Ageing in a Neuropolis: Growing Old as Diaspora Chinese in Global-City Singapore
Louisa-May Khoo
PhD Candidate, School of Community and Regional Planning, UBC
Monday, November 22 from 3-4pm
C. K. Choi Building– Room 351
[ Abstract ]
My research examines the ageing experience of diaspora Chinese seniors in Singapore to discern the social toll that strident urban development has on people’s well-being as they enter late life. Through an urban ethnography and drawing from archival oral histories, I shine a spotlight on the everyday realities of growing old in Singapore to uncover the intersections between urban policies and the dismantled social fabric that have shaped how people dwell. In particular, I home in on factors such as inequalities, cultural beliefs, mental health stigmas and social isolation that impact the personal resilience and help-seeking behaviour of immigrant Chinese seniors.
In this presentation, I take a historical perspective focusing on the everyday lived experience of Chinese migrants in post-war Chinatown, Singapore. Doing so, I reveal Chinatown as a rich resource of emotive and affectual bonds that provide the ballast to drive aspirations and the ointment to replenish the spirit through an ethos of care and reciprocity that fueled the making of modern Singapore. Exhuming this habiting sphere highlights the adaptation that seniors in Singapore have had to grapple with alongside urban change, urging planners to reckon more seriously with what it means to protect and foster thriving communities in disrupted contemporary societies.
[ Bio ]
Louisa-May Khoo is a Public Scholar and PhD Candidate in UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning. Her work sits at the intersections of planning governance and urban studies, with a broader mission to develop a human centricity in public policy. Specifically, her research explores the connections between urban transformation and mental wellness. Previously, she was an urban planner involved in public policy and research in Singapore. As Senior Assistant Director with the policy research think-tank Centre for Liveable Cities, she led the housing and social research teams, focusing on issues relating to affordable housing, immigration and diversity. Louisa holds a BA and a MSSc in Geography, both from the National University of Singapore.
[ About the Migration Grad Student Power Hour ]
The Centre for Migration Studies Grad Student Power Hour provides opportunities for UBC graduate students to share their research on migration beyond their home departments and network with faculty and students from across the university and in the broader community sector. The Power Hour will begin with 10 minutes of networking opportunities, followed by a 30 minute talk and 20 minutes for discussion. Anyone is welcome to attend. We look forward to seeing you there!
Please RSVP for this in-person event below.
