Researching rural histories in Singapore: Premises and contexts

Contemporary Singapore is presently cited and expressed as an Asian metropolis with good urban infrastructure and management systems. Like many places around the world, however, the island-city-state was progressively urbanized from its prior landscapes and seascapes, which included a long period of British colonization in its history. Its natural landforms, water bodies, and ecologies were systematically altered and transformed since the 19th century, when the colonial city was planned and occupied, and continuing into the 20th century following independence in 1965. Rural or countryside areas to the north of the city gradually made way for public housing, industrial areas, and other uses. With successive post-independence master plans, Singapore phased out agriculture and other land-use practices as it positioned itself as a confluence point for global trade. In the 21st century, Singapore graduated its stance from connoting a “garden city” to one more consonant with nature and environmental concerns. Issues such as food security, resource use, and climate practices recalled the specter of its prior rural areas and practices, which had erstwhile not been studied or evaluated comprehensively. This article examines and frames research questions and contexts of former rural areas in Singapore in relation to historical overseas Chinese settlements. The Chinese currently form the largest ethnic population category in Singapore, but they used to live in both urban and rural areas. In the 1970s, three-quarters of the rural population were Chinese, but they were progressively resettled or moved into public housing estates. This article argues for more comprehensive studies and recovery of this neglected history, and the importance of such countryside histories as needful knowledge in future planning, even as Singapore attempts to become a global city.