Creative approach needed to make public spaces more inclusive

I refer to Member of Parliament for Jalan Besar GRC Denise Phua’s recent parliamentary speech regarding the workers in Little India. Despite her unfortunate choice of words — “walking time-bombs”, for which she has apologised — I agree that a high-density congregation of people anywhere is not ideal.

There are various ways of “decentralising” the high-density congregation that Ms Phua and her residents are concerned about. One way is to creatively redesign the public spaces in Little India to allow for a better flow of people.

In 2010, architecture firm Snohetta was selected to redesign New York City’s Times Square. The problem was a dense congregation of tourists who were choking up Times Square, causing locals to avoid the area. The firm’s design included strategically placed block benches which help direct the crowd, allowing the slow-moving tourists to congregate and wander in the centre, without interfering with the foot traffic of New Yorkers.

What we see in Little India could be a design challenge for our architecture firms: To redesign the public spaces in the area to allow for different groups of users to coexist harmoniously without undermining anyone’s dignity.

I also agree with Ms Phua that we can provide workers with more recreation centres outside of Little India, although I feel this should be done with the intention of meeting their own social and leisure needs, rather than to reinforce their exclusion from public spaces.

The authorities should make more public spaces intentionally inclusive, rather than create more designated spots for foreign workers, which would perpetuate the divide. We can show some appreciation for the low-wage foreign workers here by giving them discounted access to sports facilities, museums, courses at community centres, and membership to public libraries. There are so many ways to share space. Any other “solution” that reinforces exclusion and prejudice would fracture our society further, reaping more danger in the long run.