History
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The Singapore Chronicles: Divergent Models
The city, we’re often told, is a model—something to be learned from, exported, improved. But what happens when models conflict? What if the city itself...
By Erick Villagomez -
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 -
When Settlers Seized and Set Fire to the Kitsilano Reserve
Many settlers in Vancouver had no idea that the land by the south end of the Burrard Bridge was once a village home to the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people. When the...
By Christopher Cheung -
How to Turn a Software Developer into a Housing Expert
Guest Contributor: A.I. What the f*#k is a software developer doing on a housing panel? It’s not the kind of question I usually entertain, but when a...
By Spacing -
When Care Becomes Control: The Hidden Violence of Urban Planning
It seems to us that this connection—or better perhaps, confusion—between care and domination is utterly critical to the larger question of how we lost the...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Barcelona Chronicles: The Superilla Pilot
Jordi Honey-Roses, Silvia Casorran Martos, and Xavier Matilla, warmly greeted the British Columbian planners as we approached the intersection of Carrer...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Barcelona Chronicles: The Eixample and the Superilla
The morning was overcast, but the mood was bright as our group of visiting BC Planners emerged from the Metro station into El Poblenou, Catalan for...
By Erick Villagomez -
The Barcelona Chronicles: Vancouver v. Barcelona – Foundations
With a good understanding of the main aspects of Barcelona’s policies and approach to affordable housing, it is now possible to compare this to our local...
By Erick Villagomez