History
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The Singapore Chronicles: Memory in the Margins
Pulau Ubin, a small island northeast of mainland Singapore, serves as both a geographical and symbolic edge to the city-state’s narrative of modernity...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Singapore Chronicles: Housing the Nation
Few cities in the contemporary world have made public housing as central to urban life as Singapore has. With over 80% of the population living in flats...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Singapore Chronicles: The Politics of Preservation
Singapore’s skyline is constantly in motion. Construction cranes and hoardings are as much part of the visual identity of the city as its heritage...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Singapore Chronicles: City of Intentions
To understand contemporary Singapore, we have to understand key aspects of its history—divided here into “Four Acts.” This will be our starting point...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Singapore Chronicles: Introduction
Singapore often appears as a paradox—both widely admired and deeply critiqued. It is a city-state that epitomizes precision and planning, where efficiency...
By Erick Villagomez -
Disappearing Sunlight
What has recently been dubbed the “Sunlight” mural hung on the facade of the spray-drying tower at the historic Lever Brothers* Don Valley plant for total...
By Peter MacCallum -
They Were Right Here: Tracing Black People Enslaved in the Town of York
The presence of Black children, women, and men who were enslaved in Upper Canada has been omitted from, or marginalized, in the Canadian historical...
By Natasha Henry-Dixon -
NEW ISSUE: Collecting stories
When Spacing’s publisher Matt Blackett suggested an issue about collectors, I was skeptical. Was this really going to capture something essential about...
By Dylan Reid -
Preserving the memory of the passenger pigeon
This story is published in conjunction with Spacing issue 70 (Spring 2025), “Civic Memories,” whose cover section focuses on Toronto...
By Meg Sutton -
The Last Survivor of a Historic Streetscape
On a recent Saturday evening, while travelling westbound toward Parkdale on the 504 King streetcar, I noticed something was missing from the familiar...
By Peter MacCallum -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 082, Toronto’s political gridlock
This month, we respond to Doug Ford’s stated plan of banning new bike lanes in Ontario municipalities and building an underground highway from...
By Spacing Radio -
PODCAST: Spacing Radio 076, Time’s running out for accessible Ontario
In 2005, Ontario passed the Accessibility of Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which made accessibility for all public establishments a legal...
By Spacing Radio