Urban Theories: Comparative Analysis Essay of Petaling Street and Newbury Street

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303/ARC2224) PROJECT: “LIFE BETWEEN BUILDINGS: USING PUBLIC SPACE” PART 2

Name: Lai Jia Yi Student ID: 0315957 Tutor: Mr. Nazmi

City are different in all aspect in the world. It is no doubt that the spatial layout of the city itself would generates a chance variation of probability to encounter and influencing the human behavior.

Most of the building implies social activity which is originating from the intended function, however it is then unintentionally follows by random encounters that may generate from the designated events.

There is no doubt that the influence of architecture would affect the human action, and in turns, they would regulate the course of lives as well as the images of the city. Every event comes in its own unique way that would greatly define the identity of the city itself.

Through Newbury Street in Boston and Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, there has been a long standing thread of recognition of the way people live in the city, and the distinct of behavior causes by the built environment, both individually and socially. Other than the built environment, the behavior is also affected by the climate of the country, cultural aspect and also the form of communication among the residents living out there.

To start with, the land planning in Newbury Street is very different from the Petaling Street. The Newbury Streets sits in one part of Back Bay, Boston, is a manmade creation that was expended from landfill. Because of its condition as a fairly new city, it consists of little historical value as compare to Petaling Street, which contains the permanent cover for traditional behavior altered from its original activity pattern.

Diagram 1.0 shows the organized grid pattern layout in the city of Boston.

Newbury Street contains a systematic grid pattern layout that is designated to be dense and walkable, obviously dense around the core business district and then spread into the sub urban area. Sitting in between the transitional point of residential and core business district, Newbury Street becomes one of the most highly populated destination that is dominated by mostly young adults.

Diagram 2.0 shows the distorted grid pattern layout in Petaling Street.

As for Petaling Street, it is mostly occupied by old dwellers who remains from the past, and also the transient members who move in to replace the young generation that has choose to leave. Despite of its degeneration as a formerly vibrant city, it still contains a strong functional characteristic which remains the whole experience that is entirely absent from the proper planning space in Newbury street itself. The mixed used of environment that has no order may somehow energized the residents and makes it a vibrant neighborhoods like before.

Despite of the dissimilarities of the impact of development, both of the city shares the similar form of contact point.

Diagram 3.0 shows the first contact upon reaching Newbury Street.

Diagram 4.0 shows the first contact upon reaching Petaling Street.

The first contact that comes at first place upon reaching the street is usually the edges of the street that acts as a crossing line between the street itself and the adjacent one. It is an area to express the characteristic of the street especially when people barely passes by. Both of the city uses a specific tactics that would help to set up the vision in the first place, such as in Newbury Street, the occasional use of “sidewalk garden� that usually appears at the crossing road of the street, so that when people firstly entered the street, they would encounter the sidewalk garden before entering to specific shop.

This form of contact is aspire by the building environment which is functional and attractive, that would increase the possibility for involvement, interaction and knowledge sharing in place. This strategy generates the structural properties that drives people to slow down their pace to appreciate the elements in a space rather than coming for a specific activity only. Due to the lack of sitting area along the Newbury Street, it may also influence the element of space into an informal sitting area.

Diagram 5.0 shows the sidewalk garden which could be found at the shop front of Nike Boston.

The following influence could be found in the shop front of Nike Boston, which make good strategies to beautify the landscape by applying greeneries to the place, in turns directly influencing behavior architecturally by using this area as an informal sitting spot. In places like shopping district, there is a tendency for people who decided to wait outside the shop while waiting for friends or family to do their purchase. The spontaneous sitting spot in sidewalk garden became an ultimate choice that would enhance their experience in a space. However, the degrees of the contact intensity is considered as fairly low. It is because that it only involves in the passive and possibly chances contacts in all sense. These form of contact point still generates structural properties that vary with the syntax of layout.

Diagram 6.0 shows the use of entrance statement in Petaling Street.

In contrast with the Newbury Street which uses beautified environment as a form of contact, Petaling street uses image which is more straight forward, where it appears an entrance statement that is directly located straight ahead the street to declare its identity as the China Town. Even though both uses the same concept to declare their identity, it is obviously that the degree of contact intensity in Petaling Street is much higher than Newbury Street.It is because that the entrance statement in Petaling Street uses form as an architectural expression which stimulates insights from symbols in the most direct way. A representational image with bigger scale that creates contrast in use and scale, at the same time creating a bold way of communication. Despite of having higher contact intensity, it is however, privatize the content of the place. The over emphasize on a particular space has resulted in the phenomena of isolated vibrancy along Petaling Street, where it is noticeable that the programs are less likely to intertwine with each other. The mild representation greeneries in Newbury Street that has equally distribution of the contact points along each corner of the street has make the street all vibrant along the way.

Coming to the most commonly seen facility in both street, it should be the extension of café to the sidewalk.

Diagram 7.0 shows the sidewalk cafe in Newbury Street.

Alongside Newbury Street, it is noticeable that most of the café tends to make good use of the broader sidewalk which is reserved for the semi-public for an extension to their own use. Due to the condition of Newbury which does not provide with any form of formal sitting area, the sidewalk cafes became the only official sitting area for the pedestrian who decided to rest their foot. In most of the cases, the contact intensity is usually high because most of the people who attended the café comes with companion. However in few case, there is also people who decided to come alone, where the contact intensity is fairly low as compare to the case mentioned just now. The form of contacts mentioned here relies on the passive contact to the outer world. This type of contact is a medium for the unpredictable. It is noticeably that in Newbury Street, the sidewalk cafés is fully occupied for most of the time.

Diagram 8.0 shows the sidewalk cafe as a transitional medium to smoothen the boundary between indoor and outdoor.

It is because that compare to the rest of the building, the sidewalk café creates a smoother transition from indoor to outdoor. It allows people to have similar living spaces outside to those you have inside for

a seamless transition. At the same time, instead of fully enclosing the wall on the shop fronts, most of the building uses large windows panels for the extension to flow. Besides creating a harmonious blend between inside and outside, people does prefer to stay outdoor in Newbury Street. This could be due to the mild weather in the place, as well as the visually appealing environment that makes the whole experience an enjoyment rather than staying indoor. It is also noticed that whenever people are exposed to the outer world, any form of social event could have evolve spontaneously. With the sidewalk cafĂŠ integrates along the street, people tends to be attracted by things beyond physical form, perhaps it creates a connected leisure that would support people to be a part of the street. Every components in the city has an important human meaning.

Diagram 9.0 shows the extension of restaurant to the sidewalk in Petaling Street.

In Petaling Street, the operation of sidewalk restaurant is only available at a specific time of the day. Even though it has the benefits of widened sidewalks that is extending from the five-foot way itself, however the hot weather in Malaysia makes it an unsuitable choice to allow certain business during the day time.

It is commonly seen that the table and chairs of the restaurant are moved out to the five foot way as a seasonal extension during the night time. It makes the degree of contact intensity high at this specific time of day. In the case of Petaling Street, the arrangement of restaurant tables is occupying the whole row of sidewalks as part of the regular operation at night time. People are more likely to walk alongside the pavement sidewalk which is wider in size compare to five foot way, which is no longer used for sun shading purpose at the moment. People tends to redirect themselves to a more comfortable condition when it is suitable for them to do so. Other than tables and chairs, the physical arrangement of elements like stalls which is broken down into different aspects of positioning and layout in a public spaces tend to encourages people to interact with them.

Diagram 10.0 shows the use of five foot way as sun shading medium in Petaling Street during day time.

-The scenario in daytime does not apply as effective as the social context happening at night time. It could be due to changes in climate properties which quickly grows uncomfortable for customers over time. The physical arrangement of tables chairs which occupies the five foot way becomes an obstacles that prevent the access to somewhere because people tend to use five foot way as sun shading device. It is either by putting them in way to prevent access to somewhere, or else putting them to direct them in a particular way.

Diagram 11.0 shows privatization of events in Newbury Street.

One of the most specifically address influencing behavior is the privatization of the sidewalk along street to create concentration of people in a community. This feature could be visibly found in both of the city, while the one held in Newbury Street is often found to be seasonal event, however the one found in Petaling Street is always held in whole years long. The Newbury Street is sometimes referred to

as the common street arts that would enhance the creative vitality of the place. Hence, there is occasionally street performance that would overtake street as a very small public squares to maintain a commitment to wide ranging of artistic view. The intensity of contact is found to be low, where it is supported by passive contact at first place, but as the commitment continues to interchange among people, it would perhaps grows slightly into another level. It is perhaps that the city layout of Newbury Street that obviously has everything to be dense and walkable together with the active use along the shops in an organized and consistent way articulates the pedestrian movement in the community to pass through all these nodes.

Diagram 12.0 shows the arrangement of facilities that encourage social interaction in Newbury Street.

The arrangement of facilities and its relationship to the sidewalk serves to encourage or hinder communication and, to this extent, affect the social interaction. The arrangement of the layout that has control to the degree of lanes access has affected the movement of the people. From the example in Newbury Street, it is found that staircase at the shop front which is created simply for a functional usage, has unintentionally used as sitting area whenever there is street performance happening out there.

Simple space such that creates the potential for interaction in the workplace.

Diagram 12.0 shows privatization of market place in Petaling Street.

Petaling Street is a city of myriad layers, each infused with memory of people, places and experiences bounded with cultural values. The conservation of market street pattern that has been retaining since the past and is now cherish as the architectural heritage that is inextricably linked to the character and placemaking of the street. Because of its role as an essential feature of the place, the privatization of street market along the Petaling Street is considered as tolerable. The intensity of contact level is the most widespread social activity compare to Newbury Street. It is because that there is constantly active contacts where people exchange greeting whenever they purchase an item in the market booth. This modest form of contact happens randomly everywhere when you explores all around the city, because it does not contain a specific form to determine the edge of the place. It also increase the possibility for this modest form of contact to grow into something more extensive. Even though the obstruction of shop fronts view is something that should have taken into account, however it is noticed that this phenomena did little in such a way to obstruct the overall activity pattern in Petaling Street.

Diagram 13.0 shows the outdoor courtyard which is formed naturally by an offset between stalls and buildings in Petaling Street.

It is found that people tends to pull off to discover every single use of space, such as repurposing the ‘outdoor courtyard’ which is formed naturally by an offset between commercial stalls and buildings.

The area is then given a new function as a nine-foot wide space to place food stalls, tables and chairs.

Although it is clearly that everything is not organized in Petaling Street, however it makes all the scattered space bounds together all over again, creating an environmental quality that is manipulated by human behavior.

In overall, Newbury Street has a systematic built form that makes people communicates in a more readable way. Hence, the contact point is more or less direct and consistent. As for Newbury Street, the form of contact usually appears out of random in a certain hour. Despite of their difference, the contact point of both is more or less in the same way. It is just the condition of the area itself makes them somewhat different from others. In conclusion, there is no right or wrong in the design of spatial layout, however we could conclude that most of this form of contact point creates contact from exterior to interior, it does not just contend within its basic built form.

Reference:

(2016). Retrieved 27 November 2016, from https://chisineu.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/margaret_kohn_brave_new_neighborhoods_the_privatiz ation_of_public_space__2004.pdf Architecture, urbanism, design and behaviour: a brief review – Architectures. (2016).

Architectures.danlockton.co.uk. Retrieved 27 November 2016, from http://architectures.danlockton.co.uk/2011/09/12/architecture-urbanism-design-and-behaviour-a-briefreview/ Gehl, J. & Koch, J. (2011). Life between buildings (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Island Press.