Project Kampong Lorong Buangkok: Documenting the Personal Narratives and Collective Stories of the Residents of Singapore Mainland’s Last Village

Social sustainability is an increasingly important aspect of urban development and renewal. Other than looking at preserving the greenery, ecosystems, and physical environment, urban scientists are also looking at ensuring the preservation of history, heritage, identity, and the memories of the people involved. With an increasing demand for public participation in the process of urban and heritage preservation, social sustainability cannot be achieved without the involvement of communities and individuals who are the “most ordinary everyday citizens.” Hence, capturing the oral history accounts and personal narratives of these “most ordinary everyday citizens” becomes crucial in documenting life and the collective or social memory of a place. In Singapore, Kampong Lorong Buangkok is the last remaining village or kampong on the mainland. Under the current Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) Masterplan 2019, the kampong is expected to give way to a 3-lane bi-directional highway, 2 schools (primary and secondary), and a public park. This paper provides a glimpse into the broad themes drawn from the oral history accounts and personal narratives documented from the residents living in the kampong, as part of a project to capture the rich history and heritage about the kampong and its residents, in a bid to “preserve” the kampong as urbanization and gentrification are imminent.