Preserving a slice of history
Letter by Marcus Yip, The Straits Times Forum, 4 Jul 2011.
I grew up in the 1970s, a world away from modern-day Singapore. Although development has brought the country many benefits, we may have lost some invaluable things in the process.
The physical environment in which we live is important, as it affects our culture and community life.
The redevelopment of Chinatown in the 1980s is a sad example of how changing the physical environment of a place affected community life. What was once a vibrant area, with a sense of real life being lived out in its streets, is now a sad shell of its former self. One only needs to compare Chinatown today with Little India to know what I mean.
Source: The Straits Times
