Urban Singapore Prepares to Gobble Up Its Last Village

The New York Times, 3 Jan 2009, SETH MYDANS















Sng Mui Hong, whose father bought the plots on which a Singaporean village sits, says the government is going to buy the land and relocate the residents.

SINGAPORE — It is Singapore’s secret Eden, a miniature village called Kampong Buangkok that is hidden in trees among the massed apartment blocks, where a fresh breeze rustles the coconut palms and tropical birds whoop and whistle.

With just 28 houses in an area the size of three football fields, it is Singapore’s last rural hamlet, a forgotten straggler in the rush to modernize this high-rise, high-tech city-state. But apparently not for much longer. Kampong Buangkok is designated by the government for demolition and redevelopment, possibly in the near future. When it is gone, one of the world’s most extreme national makeovers will be complete.

Read More


Related News:
Singapore's last rural retreat in peril - HeraldTribune.com, 4 Jan 09
A piece of a disappearing past: Singapore's last rural village - International Herald Tribune, 4 Jan 09