Heritage exploration through urban exploration

• Main Author: Poh, Leon Ding Jie
• Other Authors: Jesvin Yeo Puay Hwa
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Visual arts and music::Drawing, design and illustration
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/78192
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Prior research on geography provides evidence of a shift from traditional tourism to a form of anti-tourism, with a shift from participation in tour groups at government sanctioned sites to independent trips where explorers visit unseen abandoned ruins within an urban city in search for discovery and thrill and this new developing global phenomenon has been coined urban exploration. Urban exploration is the underground practice of entering inaccessible or abandoned parts of the urban city’s infrastructure, with potential to radicalize tourism and promote a sense of adventure while re-appropriating urban spaces. Singapore’s reputation as an urban metropolis disguised the many hidden abandoned spaces which serve as treasure-trove of heritage and stories that form bridges in our understandin of the evolution of Singapore. With Singapore’s rapid growth and progress in infrastructure, skyscrapers engulf the skyline while various sites from not too long ago have been neglected and left for nature to claim. These places escape the eye of the general public as their perceived lack of value stem from the danger and lack of awareness of the stories behind the specific sites Citing various benefits from a psychogeological, cultural and socio-economic standpoint, the aim of the project would be raising awareness towards the forgotten history of such sites and showcase an alternative form of history learning.