In the 1920s, Toa Payoh was just a swampy land and squatter district which was notorious, until 1964 when the Housing and Development Board (HDB) started its project to turn Toa Payoh into a planned satellite town. Hence, Toa Payoh is one of the earliest places that had housing estates built with some of the richest history in Singapore.
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| Entrance of Toa Payoh Mall |
One of the places I first went to when I visited Toa Payoh was the Toa Payoh mall or the Toa Payoh Town Centre which you will reach once you exit from the Toa Payoh MRT station. Toa Payoh was the first prototype town centre in Singapore so many of the shops there have a long-lasting history. One of the shopkeepers there, Ms Tan, who turns 52 this year, told me that the Toa Payoh Mall was a great place to open shops because it is a place bustling with life. She also said that the people in Toa Payoh were very friendly, even the elderlies who often visit her after that trip to the hawker centre nearby. But she still feels that she did not have a sense of belonging because she was just operating business there and her home was at another place.
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| One of the Food Centres in Toa Payoh Mall |
One of the things I noticed when I went to the Toa Payoh Mall was that there were at least two food centres there and a lot of elderlies from Toa Payoh were there although it was 3pm which was neither lunchtime nor dinnertime and they were just sitting there or drinking a cup of coffee. When I went there to ask one of the elderlies, they told me that they have been visiting the food centre since it opened! One of the elderlies was also there with his neighbour just to spend some time together. The food centre also provides a common space for the residents near the Toa Payoh Mall as in the food centre, I could see a lot of people mingling with each other regardless of their races.
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| Amphitheatre in front of Toa Payoh Library |
Next, I went to the Toa Payoh Library where I could also see the amphitheatre and the Toa Payoh Community Centre. At the amphitheatre, I saw an elderly lady who was in her 60s and when I approached her for an interview, she gave me a bright smile and answered my questions cheerfully. When I asked her how long she has been living in Toa Payoh, she told me that she’s been there for as long as she can remember and also told me that she had a strong sense of belonging to it and was not willing to move to any other places. The amphitheatre was also a place where different events were held to integrate residents in Toa Payoh to have a common space where they could spend time together.
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| Toa Payoh Community Club |
Across the amphitheatre was the Toa Payoh Community Centre which was also a platform of common space for the residents of Toa Payoh to spend time together.
There were also a lot of HDB flats in Toa Payoh, just like any other neighbourhood in Singapore. There were corridors in each level of the HDB flats to enable better interaction between neighbours despite their differences in races, languages or religions. Near the HDB flats, there was also a playground where I saw many children giggling and playing there happily with bright smiles on their faces. The innocent children were playing there together even though they did not know each other when I asked them. The playground becomes a common space for them to play and interact with each other, just like their school which is a platform where children of different races, languages and religions interact and coexist together.
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| Ground Floor of a HDB flat |
On the ground floor of the HDB flats, there were tables and chairs where people could just spend time together and many elderlies spend their day sitting there and playing mah jong or talking with their neighbours and friends or just simply sits there.
I feel that to increase the sense of identity, the government could organize more activities or events at places like the amphitheatre so that more residents will attend those events more often and they can get to know each other more. There can also be more activities organized at the Toa Payoh Community Club where the residents of Toa Payoh can participate more actively and get to know each other more through those activities.
In conclusion, I feel that Toa Payoh has a strong sense of identity with its long-standing and rich history. Toa Payoh has its own identity that makes it unique from other area like the Toa Payoh Mall (the first L-shaped shopping mall) and the one and only HDB hub. There is also a personal history to the place like Queen Elizabeth’s visit and being one of the earliest developed estates. And there are a lot of nostalgia for the residents who have lived there since their childhood years. There is also common space for people of different races and religions interact together. Although many of the younger generation live in Toa Payoh, there is still history and nostalgia at the place, along with the precious memories of the older generation living there.
Bibliography
.: Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council - Our Town :.. (n.d.). .: Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council :.. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://www.btptc.org.sg/Our%20Town/TPYTrail.htm
The heartlands @ Toa Payoh. (n.d.). ComeSingapore.com. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from comesingapore.com/travel-guide/article/557/the-heartlands-@-toa-payoh
Toa Payoh - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toa_Payoh#History
Toa Payoh [ToaPayoh.com]. (n.d.). Toa Payoh [ToaPayoh.com]. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://www.toapayoh.com/
|, A. S. (n.d.). Singapore Memory Project goes to Toa Payoh - Channel NewsAsia. Channel NewsAsia - Latest News, Singapore, Asia, World and Business News - channelnewsasia.com. Retrieved April 14, 2012, from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1195845/1/.html
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