12 MAY 2026 (TUE) 14:00-15:00

Departmental Research Seminars Series

Placemaking and Participatory Planning in Singapore

Date: 12 MAY 2026 (Tuesday)

Time: 14:00-15:00 (HKT)

Venue: Chamber, Faculty of Social Sciences, 11/F, The Jockey Club Tower, Centennial Campus, HKU

Registration link: https://hkuems1.hku.hk/hkuems/ec_hdetail.aspx?guest=Y&ueid=106215

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Abstract:

The concept of ‘placemaking’ emerged as an urban development strategy in the Global North in the 1990s, with the goal of improving the urban design and standards of living of city inhabitants. Despite its widespread use in policy circles and academia, more can certainly be done to question its relevance and value to local communities in different parts of the world. This seminar critically considers the social embeddedness and spatio-temporal contingencies at work in urban placemaking efforts in Singapore. Three conceptual ideas are explored: (a) placemaking serves economic but more importantly essential social roles, (b) placemaking must be viewed as an ongoing process rather than a project with an end-goal, and (c) power relations manifest in multiple forms beyond hierarchical ‘state-community’ tensions. Empirical data from two programmes are drawn to support these arguments: ARTWalk Little India and the Lively Places Programme, both of which engage local communities of residents, students and local artists in Singapore’s placemaking endeavours.

Professor T.C. Chang

Professor, Department of Geography, National University of Singapore (NUS)

T.C. Chang received his PhD from McGill University (Canada) in 1997 and has been teaching and researching on Asian tourism and urban issues at NUS since then. He has co-edited two books on Asian tourism and has written on ‘Critical Asian Tourism Studies’, arts and culture in cities, and urban conservation and redevelopment matters.

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