Graduate Associate
samboyd1[at]my.yorku.ca
Master's Student
Graduate Programme in Social Anthropology, York University
Research Keywords:
Tactical urbanism; placemaking; Singapore; public/private space; materiality; urban planninganning
Research Region(s):
Singapore, Southeast Asia
Research Diaspora(s):
Samantha Boyd is an MA student in the Graduate Programme of Social Anthropology at York University. Her sub-disciplinary interests are in urban anthropology and, more specifically, the experiences of power, contestation and subversion within place. Having been raised in a social housing project built for veterans in Montréal, Québec, Samantha has always felt a deep connection to the sense of community and pride that comes with affordable public housing and inclusive city design. Having lived in cities her whole life, Samantha takes a particular interest in redevelopment projects, the process of city planning and design, and what part locals play (or do not play) in the shaping of their city. Her current MRP research focuses on ‘tactical urbanism’ in Singapore. This act of ‘do-it-yourself’ claiming of urban space, through informal use or modification, helps to understand the tensions and collaborations happening between state-led and locally-led urban developments.