Farewell Dakota Crescent
A Childhood Erased
Farewell Dakota Crescent
Change as the Only Constant:
They say that change is the only constant. Even then, things move much too fast in Singapore. Think of Singapore this way - as a tiny fish tank. Aquarium lovers know that the smaller your tank is, the more time and effort goes into maintaining it. You would be monitoring fluctuating water parameters and cleaning the algae buildup. There is constant work to be done. A temperature rise in the tank can mean death for aquatic life. Too much sunlight can result in an algae bloom, with weed starving oxygen from other lifeforms. Too many top feeding fish overcrowding means that bottom dwellers miss out on food. Meeting every inhabitants' need within the tank is a high wire balancing act. You are constantly optimising for a balanced environment.
An Existential Problem:
Is this beginning to sound to you like how Singapore runs? For example we aggressively regulate home ownership to heavily prioritise married couples. This puts owning a first home out of reach for many who are single. We have multi-generational families crammed together in a small flats out of necessity. The lack of privacy increases friction.
Overcrowding is an issue. Facing a declining population, we open the immigration tap by flooding our island with more people, bringing our population up to 5.6 million in our tiny country of 724 square kilometres. In comparison, the population in Canada’s province of British Columbia is only 5 million, on a total land size of 944,735 square kilometres (that’s 1,305 times Singapore’s size). This population influx puts a strain on existing infrastructure. The government rushes to keep up by speed building newer dwellings. Construction cranes litter our skyline. They are our national birds. (cranes, get it?) A fresh injection of new homes erodes the property values of current homeowners. Boomers who have toiled during the nation building years tend to put all their eggs in one basket. They disproportionately put their savings on their home to retire upon. With shrinking home values, retirees aren't able to downgrade their flats and still have enough to live off from proceeds. This is a catch-22 situation.
I do not envy the job of governing Singapore. No matter how you tweak things, you’re always going to sacrifice someone else’s need for “a greater good”.
Buildings are being demolished, neighbourhoods are changing right before our eyes. Communities that have sprouted up through the years are being disrupted. Our memories are being erased at blinding speed.
Social Engineering in Singapore:
“Poetry is a luxury we cannot afford”
In return for a relatively safe middle class life, we accept that certain liberties need to be sacrificed. Freedom of speech, the banning of chewing gum, and the zero tolerance on drugs. Petty vandalism too. We are hardwired as a people to work and strive. Ever ready to keep the cogs in the machine running smooth. We protect the economy at all cost.
In the words of the former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew - “Poetry is a luxury we cannot afford.” The sentiment sums up the attitude of a Singapore far too concerned with its material survival.
Singapore is a well-manicured garden where nothing happens by chance. Everything is calculated and measured. Everything here serves a purpose. For citizens our role is to work. For buildings, they serve as gilded bird cages for its inhabitants.
Another One Bites the Dust: Demolition of Dakota Crescent
Fast forward to present day. Dakota Crescent has outlived its use and is being demolished as we speak. The extended Kallang Airport neighbourhood was the playground for a generation of Singaporeans, myself included. I grew up a stone’s throw away in the Kampong Arang neighbourhood. Together with my grandparents, I oftentimes visit relatives at Dakota Crescent. Sometimes we end up at the famed Old Airport Road hawker centre for lunch or an evening snack.
Being kids, we lost ourselves in endless games of "Police and Thief" among the leafy suburban playgrounds. Many a sweaty afternoon was spent on the iconic Dove playground.
And Dakota is steeped with history that far preceded even my childhood.
A History of Dakota Crescent:
During the 1950s, the housing situation in Singapore was dire. The population was rapidly-growing. Slums with poor sanitation were prevalent. As the central area of Singapore became congested, the British colonial government came up with new public-housing estates to tackle this growing problem. One of the plans included developing Kallang into Singapore's equivalent of London's Hyde Park. The creation of new flats were modelled after similar towns back in the UK by architects who worked for the British colonial government. Singapore’s newly-formed SIT (Singapore Improvement Trust) were early public-housing estates adopting architectural elements of British architectural styles to the tropical climate of the country.
A Walk Down Memory Lane:
Before the COVID-19 pandemic raged around the globe, I took some time off work to wander around the then slated for demolition Dakota Crescent estate in Mountbatten. This isn't new to me, wandering around with a camera in hand, aimless but only for the sole purpose in exploring. Making meaningful photographs are a secondary thought, a sort of cherry on the cake. Quite often we miss 100% of the shots we don't take. This analogy couldn't be more true in life as in photography. It is precisely why I feel incomplete, naked even had I gone by too long without a camera by my side.
I had shot weddings around the Dakota estate in the past. But this was different. This was a last hurrah for me. I knew that the clock was ticking. It won't be long before Dakota would be wiped from its existence. I wanted to preserve the memory much longer in my head. So I went out and made some photographs during one hot, balmy afternoon.
So I could then bid you farewell, Dakota Crescent.
Like Tanglin Halt, Rochor Centre, Big Splash East Coast, old National Stadium, old National Library, Pearl Bank Apartment, and many which have gone before.
Change is the only constant and there is nothing we can do about it. I end this with an often used local Singaporean slang - “What to do?” (loosely translated as "Such is Life".)
This is a childhood erased.
