Client: Singapore Tourism Board
Timescale: December 2017 – March 2018
Project categories: Community development Strategies
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is responsible for championing placemaking efforts for four precincts including Chinatown and Little India. Recognising that the success of the precincts relies on the collaboration of multiple stakeholders, STB wished to involve them in the development of a 3-5 year placemaking roadmap for Chinatown and Little India.
The means were commissioned to plan and facilitate workshops to enable stakeholders in each of the precincts to contribute to the development of these roadmaps, to help identify sustainable initiatives and to draft the precinct roadmaps. In addition, STB officers were given a day of training in placemaking and workshops, to support its roll-out.

Chinatown and Little India are both cultural precincts close to the centre of Singapore, offering a different experience for visitors and a taste of modern-day Singapore’s history and diversity. Their location means they are subject to development pressures and the tension between old and new requires a coordinated approach between all stakeholders that will allow them to navigate this balance sensitively.

The project aimed to take stakeholders on a journey that would create a shared vision and roadmap for the next 3-5 years, identifying projects that stakeholders can contribute to that will help deliver the vision. In reality, the creation of a shared vision will be an ongoing and ever-evolving process so the project also aimed to encourage structures that will engage stakeholders in the long-term.

The roadmaps were created with three main inputs; a piece of visitor research, a physical audit and a stakeholder workshop. The means planned and facilitated the workshops with 60 stakeholders from each precinct and created draft roadmaps that helped to sort, prioritise and find ways forward for its constituent projects.

Draft roadmaps were presented back to stakeholders at a subsequent workshop for comments and prioritisation. Following their creation, it is envisaged that stakeholders will continue to be involved planning and/or delivery of the roadmaps and recommendations on how this might be achieved were given.

In addition, the process was accompanied by a training day for officers of STB in order to better equip them to help with the effective delivery and further shaping of the roadmap of its lifetime.

To discuss this project please email James Thomas

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