Where the Wild Things Are: The Human-Animal Nexus in Urban Singapore

16 Feb 2022 3.30PM Webinar

Where the Wild Things Are

"Invasion of otters! They not only swam in our pool but also had a feast in the pond next to it. They ate up all the fish we reared in the pond”, wrote a resident in Redhill after a pack of otters intruded on a local fish pond.

Even as otters and other sighting of wild animals make headlines for the rare glimpses they provide into a hidden wild world of Singapore, their existence is not all rosy. That Singapore is a wholly urbanised city-state makes more compelling the need to understand how humans relate to animals. Through three seemingly unconnected vignettes, the seminar will locate the human-animal nexus within various geographical motifs and the lived experiences of people in an age of information explosion.

Join us for the first talk in our City Pioneers Series, hosted by Dr Harvey Neo, to learn more about how we should understand where we stand with regards to wildlife in Singapore. Whether we are being invaded, or are we the invaders?

​ About the Speaker

Dr Harvey Neo

Senior Fellow & Programme Head, Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC), Singapore University of Technology and Design

Harvey’s research focuses on critical urban studies, citizen urban science and policy-making as well as nature-society interactions. At the LKYCIC, Harvey leads the Cities Cluster Research on 'The Future of Asian Cities'. Amongst other things, he is interested in how a citizen-centric urban science can be practised, and sustained in tandem with 'big data', and in so doing, how urban policies can be positively influenced. Harvey is also developing a research programme on urban sustainability at the LKYCIC, focusing on the issues of nature, food and energy.

About the City Pioneers Series

In a world besieged by challenges, from climate change to cybersecurity threats to resource scarcity, cities are becoming focal points for tackling the problems of the days. In these tightly packed and quickly developing metropolis, our existential threats are manifesting clearly. At the same time, it is in these human hubs that numerous solutions and ideas are being put to the test to save our nation and our planet.
 
At the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC), we aim to be on the forefront of urban research in order to engender discussions and formulate frameworks to confront the most pressing problems facing our cities and society today. Bringing together a multitude of expertise from geography to economics to the social sciences, LKYCIC bridges the silos and proposes well-rounded solutions for all stakeholders. Simultaneously, the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) is a national and global leader in innovating technological solutions for a variety of problems. Leveraging a creative curriculum structure, SUTD provides its graduates with not just a tool but rather a toolbox of options to tackle any problems.
 
The City Pioneers Series is a webinar series which aim to bring pioneering thoughts to the young pioneers of Singapore. Expert speakers from LKYCIC and SUTD will present on a variety of topics relevant to the urban environment from novel and exciting perspective. The aim of the series is to introduce promising young researchers, technological innovators, and entrepreneurs of Singapore to the cutting edge of urban studies and research, potentially changing the way they see, understand, and appreciate their city and community.


Registration

Registration for the webinar is open to all. Upper secondary school (and older) students are encouraged to participate.

For enquiries and more information, please write to admissions@sutd.edu.sg.

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