Balancing sustainable development and cultural heritage preservation: luxury burial legacies in Singapore

Abstract

PurposeThe paper aims to provide up-to-date analysis on how a country like Singapore, with a rich tangible and intangible cultural heritage associated with burial customs, approaches heritage preservation while ensuring modernisation and sustainable growth.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is an exploratory analysis of the association between cultural heritage preservation, particularly the one associated with elaborate burials, and the need for modernisation in Singapore. It mainly uses desk research tools, fieldwork and interviews with death services providers to build a set of conclusions. It employs a historical review approach and uses comparative analyses with other countries in the Asian region to substantiate the arguments.FindingsThe paper provides insights about how, since its independence, Singapore has switched to pragmatic models of growth and development which imply maximising the limited space available, often at the cost of precious cultural heritage. The rapid development has had a significant impact on the country's burial customs and legacies, particularly on elaborate graves and tombs, which traditionally use a considerable amount of space. The analysis concludes that Singapore is in the constant challenge of exploring alternative ways of handling death and its ramifications.Originality/valueThis paper presents a new outlook on the relationship between the preservation of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage associated with death practices and a sustainable approach to modernisation in the context of Singapore.