"Community in Bloom": local participation of community gardens in urban Singapore

• Published in: Local environment Vol. 14; no. 6; pp. 529 - 539
• Main Authors: Tan, Leon H.H., Neo, Harvey
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Routledge 01.07.2009
• Subjects: Activism; Citizen participation; civic activism; Civism; community; community garden; Community gardens; Community life; Community participation; Gardens; Non-governmental organizations; Parks; Politics; Public spaces; Singapore; Urban space; Singapore
• ISSN: 1354-9839; 1469-6711
• DOI: 10.1080/13549830902904060

Community gardens offer a space that allows facilitation of leisure activities, encourages interaction within different factions in a community and helps forge a sense of belonging towards the overall community. Using the case study of "Community in Bloom" (CIB) programme initiated by the National Parks Board of Singapore, this article highlights how such community gardens are also viewed by some as exclusionary spaces due to their close links with government apparatus. More broadly, it argues that a constrained civic activism not only affects the extent to which these gardens can forge communal bonds, but they also challenge their integral spirit. Despite promising signs of politically opening up in the early 2000s, the soft authoritarianism of the Singaporean state continues to be wary of non-governmental sanctioned community projects and civic activism. This attitude may prove to be resilient in the foreseeable future, thereby preventing the "CIB" programme from truly blossoming.