Government of Water, Circulation and the City
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Government of water, circulation and the city Transforming Singapore from tropical ‘backwater’ to global ‘hydrohub’ A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2014 Mark Usher Department of Geography School of Environment, Education and Development University of Manchester Table of contents List of figures 5 Acronyms and abbreviations 7 Abstract 10 Declaration and copyright 11 Acknowledgements 12 Chapter 1 The urban problem Introduction 14 The politics of circulation 16 Infrastructure and government 18 Questions of water 19 Singapore: Heart without a hinterland 21 Water security in Singapore 24 History, method, critique 27 Chapter 2 The nature of government Introduction 32 Nature, truth, power 33 The politics of water 36 Urban water governance 39 The double coding of nature 42 Developing environmental governance 45 Governing circulation 47 Methodological premise of governmentality 51 2 Chapter 3 Internal colonisation through urban catchment management Introduction 56 Catchment management and colonial rule 57 The advent of urban catchments 62 Upgrading the hawker and farming sectors 66 Restructuring along the Singapore River 71 Catchment and the city 79 Phasing out the lighterage industry 84 Conclusion 86 Chapter 4 Diluvian dilemmas: Canalisation and the anti-flood programme Introduction 88 Anti-flood measures in the colonial era 89 Industrialisation, canalisation and communism 93 Mr Barker’s promethean pledge and the Bukit Timah scheme 99 Flow follows form 104 The turn to security 109 Conclusion 115 Chapter 5 Crisis of closed systems: Drainage, decentralisation and desire Introduction 117 From hardware to software 118 Techne and telos 123 Blurring the physical and conceptual boundary 129 The drainage covering programme 133 Mosquito control and the coming of community 140 Conclusion 145 3 Chapter 6 Birth of the waterfront: Urban design, property and Marina Bay Introduction 147 Urban water assets 148 Flagship projects and the decentralisation of design 153 Towards a waterfront hub 159 Boosterism and the bay 165 Revalorising reservoirs for a service economy 170 Conclusion 175 Chapter 7 Conduits of conduct: 3P initiatives and the ABC programme Introduction 177 ‘Water is personal’: Individualising responsibility and ownership 178 Launch of the ABC programme 186 Reservoirs and renaissance on the northeast coast 192 Water as a technology of government 196 The spectacularisation of water 201 Conclusion 207 Chapter 8 Politics of the milieu Introduction 209 Rule and restraint 211 Nature, desire and the limits of control 214 Circulation, logistics and state ontology 218 Liquid state: IWRM as neoliberal technology 222 Reorienting governmentality 225 Towards habitable circulation 226 References 229 Word count: 87,993 4 List of figures Figure 3.1 Fountain commemorating Singapore’s first water works 58 Figure 3.2 Exponential population growth of Singapore (1824-1967) 59 Figure 3.3 CWCA in relation to territory of Singapore 60 Figure 3.4 Proposed expansion of water supply on mainland and in CWCA 62 Figure 3.5 Kranji and Pandan Reservoir Scheme (circled in red) 63 Figure 3.6 Western Catchments Scheme (circled in red) 64 Figure 3.7 Tiong Bahru Food Centre with stalls in background 67 Figure 3.8 Exponential population growth after independence (1960-2013) 69 Figure 3.9 Bedok Scheme (circled in red) 72 Figure 3.10 Lee Hsien Loong opening Bedok Waterworks 73 Figure 3.11 Concept Plan 1971 with catchment marked in striped green 74 Figure 3.12 Marina Reservoir Scheme (circled in red) 76 Figure 3.13 OCBC Building overlooking the Singapore River 79 Figure 3.14 Average consumption of water per capita 80 Figure 3.15 Increase in the sale of water 81 Figure 3.16 Singapore River and Kallang Basin catchment area 82 Figure 4.1 Partly completed canal at Pasir Panjang 94 Figure 4.2 Outlet in construction at Tampines 96 Figure 4.3 ‘Correction’ of Opera Estate drain 97 Figure 4.4 Mr Barker (right) with Lee Kuan Yew (centre) at Seletar Reservoir 99 Figure 4.5 Discharge measurements being made on Bukit Timah Canal 100 Figure 4.6 Map showing flood gauge distribution 101 Figure 4.7 Twin tunnels below Military Hill 102 Figure 4.8 The first partially closed drainage system 105 Figure 4.9 Incarcerated circulation: Modern drain system at various locations 111 Figure 4.10 Decrease in flood prone areas (1989-2010) 115 Figure 5.1 WWS volunteers on patrol around Marina Bay 121 Figure 5.2 Water conservation logo projected on the wall of a building 125 Figure 5.3 Strategic ambiguity: Signage at WWS headquarters with PUB logo 128 Figure 5.4 Green and Blue Plan showing projected leisure destinations 131 5 Figure 5.5 Mandarin and Pan Pacific hotels overlooking Marina Bay 132 Figure 5.6 Reconstruction works at Stamford Canal 134 Figure 5.7 Hopeful visitors at the Fountain of Wealth 135 Figure 5.8 A typical open drain located at Kitchener Road 137 Figure 5.9 Austere and alienating: A cyclist separated from Sembawang River 143 Figure 6.1 Kampong Bugis promotional material 152 Figure 6.2 Detail from SIA’s Changi bid 153 Figure 6.3 Punggol housing mix with private condominiums on waterfront 155 Figure 6.4 ‘Untapped’ waterfronts at Punggol 156 Figure 6.5 View of the Cost Rhu condominium from WWS headquarters 161 Figure 6.6 Marina Bay and the integrated resort Marina Bay Sands 162 Figure 6.7 The Merlion statue located at Marina Bay 165 Figure 6.8 The Esplanade (centre) with Floating Platform 166 Figure 6.9 Corporate logo for Marina Bay 170 Figure 6.10 World Water Day celebrations at Marina Barrage 173 Figure 6.11 Barrage separating the freshwater reservoir from sea 174 Figure 7.1 Water-based activities at Bedok Reservoir (t) and Kallang Basin (b) 180 Figure 7.2 PUB mascot Water Wally promotional paraphernalia 182 Figure 7.3 Education through entertainment at the Waterworks play area 185 Figure 7.4 ABC Waters projects in construction 187 Figure 7.5 Paddling waters and education hut at Alexandra Canal 189 Figure 7.6 Negotiating the boundary between land and water 190 Figure 7.7 Inviting interaction with a submerged walkway 191 Figure 7.8 Descending steps into the waterway at Punggol 195 Figure 7.9 ABC Waters project at Punggol Reservoir 196 Figure 7.10 Water-venture promoting community values through lifestyle choice 202 Figure 7.11 Marketing waterfront lifestyles at Bedok Reservoir 203 Figure 7.12 The spectacle of water at Marina Bay Sands 204 Figure 8.1 Circular government: Volunteer-led learning at Kallang Basin 217 Figure 8.2 Vertical power: Closed drainage systems as ‘state space’ 219 Figure 8.3 Government through exposure and contact 223 6 Acronyms and abbreviations ABC Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters ARSM Administrative Report of the Singapore Municipality APU Anti-Pollution Unit ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations BTO Build-To-Order BTFAS Bukit Timah Flood Alleviation Scheme BFC Business and Financial Centre CBD Central Business District CWCA Central Water Catchment Area CERFI Centre d’Études, de Recherche et de Formation Institutionnelle CLC Centre for Liveable Cities CCC Citizens’ Consultative Committee CCS City Council of Singapore CST Common Services Tunnel CDC Community Development Council DPVG Dengue Prevention Volunteer Groups DGP Development Guide Plan EIC East India Company EDM Eastern Daily Mail and Straits Morning Advertiser EDB Economic Development Board EPHA Environmental Public Health Act EUP Estate Upgrading Programme HTP Happy Toilet Programme HDB Housing Development Board ISA Independence of Singapore Agreement IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management IPRA International Public Relations Association JRWA The Johore River Water Agreement LOO Let’s Observe Ourselves LCFC Low Capacity Flushing Cisterns 7 LID Low Impact Development MIPIM Marche International des Professionals de L’Immobilier MBUC Marina Bay Urban Challenge MPA Maritime and Port Authority Mgd Million gallons per day ENV Ministry of Environment MEWR Ministry of Environment and Water Resources MICA Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts NAS National Archives of Singapore NCE National Council on the Environment NEA National Environment Agency NSS Nature Society Singapore PAP People’s Action Party PA People’s Association PSA Port of Singapore Authority PRISM Public Relations in the Service of Mankind PUB Public Utilities Board PWD Public Works Department RC Residents’ Committees RAS Restroom Association SCS Science Council of Singapore SDC Sentosa Development Corporation SEC Singapore Environment Council SFP Singapore Free Press SIA Singapore Institute of Architects SIWW Singapore International Water Week STB Singapore Tourism Board SSL Straits Steamship Land ST Straits Times SO Superintending Officer SUDS Sustainable Urban Drainage TSRA The Tebrau and Scudai Rivers Water Agreement 8 UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UN United Nations URA Urban Redevelopment Authority VCU Vector Control Unit WCT Water Conservation Tax WPCDA Water Pollution Control and Drainage Act WSUD Water Sensitive Urban Design WWS Waterways Watch Society WHO World Health Organisation 9 Abstract This thesis will revisit Michel Foucault's original arguments on the ‘urban problem’ and the concomitant question of circulation, which I contend has been disassociated from more general renderings of his concept of governmentality. Throughout the 1970s, and particularly during his lectures at the Collège de France, Foucault would regularly return to the problem of urban circulation; how it has been conceived, calculated and distributed. Foucault would ponder the ways that material infrastructures have canalised people and resources, and naturalised their complex coexistence, in the interests of urban economic restructuring and state aggrandisement. Here, the ‘question of water’ was not only incidental to Foucault’s analytics of government but absolutely integral. Indeed, according to Foucault, whether flowing through rivers, canals, pipes, pumps, sewers or fountains, or stagnating in swamps, marshes and ditches, water has required the especial attention of town planners attempting to optimise the contentious process of urbanisation.