ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the geographic location of East Coast Park within Singapore and the wider region as well as ethnographic observations among variously skilled Indian migrants in the city as a point of departure to explore questions of urban longing and belonging. It examines what makes Singapore a migration destination by looking at data of the inflow of variously skilled groups of migrants. As a global city, Singapore mainly envisions itself as a destination for highly skilled professionals who are encouraged to make it their home. The chapter analyses what makes Singapore a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-racial nation. It discusses divergent trajectories that various groups of migrants as well as local Singaporeans are on, influenced by the city-state's multiple identities. The chapter provides the idea of the right to the city to better appreciate how the various notions of longing and belonging produce increasingly divergent trajectories of how the city is imagined, experienced and lived in.
