GEK2001/SSA2202/GES1003

Changing Landscapes of Singapore

Bicentennial Version
(2019 only)

LECTURE 3 HERITAGE LANDSCAPES

DR . KAMALINI RAMDAS
Outline
 Mini Quiz 3
 Recap
 Today’s objectives
 What is heritage? Why is it important? What are heritage
landscapes?
 Developments leading to heritage conservation in Singapore
 State’s agenda for Heritage Planning
 Chinatown example and Reactions Singaporeans
 Recent issues in heritage conservation
 Summary/Conclusion
Today’s Objectives
 Introduce concepts: heritage and heritage landscapes

 Understand different heritage landscapes in Singapore:

 State’s agendas behind heritage conservation

 Reactions from the ground: contestations and resistances

What is Heritage?
 Legacies of the past, conserved in the present, to be passed on to
future generations

 History and heritage are not the same things. History is facts about
the past; heritage refers to select historical traditions and artifacts
deemed of value and considered worthy of retention
What is Heritage?
 Heritage can be:
Tangible: building, art work, food item, dress
etc.
Intangible: values, stories, folksong, practices
etc.
 Heritage at different scales:
individual, community, or nation
contestation arises due to different ideas
regarding what is of value at different scales
Why is heritage
conservation important?

 Conservation of heritage landscapes provides a way for the state to retain

important traditional characteristics of places.
 This is aimed at imparting a sense of history and identity for a nation.
 However as landscapes and societies evolve, it is never possible to
retain/conserve everything from the past, thereby causing much unhappiness
among both locals and tourists.
 Consider lost food heritage  Traditional Bakery?
In short …

“Heritage” is something of the past which is

valued by the present (for the future?)

“Heritage” may be contested

“Heritage” is a value-laden concept

What are Heritage
Landscapes?
 “Heritage landscapes”: landscapes that contain the legacy of the past
conserved in some way for the future
 Heritage can take the form of conserved buildings/monuments,
historic landscapes and natural environments
 The state usually has the power to decide which landscape/building
should be conserved (who exactly?)
 Heritage landscapes as contested sites: “who decides what should be
conserved for whom and for what reasons/why?”
Developments Leading to
Heritage Conservation in
Singapore
1960s to 1985: Urban Renewal
 Pragmatism: “demolish-and-rebuild” urban slums and rural
kampongs
 Heritage took a backseat to urbanization and modernization
 Results: an overly modern/western society and urban landscape
Neglect of Urban
Conservation
“There was simply no time to rearrange the
furniture in the sitting room while pressing matters
have to be attended to in the kitchen. Indeed on
quite a number of occasions there were fires in the
kitchen that had to be put out promptly. In the 60s
and 70s it was not surprising that conservation did
not feature highly, if at all, in our national agenda.”

Lim Chee Onn, former Chairman of National Heritage Board

(quoted in Roots, 1994, p.2)
Developments Leading to
Heritage Conservation in
Singapore
1986 to 1990s: Heritage Awareness and Conservation
 Era of heritage awareness and about-turn in planning mindset
brought about by different reasons
 External reason: tourism decline (1983-85) due to overly modern
environment
 Internal reason 1: Singaporeans becoming too ‘western’ and have
forgotten their history and culture
 Internal reason 2: Singapore’s urban landscape becoming too similar
to other cities – lack of unique identity and sense of place
 “We are part of a long Asian civilisation and we should be
proud of it. We should not be assimilated by the West and
become a pseudo-Western society. We should be a nation
that is uniquely multiracial and Asian, with each
community proud of its traditional culture and heritage.”
(Goh Chok Tong, then First Deputy Prime
Minister, 1988)

We should retain our heritage but examine them for values

which need to be modified, and scrutinise foreign traditions for
ideas which can be incorporated but do so cautiously. Our roots
are important. We should not be root-bound, but neither
should we abandon our roots. They anchor us, and will help us
grow.
(Lee Hsien Loong, then Minister for Trade and Industry and
Second Minister for Defence, 1989)
“The only way that gives our city a
distinct personality is our historic past
through the selective conservation of
old districts and buildings.”
(URA, 1985)

Concluded that Singapore has lost its

"Oriental mystique and charm best
symbolised in old buildings, traditional
activities and bustling road activities" in
its effort to construct a "modern
metropolis“
(Tourism Taskforce, 1984)
Steps taken to address
these challenges
 Recommendation the conservation of cultural areas and historical
sites as part of the Tourism Product Development Plan of 1986
 URA Conservation Master Plan (1986): Historic districts strategically
chosen for conservation
 The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) drew up plans for the
conservation of “historic districts” in the Central Area to showcase
the city’s multiculturalism and to capitalize on the city’s “more
traditional assets”
 Committee on Heritage (1988): heritage plays a vital part in nation
building as it helps young people appreciate their roots, balance
Asian and western values, draw inspiration from multi-cultural
diversity
 Historic Districts
 Civic and Cultural District: identified as the core of British influence
 Chinatown: identified with the pioneering spirit and enterprise of early
Chinese immigrants to Singapore
 Kampong Glam: the traditional residential and business quarter for Malay,
Indonesian and Arab traders centred on the Sultan Mosque.
 Little India: the traditional hub of Indian community life and commerce.
What Happened in
these Historic Districts?
 Adaptive Reuse
 Gentrification
 Heritage Commodification
Heritage
Commodification
 Heritage as something with
economic value

 Heritage landscapes as a
tourism product

 Heritage landscapes as an
investment the state needs to
make to build global cityscape
where art, history and culture
are viewed as important
State’s Agenda Behind
Heritage Conservation
 The state aims to be “even-handed” in managing multi-ethnic
heritage
 Provide a new “glue” to bind a multiethnic, multicultural society.
This is a crucial element of nationhood in Singapore
 Develop heritage for tourism purposes.
 Do people see historic districts as culturally relevant or
representative?
 Do they see these spaces as more for tourists?
 Who else makes use of these landscapes?
Chinatown Case and
Reactions
Highlights Of STB’s Chinatown Experience Guide Plan (Thematic
Zones)
The Village Theatre
◦ an arts, cultural and entertainment gathering place in Kreta Ayer (Chinatown
Arts Belt)

Chinatown Heritage Centre

◦ cultural resource centre on Chinatown's past and its people

Street Markets
◦ Key streets in Kreta Ayer will be home to the bustling street markets
Criticism
 Commercial impetus behind cultural/heritage programme: falling
tourist numbers (1983-1985)
 Urban changes catering to tourists often end up inauthentic and
‘other directed’: “ethnic theme park”, “exoticised”, “sanitised”,
putting tourists rather than locals first
 More criticisms/resistances will be evident in the following case
studies
The Chinatown Historic
District: material form or
intangible spirit?
 Can URA’s “adaptive re-use” and STB’s “enhancing the Chinatown
experience” help capture the “spirit” and “soul” of the past and
render the landscape meaningful to Singaporeans?
 Some say “yes”, Chinatown is vibrant especially during Lunar New
Year. If they want “traditional” Chinese foods like sea cucumber, birds
nest, Chinese sausage, still available in Chinatown in places like Hong
Kong Street
 Some say “no”, the main Chinatown (Pagoda Street, Trengganu
Street, Sago Street) mainly sells tourist souvenirs and cold beer. Even
the visible part of Chinatown complex (outer perimeter) displays
tourist goods
 Former Residents
Former Residents ‘Chased
‘Chased Away’
Away’ From
From Chinatown
Chinatown

“The government said the area is old, an eyesore. So it want to make

the place nicer; they made people renovate. If you cannot renovate…
then you don’t stay here. That’s what the government did; it’s like
chasing people away. We were all poor, how to afford the costs?... In
the past there were a lot of residents; now it’s different.” (Chinatown
resident of 40 years)
Current Residents Feeling ‘Out of
Place’

“Why would I want to go? Coffee and bread for $10? You can get
better coffee and bread in a coffee shop for about $2! These places are
not for people like me. I prefer to come back to my ‘old place’ where I
can talk loudly and drink my coffee at ease. In that kind of place, you
have to watch your volume. Very uncomfortable.” (Chinatown
resident)
Summary: Conservation
Benefits
 Converting structurally unsound and aesthetically unpleasant
buildings into attractive hotels (eg. Bukit Pasoh area)
 Celebrating indigenous architectural styles and local décor/art works
(eg. New Majestic Hotel)
 Bringing back tourists and locals who were turned off by brothels and
insecurity (eg. Keong Saik Road)
Summary: Conservation
Criticisms
 Post-conservation rent hikes led to demise of traditional, small
businesses selling utilitarian goods and everyday services as well as
long-time residents
 Conserved shophouses nice to look at but mainly meant for moneyed
tourists and yuppies
 Tourism emphasis runs the risk of developing a simplistic Orientalist
theme park that former residents/visitors have no affinity with
Recent Issues in
Heritage Conservation
 World Heritage Status: why bother?
 Outstanding universal value: Botanic Gardens and Hawker Culture
 What about heritage that does not meet these standards or isn’t
valued in this way?
Summary/Conclusion
 Heritage is valued differently by different actors
 Representations of heritage affected by who is in power
 Contestations about representations of heritage an important
consideration (i.e. what about those not in power?)
 Heritage is part of national identity
 Notion of successful heritage conservation changing
 Heritage landscapes – showcase museum or organic living spaces
that reflect changes in Singapore?