Skip to main content

Tracing the Changing Meaning(s) of a Heritage Space Through Geographical Fieldwork

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Fieldwork in Humanities Education in Singapore

Part of the book series: Studies in Singapore Education: Research, Innovation & Practice ((SSERIP,volume 2))

  • 325 Accesses

Abstract

Space and time have always been integral concepts in geographical thinking and learning. The meaning(s) of space changes over time due not only to official discourses imposed by the state planning agencies but also because of the everyday use by the public through their multidimensional spatial practices. Deploying Henri Lefebvre’s (The production of space, Oxford, UK, Blackwell, 1991) concepts of production of space and right to the city and Nihal Perera’s (People’s spaces: Coping, familiarizing, creating, London, Routledge, 2016a) conceptual understanding of meanings of public space and vernacular uses in the context of the Global South, this paper seeks to showcase the ways fieldwork and observations help in understanding and tracing the changing meanings of Singapore’s Lembu Road neighborhood in the Little India heritage enclave over time. The paper further attempts to map the texturized meanings of public spaces in Little India, through deploying geographical fieldwork methods such as visual methods, observation, and landuse mapping.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Chang, T. C. (2000). Singapore’s little India: A tourist attraction as a contested landscape. Urban Studies, 37(2), 343–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crang, M., & Cook, I. (1995). Doing ethnographies. Norwich, UK: Geobooks.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeWalt, K. M., & DeWalt, B. R. (2002). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers. Oxford, UK: AltaMira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, T. (2009). The camera never lies? Photographic research methods in human geography. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 33(3), 453–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ismail, R., & Shaw, B. (2014, November). Little India: Diverging destinies in heritage spaces. Paper presented at South East Asian Geographer Association Conference, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefebvre, H. (1991). The production of space. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefebvre, H. (1996). Writings of cities. Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little India. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.visitsingapore.com/see-do-singapore/places-to-see/little-india/.

  • Ministry of Education (MOE). (2012). 2013 Upper secondary geography teaching syllabuses. Singapore: Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education, Singapore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng, P. T. (2008). Thinking schools, learning nation. In J. Tan & P. T. Ng (Eds.), Thinking schools, learning nation: Contemporary issues and challenges (pp. 1–6). Singapore: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oldrup, H. H., & Cartensen, T. A. (2012). Producing geographical knowledge through visual methods. Geografiska Annaler Series B, Human Geography, 94(3), 223–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perera, N. (2013). Critical vernacularism: Multiple roots, cascades of thought, and the local production of architecture. In N. Perera & W. S. Tang (Eds.), Transforming asian cities: Intellectual impasse, asianizing space, and emerging translocalities (pp. 78–93). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera, N., & Tang, W. S. (2013). Introduction: In search of Asian urbanisms. In N. Perera & W. S. Tang (Eds.), Transforming Asian cities: Intellectual impasse, asianizing space, and emerging trans-localities (pp. 1–19). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera, N. (2016a). Introduction: Seeing and engaging people’s spaces: Deprivations and challenges. In N. Perera (Ed.), People’s spaces: Coping, familiarizing, creating (pp. 1–22). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera, N. (2016b). Conclusions: Production of social space: From coping with provided and imposed spaces to creating their own In N. Perera (Ed.), People’s spaces: Coping, familiarizing, creating (pp. 217–238). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera, N. (2016c). Spaces of survival: People’s adaptation of a war zone in Sri Lanka. In N. Perera (Ed.), People’s spaces: Coping, familiarizing, creating (pp. 61–81). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Perera, N., & Habarakada, S. (2016). From resisting to familiarizing impositions: Living in the world heritage site at Galle Fort, Sri Lanka. In N. Perera (Ed.), People’s spaces: Coping, familiarizing, creating (pp. 82–101). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, G. (2003). On the need to ask how, exactly, is geography “visual”? Antipode, 35(2), 212–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, G. (2008). Using photographs as illustrations in human geography. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 32(1), 151–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials. UK: Sage Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seow, T., Das, Diganta, & Chang, J. (2015). (Re)constructing the nation? Representations of public housing in school geography textbooks. HSSE Online, 4(2), 78–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vidyarthi, S. (2013). Indianising the neighborhood unit: The Jawahar Nagar plan. In N. Perera & W. S. Tang (Eds.), Transforming asian cities: Intellectual impasse, asianizing space, and emerging trans-localities (pp. 190–206). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wong, S. Y. (2009). Not such a little India: In Singapore, migrant workers create their own leisure spots in unused spaces. Retrieved from http://reclaimland.sg/rl/?p=30.

  • Yeo, S. J., Ho, K. C., & Heng, C. K. (2016). Rethinking spatial planning for urban conviviality and social diversity: A study of nightlife in a Singapore public housing estate neighborhood. The Town Planning Review, 87(4), 379–399.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diganta Das .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Das, D., Seow, T. (2021). Tracing the Changing Meaning(s) of a Heritage Space Through Geographical Fieldwork. In: Sim, T.Y., Sim, H.H. (eds) Fieldwork in Humanities Education in Singapore. Studies in Singapore Education: Research, Innovation & Practice, vol 2. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8233-2_15

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-8233-2_15

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Print ISBN: 978-981-15-8232-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-15-8233-2

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics