Spaces of the Dead: A Case From the Living
Kevin Y.L. Tan (ed.)
Singapore: Ethos Books, 2011
ISBN: 9789810883911

Seen primarily as final resting places, cemeteries are increasingly under threat from urban redevelopment in land-scarce Singapore. Regarded as 'excess space' by state planners, and as 'taboo places' by the local populace, the rich historical and cultural heritage of our cemeteries have remained largely unappreciated and hidden. Since the colonial era, cemeteries have been moved aside by urban expansion with the fundamental belief that 'the dead should not take up the space of the living.' Today, there are about less than a dozen cemeteries left in Singapore. With the recent exhumation of major cemeteries like Bidadari Cemetery and Kwong Hou Sua Cemetery, concerns have been raised about the status of cemeteries in Singapore. This prompted the Singapore Heritage Society to embark on a larger effort to raise greater public awareness of the richness of our cemeteries, to get people not to view these spaces purely as burial grounds, but also as sites rich in history, nature, activities and memories for the living. Spaces of the Dead: A Case From the Living brings together various authors concerned with the need for conservation of cemeteries in Singapore. This book showcases cemeteries as spaces of historical, architectural and social merit through the writings and photo-journals of the authors.