Making do and staying poor: The poverty context of Urban Brunei

Hassan, Noor Hasharina; Rigg, Jonathan; Azalie, Izni A.; Yong, Gabriel Yit Vui; Zainuddin, Nurul Hazirah Haji; Shamsul, Mohammad Addy Shahril Muhammad

doi:10.1016/j.geoforum.2022.09.012

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…For much of its history, Bruneians lived primarily in a water (estuarine) environment, adapting completely to this life over water (Blundell, 1923). Presently, many of those residing in the water village prefers to remain despite the many difficulties faced and higher expenses in maintaining their house than their counterparts on land (Hassan et al, 2022). Indeed, Brunei is a coastal state, and the Sultanate was a thalassocracy for much of its existence.…”

Section: B Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blue Urbanism

Yong,

Hassan

2024

IJEAS

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Coastal cities are most at risk to rising sea levels and increased precipitation. This is however the Climate Change Scenario forecasted for the humid tropical region in the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report. As standard engineering (grey) solutions are prohibitive in many developing countries due to financial and technical limitations, this paper proposes an adaptive blue approach. It shares insights from Brunei, where the old capital was a city built over water. It also presents findings from a preliminary survey to gauge the public’s views on a set of blue urbanism proposals. The study found positive support for the proposals in general. In particular, there was strong support for: (i) incorporating ‘green’ features into the urban complex; (ii) more public spaces where people could learn about their cultural heritage; and (iii) participation in the life and management of the city. There is however (iv) less enthusiastic response to blue features. The paper discusses viability of the blue urbanism approach vis-à-vis cultural and contextual changes. The insights presented could be useful to other coastal cities in the region.

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Section: B Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blue Urbanism

Yong,

Hassan

2024

IJEAS

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“…Kampong Ayer (KA) (Figure 1) was historically Brunei's core in terms of industry, commerce and trade, providing employment and generating wealth for the sultanate. Over the course of more than a century, however, economic activity in Brunei has become increasingly land‐based, leaving KA at the margins of the country's evolving space economy and society (Hassan et al ., 2022). This is not to say that KA has been ignored in Brunei's modernization drive: there have been sustained investments in infrastructure and amenities including electricity, piped water, schools, mosques, police stations, health centres and fire services.…”

Section: Context and Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Only one of our respondents was in full-time employment, while another three respondents had part-time employment (fishing and home-based businesses selling food). In addition to these Poverty from above and below intersecting economic, employment, health and caring issues, there were the geographical challenges that came from living in KA (Hassan et al, 2022). In these ways, the poor and destitute of KA faced multiple constraints that underpinned their deprivation, cross-cutting economy, society and geography.…”

Section: Poverty and Deprivation From Above And Belowmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Living on land might have brought Rainah and her sister closer to their wider family, but new dimensions of isolation would have been produced in the process. They could draw on a rich network of local contacts in KA to make living poorly possible (Hassan et al ., 2022). To be sure, this network of community relations and mutual obligation did, at times, have its drawbacks.…”

Section: Poverty and Deprivation From Above And Belowmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Administering and encountering the poor: Poverty from above and below in Brunei Darussalam

Hassan,

Rigg,

Yong

et al. 2024

Singap J Trop Geogr

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In this paper we argue that there is a ‘missing middle’ between policies to ameliorate poverty of those in need and the experience of poverty. Drawing on interviews with respondent poor(er) households in Brunei's ‘water village’ of Kampong Ayer and with officials and local leaders, the paper details a complex and well‐funded system of support for those in need. It then shows how this impressive architecture of welfare does not always meet the needs of those it seeks to support. Through rendering poverty technical, policies implicitly ascribe persistent destitution as arising from the failure of the poor to take advantage of the opportunities made available to them. The paper suggests that this gap could be bridged by giving non‐governmental organizations (NGOs), social enterprises and informal businesses a greater role in the delivery of support. Kampong Ayer's experience has its parallels in other places and situations: the tendency to bureaucratize poverty and its amelioration; the desire to simplify poverty but complicate programmes for poverty eradication; and the expectation that the onus for adaptation should be on—and with—the poor. When the poor fail to adapt and to respond in the manner desired, they are blamed for their enduring poverty.

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