Place-making is an overarching idea for improving cities that inspires people to collectively reinvent and re-imagine public spaces as the heart of every community. Place-making helps to strengthen the connection between people and the places they share. Additionally, place-making plays a significant role in shaping the public realm so as to maximize shared value. It promotes better urban design by putting into account the various physical, social, and cultural identities that define a particular place while facilitating its gradual evolution. Chinatown, one of the oldest cities in Singapore, needs some place-making efforts, particularly the Chinatown Street Market. Place-making initiatives should be based on community participation. The process should utilize the available community assets, inspirations, and the existing potential. Place-making is a valuable process particularly for communities that are intimately connected to the places in their lives. Chinatown is one Singapore’s cultural cities, an ethnic Chinese district. Chinatown is historically the area of settlement for many immigrants from China who arrived in the then-British colony. Today, Chinatown is the largest Historic District in Singapore, with its four sub-districts given conservation status in the late 1980s ( Lee, 2017) . Place-making can be utilized to improve the Chinatown Street Market in order to make comfortable and attractive to the Chinatown community.
The Chinatown Street Market is specially designed to accommodate large crowds of people. The market is made up of 200 stalls that sell a variety of items ( Lee, 2017) . Additionally, the market is at the heart of Chinatown’s culture. The Victorian style shop houses are historical gems valued by the locals. The Chinatown Street Market is a busy place throughout the year given its social and cultural importance for Singapore and the local inhabitants ( Chang, 2017) . There are several important cultural festivals held in the market throughout the year. For instance, Chinatown Street Market hosts several traditional Chinese celebrations including the hungry ghost festival, the dumpling festival, and the mid-autumn festival. The festivals are often accompanied by lantern lights and are popular among Singaporeans of all ages. The festivals underscore the importance of the market to the people of Chinatown. Given its cultural importance, the market should be made comfortable, accessible, and easily navigable for the Chinatown people.
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Another important factor that makes the market popular is the fact that it is easily accessible by bus and train. It is also within walking distance from the ever busy financial district ( Bhati& Pearce, 2017) . For this reason, the joint has become the most popular lunch spot for office employees in the surrounding area. Delicious local cuisine in the market is prepared by hawkers in the market ( Chang, 2017) . Hawkers have been present in the market for over eighty years. It is also important to mention that the Chinatown Street Market offers an ambient change environment, away from the abundant skyscrapers that dominate much of Singapore’s urban landscape. The market is, thus, an important cultural space for the people of Chinatown.
Further place-making efforts should be made in Chinatown Street Market to make it people-friendly. The local community should be at the centre of the place-making initiatives. The cooling systems should be improved in the market to make it comfortable for the surrounding communities. This is because the climate is hot and humid and the market can be uncomfortable during the day. Given the crowds that visit the popular spot, efforts should be made to install distinct way-finding indicators that will help make the market easily navigable.
References
Bhati, A., & Pearce, P. (2017). Tourist attractions in Bangkok and Singapore; linking vandalism and setting characteristics. Tourism management , 63 , 15-30.
Chang, T. C. (2017). Heritage Boutique Hotels as ‘Experienscapes’: Three Views from Singapore. Asian Journal of Tourism Research , 2 (1), 50-76.
Lee, I. J. X. (2017). More than meets the eye: re-examining the motives behind Singapore's Chinatown conservation efforts, 1980s to 1990s.
