Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context

Exploring the history of major floods, governmental responses, and contemporaneous scientific research, this chapter will argue that by understanding context and precedent in dealing with past urban disasters, we can better understand and produce efficient approaches to disaster management in the fu...

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Main Author: WILLIAMSON, Fiona
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Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2018
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2571
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spelling sg-smu-ink.soss_research-38282018-08-16T05:42:07Z Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context WILLIAMSON, Fiona Exploring the history of major floods, governmental responses, and contemporaneous scientific research, this chapter will argue that by understanding context and precedent in dealing with past urban disasters, we can better understand and produce efficient approaches to disaster management in the future. Just as the disasters that face cities today should not be considered in isolation, so too should the lessons of the past be made available today. Using the major flood events of the Straits Settlements c. 1850–1950 as a close lens into disaster response and management, this paper takes an historic perspective on the complex dynamics of climate, science, urban planning and disaster. It will focus on a region where the history of floods has been under researched yet, floods have played a major part in developing urban planning strategies over the long-term. Under British administration, the mechanisms of disaster response in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were frequently reactive but, over time, urban governors also developed strategies and coping mechanisms to manage the reoccurring problem. These ideas were formed by first-hand experience but also from the exchange of knowledge across borders, especially scientific knowledge about tropical climates, deforestation, climate change and urban resilience. Crossing borders in this paper then, signifies the trans-global history of ideas and information across colonial spaces and the incorporation of international and local knowledge across geographical boundaries. 2018-01-31T08:00:00Z text https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2571 info:doi/10.1007/978-981-10-6126-4_3 Research Collection School of Social Sciences eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Floods Colonial borders Environmental disasters Urban governors Singapore Kuala Lumpur Geography History
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Floods
Colonial borders
Environmental disasters
Urban governors
Singapore
Kuala Lumpur
Geography
History
spellingShingle Floods
Colonial borders
Environmental disasters
Urban governors
Singapore
Kuala Lumpur
Geography
History
WILLIAMSON, Fiona
Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context
description Exploring the history of major floods, governmental responses, and contemporaneous scientific research, this chapter will argue that by understanding context and precedent in dealing with past urban disasters, we can better understand and produce efficient approaches to disaster management in the future. Just as the disasters that face cities today should not be considered in isolation, so too should the lessons of the past be made available today. Using the major flood events of the Straits Settlements c. 1850–1950 as a close lens into disaster response and management, this paper takes an historic perspective on the complex dynamics of climate, science, urban planning and disaster. It will focus on a region where the history of floods has been under researched yet, floods have played a major part in developing urban planning strategies over the long-term. Under British administration, the mechanisms of disaster response in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur were frequently reactive but, over time, urban governors also developed strategies and coping mechanisms to manage the reoccurring problem. These ideas were formed by first-hand experience but also from the exchange of knowledge across borders, especially scientific knowledge about tropical climates, deforestation, climate change and urban resilience. Crossing borders in this paper then, signifies the trans-global history of ideas and information across colonial spaces and the incorporation of international and local knowledge across geographical boundaries.
format text
author WILLIAMSON, Fiona
author_facet WILLIAMSON, Fiona
author_sort WILLIAMSON, Fiona
title Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context
title_short Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context
title_full Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context
title_fullStr Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context
title_full_unstemmed Crossing colonial borders: Governing environmental disasters in historic context
title_sort crossing colonial borders: governing environmental disasters in historic context
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2018
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2571
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