Search results

The traditional courtyard shophouses modifications, alterations and deterioration over the years have become a source of concern to major stakeholders. In George Town World Heritage Site Malaysia, studies have shown that the worst hit among its various shophouses are the Straits Chinese traditional courtyard eclectic style shophouses. This paper investigates the traditional courtyard shophouses concerning the role of architectural formation design components, and how this can sustain the place identity of the Straits Chinese typology.

The methodological approach regards the collection of data and analysis of 30 face-to-face interviews and the observation of Lots number 3, 5 and 7, located along Lorong Ikan, George Town World Heritage Site.

It was found that these Lots express the place identity of the Straits Chinese, and its major exterior architecture components to be observed are the column head (Chi Tou) capital, parapet wall, bressummer beam and ionic column, and gable and gable ends.

This paper is limited to the role of architectural formation design components. Future research is needed to expand the scope of participant elements via a quantitative approach. This will enhance the validation of findings from this paper.

It is recommended the use of the proposed checklist to enhance the sustainability of the architectural components regarding the place identity of these styles of shophouses, which provides salutary lessons on how to preserve the heritage buildings. Also, major stakeholders with leading evidence from relevant government agencies should ensure the preservation of these cultural and heritage buildings for the next generation.

This paper found that the family beliefs and social impact were the components that express the place identity of the Straits Chinese.

This paper demonstrates that the role of architectural formation design components regarding place identity of Straits Chinese traditional courtyard eclectic style shophouses cannot be over-emphasised.

This research presents a comparative perception study towards rejuvenated, community-driven shophouses in George Town, Penang.

It captures the opinions of two distinct age groups by utilizing a mixed-methods approach encompassing quantitative (main) and qualitative (supporting) research to obtain a dynamic understanding of perceptions between younger and older residents in the city and how these impact the long-term sustainability of heritage conservation efforts. The distribution of questionnaires to residents of Penang was the primary data collection method, with the structure of the questionnaires supported by recent academic literature and past perceptional research studies about built heritage.

The four main findings from the study are therefore as follows: 1. Both age groups have a similar, positive perception towards the tangible, physical elements of rejuvenated shophouses. 2. Intangible, functional factors play an equal or stronger role in influencing people and their attitude towards public participation and overall “Sense of Place”. 3. The pessimistic “Sense of Place” responses from the “Older” group reflect an equally pessimistic attitude towards intangible, functional factors surrounding rejuvenated shophouses. 4. Youth-led changes to George Town's heritage shophouses are degrading the “sense of place” connecting the older generation to the city.

The study can serve as a guide for the development of more inclusive and socially sustainable conservation and adaptive re-use policies for safeguarding the heritage identity and value of shophouses for current and future generations to experience in a post-COVID world.

The purpose of this paper is to identify, dissect and unravel real-life contextual human capital issues related to George Town’s built heritage from the perspectives of key stakeholders in the heritage arena.

The paper opted for an exploratory study using qualitative techniques like in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to gather insights and to listen to the voices from key stakeholders pertaining to issues related to human capital in built heritage. The data were supplemented and complemented by secondary resources such as technical reports, conservation guidelines, by-laws and case studies from other countries.

The paper provides empirical insights about real-life issues, barriers and challenges pertaining to human capital in George Town’s built heritage. The key findings from this study revealed that the quantity of professionals and builders is still insufficient and their quality of work has room for improvement.

Due to the selected research approach, the research results may lack generalisability. Thus, researchers are encouraged to further test the proposed propositions by enlarging the number of respondents or administering this similar study in another locality/historic city (i.e. Malacca ‒ George Town’s twin historic city).

The paper provides practical implications for the development of the right quantity and quality of human capital for George Town’s built heritage. The findings from this study are also useful for urban managers, policymakers and conservation practitioners.

This paper fulfils an identified need to examine the real-life issues of human capital in built heritage for George Town.

This paper aims to explore the concept and spread of the five-foot way (5FW) as an aspect of urban design peculiar to Southeast Asia. It locates the 5FW as an aspect of planning law and property law that has been adapted culturally to provide a unique space for public–private interaction. The paper also explores, in a related context, conflicts over the appropriate use of 5FWs and the issue of regulating such use.

The approach adopted is to look at the development of the 5FW over the entire colonial period of Singapore, starting in 1819 up to the present day. Comparisons are drawn from other urban settlements over a similar period.

The paper finds that the 5FW, with its related device of the shophouse, provided a uniquely efficacious space for protection of the public from the elements and for public–private interaction. It finds that regulation of 5FWs should be undertaken with due regard both to public right of way and to the cultural element of making private use of the space.

The originality of the article lies in the fact that the 5FW has not been considered as an artefact of legal culture in addition to being an artefact of urban design.

Five-footways are an important feature in historical urban centres of tropical South East Asian cities. These colonnades along the rows of commercial shop houses provide comfortable pedestrian walkways. In spite of the decline of the liveability in many historical urban centres, the “kaki-lima” or five-footways in Klang Valley Malaysia are bustling and alive. Many studies have been done on kaki-lima, however it focuses mostly on historical and cultural context. There is lack of understanding on how the physical attributes of kaki-lima facilitate the liveliness of urban life. The paper aims to investigate the five-footway as the generator of public realm and to analyse the physical attributes of the five-footways that contribute to the “stickiness” of the public space.

The study utilized behaviour mapping to identify the sticky activity, then subsequently used Roger Barker's theory of Behaviour Settings to observe different stationary activities along the five-footways of the historical centres of Kuala Lumpur and Klang.

The findings show that all the identified behaviour settings along the five-footways are strongly characterised by tropical climate and local diverse culture. Additionally, the small architectural detail provides an important physical setting for informal activities to take a place in the five-footways.

The study is limited only to two urban heritage districts in Malaysia, namely Kuala Lumpur and Klang.

The findings have the implication for the public space policy of the local municipalities, specifically for urban design policy of the five-footways. Firstly, the inclusion of five-footways should be encouraged in any new shophouse development and secondly, the policy maker should consider to retain certain physical features of the five-footways that support not only the informal economy activities but also the creation of third places in the neighbourhoods.

This study will contribute to the discourse of urbanism, especially in understanding the public realm in South East Asian cities. Additionally, the outcomes will assist the local municipality in developing urban design policy of the five-footways.

This study aims to capture a sense of place by analysing the physical attributes of the traditional shopping streets located in Indonesia and Malaysia through Instagram posts.

This study adopted a direct content analysis using visual images of 400 posts of Indonesian and Malaysian respondents. The Instagram Application Programming Interface (API) was used to extract data from Instagram posts. It is then followed by the quantitative analysis to determine the frequencies of visual and narrative representations of physical attributes defining the sense of place.

Five visual and narrative categories, namely architectural style, store design, special focal points, and the varieties of products and services that represent the physical attributes of shopping streets, were investigated. The findings would benefit the urban preservation initiatives so that the sense of place as authentic tourism destinations can be secured.

The awareness of the traditional shopping street as a place of character, especially from social media users, is able to create local values that lead to place imageability and promote national tourism.

This study captured the sense of traditional places based on the people’s identifications that were shared on social media platforms. The posts’ preferences confirmed the significance of traditional shopping streets as a place of attraction and identity. The findings addressed the functions of physical attributes in sustaining the historical and authentic values of traditional shopping streets.

Kuala Lumpur (KL) emerged as the capital of the newly independent Federation of Malayan States in 1957 with a population of 316,000. Over the next 60 years, the city expanded into a major urban regional conurbation. It now covers an area of 2,790 km² and has a population of around 7.7 million. In the last two decades, market-driven, fast-track development, underpinned by road infrastructure has accelerated the city's urban transformation. Especially over the last two decades, a spate of urban redevelopments, including commercial and retail complexes, specialised centres, industrial parks, educational complexes and residential estates have transformed the Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Region (KLMR) beyond recognition. KL is only one example among many of intensive Southeast Asian property-led urban development, fuelled by demographic pressures and global capital inflows that transformed the regional natural and built environments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of globalisation, neoliberalism and property-led development, on the built form and socio-cultural legacies of the KLMR.

The major aim of this study is to determine how neoliberalism and property-led development have impacted the urban form and structure of the KLMR. The methodology applied in this study concentrates mainly on the use of qualitative research methods. The major qualitative research methods include qualitative analysis, field surveys and observations, primary and secondary data collection. The approach in this study is to exemplify the shift from government-sponsored development in the post-independence period to the current globalised-private oriented development.

The major findings of this research suggest that the global, property-led mode of urban development, whilst superficially successful, undermined traditional and tropical-climate urban landscapes. It also bequeathed many urban or property level problems, including traffic congestion, air pollution, planning governance and building management issues. The paper outlines narratives for a more balanced and sustainable mode of urban development, which is more in tune with local culture and climatic conditions.

This paper provides a deep insight analysis and evaluation of KL's growth from a small town into a global metropolitan region where property-led development dictates the rules and determines the character of the city.

The purpose of this paper is to explore Singaporeans’ view to a multicultural neighbourhood, specifically, their views on the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP), a housing policy that promotes residential desegregation, and whether this policy has engendered a positive perspective to residential diversity.

A grounded theory approach is used to answer the following research questions: how do Singaporeans feel about residential diversity? Does the EIP influence attitudes to residential segregation in Singapore? What do these attitudes mean for governments and policymakers around the world? The research involved focus group discussions with 27 Housing and Development Board real estate agents, in order to tap onto their vast network of clients and better understand the prevailing sentiments on the ground.

The two major considerations when Singaporeans choose a flat are its price and location. Within the confines of these two factors, however, other considerations like race, nationality and the socio-economic makeup of a neighbourhood will influence their decisions.

These considerations can be condensed into the factors of constrained choice and voluntary segregation. By limiting the impact of voluntary segregation, the EIP can be credited with bridging the racial divide. However, with constrained choice being unaddressed by the policy, the emerging formation of a class divide is an unintended consequence.

Because almost all developed economies are culturally plural, understanding Singapore’s approach to residential desegregation offers insights as to how other countries may learn from the Singapore experience in managing and encouraging multiculturalism, especially since ethnic residential concentration can reduce the formation of strong social relationships.

Examines the rationale behind the conservation movement in Singapore and presents a post‐construction analysis of the performance of the Chinatown pilot conservation project. This project was one of the earliest batches of shophouse restoration projects carried out and managed by the government agency, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in Singapore. This project was classified as a formative period project way back in 1989 when it was used to demonstrate the government’s commitment to conservation. On completion, the Chinatown pilot conservation project consists of 45 shops at ground floor with 93 other upper floor units. Aims to evaluate the performance of this project from its physical, economic and social perspective. For this purpose, all occupants of the restored units as well as 80 locals and tourists were surveyed in the third quarter of 1996. Analyses and presents the findings of this survey.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of urban renewal policy by comparing urban renewal in Hong Kong with that undertaken in Macao.

This study reviews the concepts of urban renewal in the two cities and examines related policies in Hong Kong and Macao.

The study finds that the emphasis of urban renewal policy rests on the principles of self-financing, holistic planning and public-private partnerships. In order to deal with urban renewal issues, the Chinese Government has adopted a “People First, District-based, Public Participatory” approach based on public engagement and, to this end, it has introduced various measures, such as the District Urban Renewal Forum and the Urban Renewal Trust Fund. However, compared with Hong Kong, Macao’s efforts at urban renewal policies have been disjointed and piecemeal.

The study adopts the principle of public management and compares the two cities’ urban policies to highlight the importance of both government leadership and public engagement for successful urban renewal.