Efforts to redesign Singapore’s Jalan Besar neighbourhood have focused on fostering community engagement by prioritizing people over cars. Central to these initiatives is the identification of “champions” within the area—local businesses and individuals deeply invested in the district’s character—who collaborate on projects that reflect the identity of their community.

The recent “Find Your Folks” festival exemplified this approach by commissioning public furniture designed and created with input from various local subcultures. Among the installations was a multifunctional skate ramp that doubles as a park bench, developed in partnership with skateboarding groups such as Hard2Find and Skate Space, skate jam organiser Millennial Events, and designer Miranda TJ. These collaborations among different micro-communities have been described as the “engine room” driving Jalan Besar’s vibrant cultural ecosystem.

The neighbourhood hosts a diverse mix of establishments within close proximity, including a Muay Thai gym, a karaoke bar, an artisan ice cream shop called Sweet Cheeks, migrant worker dormitories, and new co-living apartments like Cove and 1925 Quarters. Visual elements of the festival highlighted portraits of local residents, from migrant workers and elderly inhabitants to young creatives, emphasizing the people as the core of the neighbourhood’s identity. Structures for the event were also constructed using locally sourced materials, such as scaffolding dividers repurposed for festival designs. The organising group LopeLab plans to return to Jalan Besar later this year or early next year around Lunar New Year.

A notable site contributing to the area's distinctiveness is Hafary House, a historic building repurposed two years ago by the tiling company Hafary. While attracting a more affluent clientele, it retains unique features, including a ceiling grid made of nylon straps once used to hoist marble slabs and porcelain tiles marked with the company’s branding, deliberately installed with markings visible rather than hidden. The building’s upper floors serve as a showroom, while the ground level hosts a diverse range of tenants such as Petal Studio florist, Keryi Coffee, The Pilates Works Collective, Hands Carpets, Simply Dreams bed specialists, and various eateries and bars. Wee Geck Ying, a business development executive at Hafary, describes the area as a space of “co-living with the design community,” aiming for a vibrant and youthful atmosphere.

However, not all local stakeholders support active government planning for the area. Corrine Chia, who has managed the craft beer operation at Druggists for 13 years, cautions against over-curation by official design organisations. She argues that allowing the space to evolve organically without heavy-handed intervention preserves its unique character, distinguishing Jalan Besar from other similarly recognized creative districts like Tiong Bahru and Tanjong Katong/Joo Chiat, which she says show signs of extensive curation. Chia highlights the neighbourhood’s “aura,” pointing to the old buildings’ charm and the sustainable reuse of materials such as beer kegs converted into lamps, which symbolise an imperfect but thriving environment.

From a governmental perspective, DesignSingapore officials acknowledge and support this organic growth, advocating a “light touch” approach. Lim, a representative from the agency, notes that Singapore encourages communities to develop independently, drawing parallels to global cities like London and Tokyo, where urban planning and gentrification have not stifled creative entrepreneurship. While the government offers support for events involving road closures, such as Find Your Folks, it generally prefers to “take a seat behind” and empower local advocates.

Jalan Besar’s street life reflects this dynamic blend, with hawker food stalls, creative ventures, and diverse communities coming together in the evenings. As Chia succinctly puts it, the area’s success lies in allowing it “to grow organically, whatever it may turn out to be.”