals can get cut by metal cans or become entangled
with plastic containers and bags.
• Some animals may also mistake the litter for food and
consume them, causing animals to get hurt and suffer,
leading to their death
• Feeding wild animals may also lead to changes in the
habitats and behaviours of wildlife, and human-wildlife
conflict can increase when animals associate food with
people

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• Ex. Some people think that they are doing wild animals a
favour by feeding them but it actually does them more harm
than good. In Singapore, the law prohibits the feeding of any
wild animals. If caught, offenders will be fined $5000. 21
Nature areas may bring disadvantages
to people as…
1. Human-wildlife conflicts may 2. Environmental protection may be
increase perceived to be limiting development.
• Natural habitats are shrinking • Some people may feel that
• Disturbance to wildlife due to protection of nature is done at
growing interest in outdoor expense of needs
recreation

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1. Human-wildlife conflicts may
increase
• This is due to an increase in human-wildlife encounters,
due to:
• As wildlife population in the city increases, people who may
not know how to deal with them may unintentionally
provoke them, leading to attacks.
• Some animals may be confused or fearful when they
venture into unfamiliar urban spaces, increasing their
likelihood of attacks when fearful or triggered.

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2. Environmental protection may
be perceived to be limiting
development.
• Some people in local communities may feel that protection
of nature is done at the expense of their needs.
• Ex 1. Wild boar attacks in Singapore
• 2 people attacked in Punggol (residential neighbourhood) in 2023 due to
intensive development
• did NOT take animals into consider
• * Thus, we need to engage nature groups during land use planning (ACRES)
• Ex 2. rat infestation @ Bukit Batok during 2014 & 2016
• Ex 3. 2023: Crows attacking humans

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• Ex 3. Cross Island MRT Line
• Proposed to be built around, instead of under, Central Catchment Nature
Reserve to protect our largest primary rainforest

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• Residents were afraid that this
development would
• Bring them inconvenience
• Damage their property
• Result in homes being acquired to
make way for the construction
• However, this nature reserve is
home to numerous critically
endangered species.
• After an environmental impact study
was carried out, Ministry of
Transport decided that 2 km of MRT
tunnel will run directly underneath
the nature reserve at a depth of 70
metres

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1.1: Relationships between
1.2: A sense of place in
people and nature in their
neighbourhoods
neighbourhoods

Thinking
Geographically

1.3: Relationships between 1.4: Organisation of

locations in a neighbourhoods in
neighbourhood Singapore
 1.2.1: WHAT IS A SENSE
OF PLACE?

PRESENTATION TITLE 30
 Sense of place
• Developed when people associate meanings and memories
with locations
• Reflects the relationship we might have with places around
us, which can help build our identity and understand
ourselves/others better
• A result of experiences with natural/built environment, and
interactions at these places
• Is highly personal and subjective, and can differ from
person to person
• Ex. Different homemakers and retirees have different
meanings associated with hawker centers.
• Homemakers might associate hawker centres with convenience
and variety
• Retires might think of leisure and relationship

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1.2.2: HOW DO PEOPLE
ACQUIRE A SENSE OF
PLACE IN THEIR
NEIGHBOURHOODS?

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People acquire a sense of place
through…
• 1. Repeated encounters
with objects and people
• Recall character and features
of places that we came across
• 2. Significant or memorable
events at local landmarks
and gathering places
• Acquire a sense of place from
significant or memorable
events
1. Repeated encounters with
objects and people.
• Helps us recall character and features of places that we
come across and create meanings and memories of them
• Ex1. Many residents in Singapore have vivid memories of the
scenic journeys along East Coast Parkway as it is a route they go
by when they return home from overseas
• Ex2: “usual place”
• Ex3: Toa Payoh Dragon Playground at Lorong 6. Toa Payoh is one
of two full-sized Dragon Playgrounds remaining in Singapore (with
a sand pit)

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2. Significant or memorable
events at local landmarks and
gathering places.
• Acquire a sense of place from significant or memorable
events that occur at local landmarks and gathering places
• Landmarks are highly visible and easy for most people to
remember
• They may serve symbolic or historical purposes.
• Ex1. Truss Bridges in Bukit Timah were built in 1932 as part of a
railway line

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• Landmarks may hold positive and/or negative memories.
• Feature public symbols that reflect a community’s response
to a tragedy, serving as a place for people to preserve their
memories of loved ones.
• Being recognised worldwide helps strengthen people’s
identity
• Ex2. 9/11 Memorial in NYC, USA, is the formal location of the Twin
Towers that were destroyed during 9/11 in 2001. It serves as a
reminder of its significance and impact, and to honour those killed
in 9/11

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• Aside from landmarks, interactions with people everyday at
places like shops result in us developing an attachment to
these places, enabling us to feel a sense f belonging to our
neighbourhoods
• Places not visually distinctive like open lawns and plazas
may be transformed into memorable places where people
gather during community events.
• Ex3: Jurong Lake Gardens was transformed into a music arena
when it hosted the Nparks Concert Series in the Park: Rockestra,
thus becoming a memorable place for many residents.

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1.2.3: HOW IS SENSE OF
PLACE REPRESENTED?

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Sense of place
• Expressed in various different forms and types of media by
individuals or organisations, reflecting people’s ideas,
memories and significance of the location.
• An individual may express their personal sense of place in
different forms like text, audio, graphics etc.
• Shared with others through various media types
• ex1. #sgmemory, where users of Instagram share photographs of
memorable experiences of places around Singapore
• Organisations may also reflect people’s collective sense of place,
through both print and internet-based media
 1.2.4: HOW MAY
REPRESENTATIONS OF
SENSE OF PLACE
ENHANCE/CONTRADICT
AN INDIVIDUAL’S SENSE
OF PLACE?
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Different emotions expressed in the
media might enhance/contradict our
sense of place.
• Our sense of place shapes identity, hence, we respond well
to representations that agree with how we feel about places
in our neighbourhood.
• Such representations add new layers of meaning to
enhance one’s sense of place when interesting (often
positive) information about the place is shared.
• Ex. Tiong Bahru estates was marketed as Tiong “Boo-ru” during
Halloween 2023 as residents and shops participate in Halloween
activities help create good memories of the estate.
• However, we may respond defensively to media content
that challenges our sense of place, causing us to dismiss
these media content, perceiving them as distortions or
untruths.
• “Why Yishun is the Most terrifying place to Live”
• Caused Nee Soon Town Council and residents to share official
statistics to show that Yishun is just like any other town in
Singapore.

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