Perforating the City? Urbanisms of Social Permeability Workshop Series

Project Summary

This workshop series explores how spatial and social practices can perforate urban divisions and create pathways of encounter, empathy, and understanding across social, cultural, and economic differences. In response to rising polarization and stratification, Perforating the City examines how urban spaces and practices can facilitate “social permeability” — the capacity for relationships and exchanges across disparate communities. Through a series of three workshops focusing on Engaging, Commoning, and Gardening, the project convenes scholars and practitioners across Asia to reflect on, document, and theorize practices that foster relational urbanism and civic connection.

The first two workshops took place in 2025, beginning with Engaging (March, Singapore), Commoning (May, Singapore), and concluding with Gardening, upcoming in early March 2026. Each session examines specific practices — from community engagement to cooperative spatial arrangements and ecological care — to advance comparative insights into how social permeability is cultivated in urban contexts.