There's a place for 'magic' too in this clean and efficient city

Creating and sustaining a sense of spontaneity, magic among urban issues explored in a new book

- Ng Keng Gene

While Singapore's urban planners have excelled in designing an efficient, neat and clean city-state, they would do well to consider the place of "magic" in their toolbox, said Professor Chan Heng Chee in a recent interview with The Straits Times.

"When people enter a magical space, they will feel enchanted or drawn to the space," she said.

While Singapore "works", people do not typically think of the city as "surprising", Prof Chan said, adding: “People don't say 'I come to Singapore and it's so spontaneous nobody says that." Sustaining a city's magic is among the urban issues explored in a new book launched on April 26. The City Rebooted: Networks, Connectivity And Place Identities In Singapore was edited by Prof Chan, from the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and geographer Harvey Neo.

The book seeks to answer perennial challenges that city planners face, such as the relevance of the city centre, decentralisation and the impacts of technology. Its 15 contributors represent various academic fields, including economics, sociology and anthropology.

Noting that magic - the atmosphere of a place that transforms it into a destination or experience can either grow organically or be designed for, Prof Chan suggested that spaces should not be over-designed or planned for.

"Keep some space ambiguous and people will use it in the way they like. And because they use it in the way they like, they feel it is their own little special place," she said, adding that this helps to "capture people's hearts".