When I first moved into my neighbourhood in Singapore, there was a family of iguanas living under a bush on a plot of reclaimed land by the sea.

I used to enjoy watching the little ones scuttle after their mummy and daddy (I presume) into the water.

A year ago, the reclaimed land became a day-and-night public golf course because in Singapore, it seems there are not enough golf courses to go round the 4 plus million, soon to be 6 million and counting, inhabitants, some of whom find it too hot to play in the day, anyway.

The family of iguanas is no longer there, neither is the bush. A few months ago, I spotted one lone creature. I took a picture of him with my mobile phone as I was very happy to meet him again. He is a rather handsome specimen – big and strong. He was hiding under a little shrub under the flyover.

Last week, the little shrub too disappeared. The plot of land under the flyover and the last remaining empty site between the end of my neighbourhood walk and the sea has been fenced off. A sign has gone up to say they're building the Waterfront Gardens at Marina Bay.

I now know what it must have felt like for the iguanas. Bit by bit, my space is being encroached upon.

Five years ago, I could walk on trails from my neighbourhood to the park and the sea, without using the main roads. Then came the first wall to build the new expressway and tunnel. Then came the second wall to build the golf course. Now comes the third wall.

Across the Kallang River, the National Stadium is being torn down to make way for a spanking new Sports Hub. A Watersports Hub is also being built. And they are also doing things to the river and sea which will make it into a placid-like body so people can do watersports on them.

I should feel good, I suppose. I am told the real estate value in my neighbourhood will skyrocket. As it is now, I get calls once a week from agents asking me if I wish to rent or sell my place – I have never felt so under siege – and am determined to hold onto all 110sqm of “My Space”.

And I am, after all, witnessing history in the making – the transformation of a tiny, tropical, island city into a world-class city that will be the HUB of everything. Hub of the Universe.

But I cannot help but feel like a cornered rat – or iguana.

I know I am not alone and so I shouldn’t be wallowing in self-pity. All of us living in big, fast-developing cities face the same problem – we live in ever-diminishing circles of space.

And I should count myself lucky that I have actually seen a live iguana. My Singapore nephews and nieces never saw a live cow until they were old enough to travel to Malaysia. They thought cows came in cling-wrapped packets.

Is it any wonder that their eyes glaze over when they read about how we must fight to save the rhino or tigers? How can you help save what you don’t know?

I think I will keep the photo of the iguana in my mobile phone. I might have to show it to their children one day. Heck, maybe I will show it to them first because I don’t know if I will ever meet my friend again.