Singapore's Permanent Territorial Revolution: Fifty Years in Fifty Maps

Ever since Singapore became an independent nation in 1965, its government--the country's sole landlord--has been intent on transforming the island's environment. This has led to a nearly constant overhaul of the landscape, whether natural or man-made. No stone is left unturned, literally, and not a single cultural feature, be it a house, a factory, a road, or a cemetery, is safe from the constant modification.

This atlas maps these changes in depth, vividly illustrating the shifts in Singapore's spatial order. Taken together, these maps demonstrate how physical transformations have led to social changes and how the government has used land and property as a tool of social management. By constantly replanning the rules of access to space, De Koninck argues, the Singaporean State is redefining territoriality, down to its minute details. Whether considered progress or politics, it is an unprecedented use of the physical to control an entire society.

About the author

Rodolphe De Koninck retired in 2016 from the University of Montreal, where he had been professor of geography and held the Canada Chair of Asian Research since 2002. Pham Thanh Hai is a cartographer and GIS specialist attached to the VTGEO, Institute of Geological Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. Marc Girard is a cartographer and GIS specialist in the department of geography at the University of Montreal.

Product details

• Authors: Rodolphe De Koninck, Rodolphe de Koninck
• Assisted by: Marc Girard (Illustration), Pham Thanh Hai (Illustration)
• Publisher: Nus Press Pte Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 15.08.2017
• EAN: 9789814722353
• ISBN: 978-981-47223-5-3
• No. of pages: 168
• Dimensions: 274 mm x 292 mm x 15 mm
• Weight: 1134 g
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Geosciences > Geography; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; SCIENCE / Earth Sciences / Geography, Science