Hawker centres, the outdoor food courts where locals gather for cheap evening meals, are the heart of most Singapore neighbourhoods. There is one close to my house, where families sit chatting on brightly coloured benches as dusk falls, ordering from dozens of stalls serving fresh local favourites, from chicken rice to Hokkien prawn noodles. The nightly scene provides a pleasing community vision in all respects bar one — the centre is ringed with ominous-looking concrete residential tower blocks.
The ubiquity of high-rise living