Post-Colonial Placemaking and Curated Authenticity: A Critical Analysis of the Kuching Waterfront

Abstract

Urban waterfront regeneration has become a global trend, yet it often leaves behind landscapes that feel oddly uniform and stripped of local character. In post-colonial cities though, these projects carry more weight, they’re tied closely to questions of identity and the shaping of national narratives. This study looks closely at the Kuching Waterfront in Sarawak, a redevelopment effort launched by the state in 1989. The main point put forward is that this case reveals a particular kind of post-colonial urbanism, which can be described here as curated authenticity. Put simply, this approach works by carefully selecting and streamlining indigenous cultural motifs, most notably the Iban Pua Kumbu, the Melanau Terendak, the Orang Ulu Kalong and turning them into a kind of visual shorthand. In doing so, the design establishes a distinct public identity, one that is officially endorsed by the state and presented as uniquely local, though inevitably shaped by selective interpretation. The analysis contends that this approach produces a fundamental paradox: while it successfully distinguishes Kuching from the placelessness of many globalized waterfronts, it concurrently decontextualizes sacred, narrative-rich cultural heritage, reducing complex symbols to decorative elements. Furthermore, the paper argues that the project generates a contested social space where official narratives of multi-ethnic unity collide with the complex, lived realities of social integration. Through a comparative analysis with the waterfronts of Singapore and Melaka, a distinct "Kuching Model" of post-colonial placemaking is defined. The paper concludes by reflecting on the paradox of curated authenticity and proposing a future research agenda to empirically test the project's socio-cultural assertions