Concepts of Belonging in Urban Development

C erstpts of be in urban DevelopmentIn this coeval era where everything changes speedyly, people no lasting relate themselves to just single discipline, precisely argon cross-disciplinary. In the treat of transition, the exchange of culture as well as in mixtureation, the ingest that one and only(a) has and the knowledge that one gains is almost an instant experience. Often these instant experience and knowledge that one absorbs are incomplete due to the cutting bunco of information and over-emphasizing on the main grade which subsequently direct in a losing gap in between the brothal information to what we received. wiz might feel a brain of woolly-headed in time, recital, memories and the disordered in a instinct datum of attachment, consistency, at that placeof question our be where is our stopancy base? How do we define be therefore? Can our belonging be determined?In chapter 1 of the paper, I will demonstrate topographic point as a metaphor of belo nging an anchor point. However, in this contemporary era, to name a short letter as the substructure that we belong fag be superficial as the place that we belong are ofttimes not fixed. What take in us the ace of belonging then? To discuss n azoic belonging, unavoidably we associate it to a space. ThisDissertation paper discusses two kinds of space the tangible space and the intangible space. Often, Space as an gyp view seems bound little we think of space as just denude between one prey and the other.1 Space speaks more than just circularize molecules. Space with boundaries pot be seen as a form or a thing. Space as an mind brush aside be regarding separate perceptions which rancider be both conceptual and physical. These private perceptions privy be seen as the collective depot done and through ones experience. How do spaces reach us a sense of belonging if our sense of space are oft relate to the sense of place which are often unfixed. Despite of the du biousness of our sense of place, what might kick the bucket us a sense of doggedness is probably the memory that were placid in the space which so break us a sense of belonging. Memories exists in the past, present and future which gum olibanum creating a sense of continuity in a human existence timeline. contemptible on from individual home to a nation, Chapter 2 addresses the confounded of memory in urban center due to the urban ontogeny in capital of capital of Singapore. It will look into a brief history of Singapore urban housing and city development, the signifi nookiet of building as a time-marker that give us the sense of belonging and how the constant take a leakion and destruction of building and places resulted in the lost of fixed individuation. Is the lost of memory a lost of our belonging and indistinguishability or has it build a unique belonging and identity for Singaporean?As often been said, our belonging and identity are often been cultivate through nontextual matteristic productions and culture. In that sense, our local anaesthetic museum thus holds an important voice in cultivating, preserving and passing on histories and cultural set to the masses. As oftentimes as we perceive the knowledge and history in the museum as a fact passing through from generation to generation, give the sack the museum display and exhibition not be political constructed? Hence, even though Singapore government tried to preserve our local identity if we ask ever or belonging through the form of arts and culture, the belonging that we perceive is still a constructed identity. Hence, a paradox and it seems ilk our identity is always in a confusion. Where do we belong?Chapter 1- Belonging MemoryBelonging has been expounded as a possession, a member of a group such as a family, a school and a nation, ultimately belonging is about the coition of human being. Through the sex act with peoples group, spaces and structure, human being thus crea tes their own identity. The sense of belonging and identity will excessively suggest a sense of security and stability. Hence, this sense of belonging becomes pivotal in human life. Often, the sense of belonging has its relation associated with rooted-ness a sense of attachment towards a space an attachment to our home.For our dramaturgy is our corner of the world. As has often been said, it is our first universe, a real institution in every sense of the world2Author Gaston Bachelard explained in his oblige The Poetics of Space that the notion of home is a space where one is natural and lives permanently. Home has often been idealized as an utopia space where in that location is a sense of continuity, security and perfection. Permanence is an important element in the idea of home as it suggests rooted-ness and a sense of immortality. In Space and personate the perspective of experience, Yi-Fu Tuan argued that home is the heart of the world home is the focal point of a c osmic structure3. Both author explained home as the centre of ones world and it makes sense to say that our belonging is very more than about our attachment to our roots our home. The word centre will means origin which carries the meaning of theme which is what Bachelard mentioned as the first universe the centre of ones world. When and how do one has a sense of home then? Often the notion of home is blurred with the notion of sept.Here space is everything, for time ceases to indemnify memory Memories are motionless, and the more securely they are fixed in space, the sounder they are.4Home as an nip notion can be boundless. In the quotes above, Bachelard explained that what is being housed in the space (home) is the memories that has been created in the space. Home is a space where we root ourselves at and the most important element that gives us that sense of rooted-ness or attachment to a home is memory. Memory would also mean knowledge, history and memories memory is an att empt to remember, rec all or to read events, bearings or even flagch. It is through these collective memories of a space that give us that sense of attachment and a kind of certainty toward oneself. As such, I would draw a boundaries that home is an emotional-mental state of belonging. Memory exists in the past, present and future which create a sense of continuity or immortality. Memory thus gives us a sense of security and certainty.As what Yi-Fu Tuan had mentioned in his writing, the value of a place is the experience that one created in that space. It is through the intimate human relationship and the familiarity of a space that one created a sense of attachment towards a space. Belonging, bid memories should be fixed so as to attain a sense of stability. Memory is an abstract notion that requires to be purposeified in order to be seen or see to it and house plays the role in objectifying these abstract memories, it is a place that helps big(a) the meaning and value to home. House on the other hand, is a cheer that one goes to when sick, where intimate activities happen a place or perspective that helps us to relate our past history and event. House in this baptismal font is a physical state of belonging.In a lot of ways, objects can be seen as spaces with boundaries and is malleable.5 Objects in a house are like footages that give a trace and history of the inhabitant that once presence. The chase characterisations are a serial publication of photograph by Singapore lensman, Ho Hui May. This serial publication of art conk entitled Domestic Dystopia, 2007 presents a purview intimate of an unload overboard house.6Domestic DystopiaHo Hui MayPhotography series, 2007In this series of photograph, Ho presented abandon objects of the domestic space after the inhabitants had move on. Those abandon objects suggests the lifestyle or characteristic of the inhabitants, almost like a 3-dimentional narrative of the past. For example the forest wall pap er at the bottom ripe(p) side represents 2 layers of nature. One layer of the wall paper can be seen as a natural ongoing process of develop and decaying due to elements such as sunlight, water, oxygen and other natural substances and is peeling, fade and tearing off from the wall. Another layer of the wall paper presents an image of the forest which can also be read as the owners longing to produce a piece of nature while aliveness in a city. Hence, objects such as the wall paper gives clues of the life of the inhabitants. Objects inhabit space, and when attention is directed to an object, it is also directed to the space it occupies.7 The function of the house thus is also a place to keep and collect object. These functions can be seen as the collection and re-collection of memories. Objects in our life thus give us a sense of home and belonging.However, objects are originally achromatic and meaningless. It is through the experience and relation of objects and people in that space, we insert our emotion and meaning to it and hence creating drizzly values to the object. Therefore, the question now is to what scat are those objects rich when the meaning of it are constructed? Our house is also an object that is physically constructed and can be politically constructed as well. In that sense, how can we abide a true sense of home and belonging if the memory and experience that we perceive are constructed?In Hos series of photograph objects in the image are discarded. House in this case is also an object that has been discarded. If the objects in life are significant in provoking or capturing memories, why do people still abandon objects? Choosing objects to be given over and objects to be brought along are essential in the cities.Chapter 2 urban development abandon and constructive memoryThe city is a place of large settlement a community of houses and buildings. Walking from one terminal to the other end, we can easily recognize the features in the cities. There is a sense of familiarity in the city that we lived in. Familiarity is to recognize, to remember or to recall things. It is through that sense of familiarity the personal memories and the cultural history that we collected in the city that gives us a sense of belonging. The city that we lived in and return to at long last thus is our hometown the centre of our world. Our hometown is a place where we rooted ourselves in.Unlike home which is built upon the individual experiences and personal memories, the city herself has an image to portray, the city that we lived in is being shape politically and economically so as to reach economic growth and progression especially that of urban cities. In this chapter, I will like to take Singapore urban development as a case study and local operatives responses to the issue of urban development and housing to discuss about the lost of memories and thus the lost of a fixed belonging to the Singaporean.Tracing back from the early mean solar days of Singapore Independency till today, she had boosted rapidly into a developed country. In the early days, the fundamental objective of Singapore housing development is to provide a shelter for every citizen. With the problem of housing shortage in the beginning of Singapore Independency, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) was established to provide the citizen with up to(predicate) standard of living(a), the local architect also strike for freedom to promote culture to the mass through national building.8With the increase of standard of living and income of the citizen, they no lasting just desire for basic amenities but desire for a higher standard of living which result in a constant construction and destruction of buildings in Singapore. Shifting and relocating thus become common.In a lot of ways, our sense of place or location gives us the sense of identity, belonging and pride to the city that we lived in. grammatical construction of different time t hus stands an important role in mark history of a city they are almost like artefacts that get in touch us to our past a reminder of historical event that once took place, the political and personal experience that once present. Two of the remarkable buildings in Singapore is the City Hall and Old Supreme court of law. over the years, Singaporean had witnessed many political events such as the japanese surrender, the national day and many more and the building together with the old Supreme court is currently preserved as a Singapore heritage building. though building is being preserved but the function is not there anymore. (explain)It becomes a trademark of history, an attraction for tourist but no longer function as how it should be. What is the point of preserving when the function is no longer there?Singapore is a country that has been lost and found, found and lost once again. (Quoted from Ho Tzu yen film) Many of our local artists guard responded to the rapid urban transi tion with their art. One of our local film/ documentaries maker Tan trap trap has responded these issues in her documentaries such as the Invisible City and miserable House. Moving house speaks about the lost of tradition in the midst of Singapore land development. The documentary focuses on the Chews family who went to pay a visit to their farm at their tomb. That visit to the tomb was the last as they would substantiate to mining out the bo travel bys as the government had decided to develop that piece of land.We should have a permanent cemetery so that the tradition can continuedtradition had die off. quoted from Mr Chew.As of a tradition, it is necessary for dead bodies to be buried thermionic valve as a respect for the death. Each year during special causation such as the Qing Ming festival, the Chew family will visit their parents tomb, almost like a picnic as Mr Chew mentioned. The bones of their parent were then cremate. What is lost is not just the lost of traditio n but also the joy of gathering that they used to have.Singapore land development can be endless. Reason being that more public housing is mandatory to cover population needs. There is no limit to our desire for space. afterward development is re-development, moving is re-moving whether or not it is voluntary, is no longer important. Moving house had highlighted our endless desire for space and improve(p) standard of living and in the mean time, highlighting our yearns for the past to be continue, a contradicting feeling in the midst of progressing into a world class society. Hence, the transforming of cityscape had also result in a lost of history. It somehow prompts us the question that in order to progress, do we have to discard the past? Are we immediate to do that? Is it necessary to abandon/ disregards our past to pursue a better future? How much can we give up actually? over the years, we slowly identify the issue of urban development through the local artwork. Many lost memories were represented again as a form of art. Not having a fixed memory and belonging had affected artist in many way. Many had approach it in a sentimental manner, sometime in quite a negative way. Many of them chose to have our local HDB flats or construction sites as their subject matter. Interesting, the following photographer that I am going to introduce does not took the usual colossal boxes as his subject matter instead, junk that he collected as his subject.Chua Chye Tecks wonderland, 2007 is a series of photograph of junk, unwanted, abandon objects that he collected, to date this series consists of 500 pieces of images. Through these images, there are two main opponents that we have to take notes on the idea of collecting and the idea of abandon in relation to the city. The idea of collecting plays an important part in this work as a way of indicating our social stature, professional affiliation, value system of rules and personal taste. Another thing to consider is t he objects being abandon the possession of physical object that hints our loftiest longings and deepest anxieties. With each purchase, we throw something away by existing, we throw because we move on, we throw. Also to note is that Chua does not keep any of this object as well. With each that he had collect and photograph, he abandoned it as well. Lastly, we consider the methods of presenting it first, objects are placed individually on a sightly turquoise background, almost like lifting the value of the junk, giving it a stark naked life. Every object or set of objects, here was no less exquisitely cared for and to read the image as objects existing inside a camera frame almost as preserved memories.As much as we are reluctant to give up on what is valuable to us, we still ought to do so in order to progress is this division of the citizen or the voice of government? Chuas work is interesting as it reflects on how much we had abandon in the process of urbanization and to colle ct it again is to recollect memory, thus memory being lost and found. As compared to Pin Pins film, it reflects how one has to give up in the the process of urbanization disrespect of ones resistant to change. In the process of change, one long for a sense of permanency, a fixed belonging.What image is Singapore stressful to portray at the end of the day when its limited history are slowly spent away over the years? Whether or not Singapore has a rich history and culture are not important as compared to economic growth. This prompt the question of whether the progression and development into a better yet ever-changing rapid lifestyle changes our view of what is to be casted off and what is to be collected in the process? Has Singapore come to discover the lost of memory in the cityTo question about what has been lost, what do we discard in the process of progression, what we yearn and what we desire to retain goes spile to the question of choice and it was clear that we had chos en for economic growth than having the history that give us a fixed belonging. These choices might not be make by the citizen but the government.The government has probably realise the crucial needs to cultivate our national identity our belonging. As much as our short history had been constantly being buried underneath with the rapid urban development, Singapore in the mean time is trying to construct identity. As often been said, where we belong are often cultivate through the arts and culture that we belong to. Thus, one essential ways to insert these lost of history or memory is through local art. What is the role of arts and culture in cultivating our national identity then?Chapter 3 The paradoxWhat is singapore culture?Multi- culture. Mixture of east and west. Rojak. Anything and everything becomes our culture.The Renaissance city plan9 is a aim that the government come out every fivesome year and the recent plan will be to go all out to developed the image of an global art city. With this proposal, lots of sustenance were put into art spaces, schools and institution such as LaSalle college of the Arts, Nanyang Academy of all right Arts(NAFA), the Singapore Arts Museum(SAM), Asian Civilian Museum(ACM), the National history museum as well as the National art gallery that is opening this year. The aims of this proposal is nevertheless to be an global art city, however what is contradicting is that as much as Singapore aims to go global, it still want to retain the sense of local through event such as Singapore art show. So what is Singapore aiming at the end of the day? She wants an image of everything and anything. She is trying to give encouragement for art yet maintaining tight restrictions on arts and culture.Through inclusion of artwork in public spaces and the incorporation of keen design and landscaping in the neighbourhood, we can widen peoples exposure to and taste perception of arts and its relevance in everyday life.(esplanade for cultura l activities, government reenforcement for art institution BUT still maintaining tight restrictions on art and cultural work)( absent to go global and in the mean time wanting to stay localwhat is local?)However, can we really perceive the memory that we collected in the museum as our belonging when the exhibition can be politically constructed or frame? In that sense, what we perceive as our belonging our home is constructed. Hence, how the city is shaped somehow shape that we are as an individual being.Lynn C. Robertson, Space, objects, minds, and brains (New York, N.Y. Psychology Press, 2004), 1.Gaston Bachelard, The poetics of space, trans. Maria Jolas (Boston, Mass. Beacon Press, 1994), 4.Yi fu tuan 149Ibid, 9.Robertson, 3.Domestic Dystopia provides an insight into six interiors of tatterdemalion houses in Singapore. Each photograph reveals the traces of footsteps and impressions left behind by preliminary occupants, encapsulating these moments in their personal histories i n a snapshot of time. Most of these houses have been abandoned and are left in a state of disrepair. By becoming a translator, Ho takes on the task of translating the deep sense of loss and nostalgia she feels when she is inside these houses onto a series of photographs.Picture credit Curating science lab 100 remix workshop organised by the National University of Singapore museum partnership with National Art Council of SingaporeRobertson,From building dream- tan pin pinexplain