PREDOMINANT URBAN DESIGN FOR TYPES OF PEDESTRIAN SPACE ZONES IN HISTORICAL AND NON-HISTORICAL AREAS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/myse.v12i2.4428Keywords:
Urban design, Predominant, Pedestrian space zone, Historical,non-historicalAbstract
In urban settings, public spaces are vital for improving quality of life and deserve scholarly and professional attention. Identifying key pedestrian commercial streets is essential for sustainable urban planning in Malaysian cities. In Malaysia, the disregard for townscape quality has contributed to the erosion of character and identity in many cities. To tackle these issues, it is essential to analyse pedestrian zone patterns, identify obstacles to sustainable townscape development, and establish policies that encourage pedestrian-friendly designs. This study explores the predominant types of pedestrian commercial streets in Malaysia's historical and non-historical areas, focusing on their unique characteristics and challenges. This exploration helps in understanding the specific needs and potential improvements required for these zones to enhance a sustainable urban environment. This study explores Malaysia's pedestrian zones to understand their unique characteristics and challenges. The qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method is employed in this research. Five (5) diverse sites: Sungai Segget Johor Bahru, Melaka Jonker Street, Bukit Bintang Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh Street Art, and Penang Street Art are conducted. This study identifies and compares different types of pedestrian zones in Malaysia’s historical and non-historical areas. Historical areas like Melaka, Ipoh and Penang are predominantly represented in semi-mall spaces concept, balancing heritage preservation with modern urban functionality. In contrast, non-historical areas like Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur can implement more flexible and modern urban design. Full mall spaces like Sungai Segget prioritise pedestrian safety and cultural activities, while transit mall spaces like Bukit Bintang in Kuala Lumpur integrate transit routes with pedestrian walkways, promoting sustainable mobility and economic vitality. The study provides valuable insights into the design and functionality of pedestrian zones in different urban contexts, contributing to a deeper understanding of urban design practices, especially in historical and non-historical contexts. The findings can inform the policymakers to emphasize the balance between historical and non-historical areas. This study suggests further exploring innovative urban design strategies that can be applied to both historical and non-historical areas to enhance pedestrian experiences.
References
Brownrigg-Gleeson, M. L., Monzon, A., & Cortez, A. (2023). Reasons to Pedestrianise Urban Centres: Impact Analysis on Mobility Habits, Liveability and Economic Activities. Sustainability, 15(23). https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316472.
Distefano, N., & Leonardi, S. (2023). Fostering Urban Walking: Strategies Focused on Pedestrian Satisfaction. Sustainability, 15, 16649. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416649.
Duffy, M. (2020). Festival and Spectacle. International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, 73–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-102295-5.10818-2.
Duivenvoorden, E., Hartmann, T., Brinkhuijsen, M., & Hesselmans, T. (2021). Managing public space – A blind spot of urban planning and design. Cities, 109(April 2020), 103032. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.103032.
Dyason, D., Fieger, P., & Rice, J. (2024). Greened shopping spaces and pedestrian shopping interactions: the case of Christchurch. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 10(4), 1247–1265. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-01-2024-0023.
Gehl, J. (2011). Life between buildings: Using public space. Island Press.
Hamzah, M., Krishna Sinniah, G., Rusli, N., Hanie Irdina Jamaludin, N., & Author, C. (2024). Exploring the Relationship between Urban Density and Mental Well-being In Five Major Cities In Malaysia. Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Environment, 11(1), 209–228. https://doi.org/10.24191/myse.v11i1.996.
Iranmanesh, N., & Etaati, K. (2008). Pedestrianisation: A great necessity in urban designing to create a sustainable city in developing countries. Presented at the 44th ISOCARP World Planning Congress, Urban Growth without Sprawl (September 19–23), Dalian, China. Available from ISOCARP Case Studies.
Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. Random House.
Jan Gehl. (2011). Life Between Buildings Using Public Space. Island Press.
Kamali Tabrizi, S., & Abdelmonem, M. G. (2024). Contemporary construction in historical sites: The missing factors. Frontiers of Architectural Research, 13(3), 487–504. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2024.01.002.
Kim, S. (2015, April 15). Why public spaces are a basic need for cities. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/04/why-public-spaces-are-a-basic-need-for-cities/.
Lah, O. (2018). Sustainable urban mobility in action. In Sustainable urban mobility pathways: Policies, institutions, and coalitions for low carbon transportation in emerging countries (pp. 133–282). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814897-6.00007-7.
Lee, L. M., Lim, Y. M., & Nor’Aini, Y. (2008). Strategies for urban conservation: A case example of George Town, Penang. Habitat International, 32(3), 293–304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2007.09.001.
Musselwhite, C. (2020). Jan Gehl. In The Palgrave Handbook of Global Sustainability (pp. 1–10). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38948-2_184-1.
Nia, H. A., & Olugbenga, F. (2020). A quest on the role of aesthetics in enhancing functionality of urban planning. Civil Engineering and Architecture, 8(5), 873–879. https://doi.org/10.13189/cea.2020.080514.
Nor Haslina, J., Sulaiman, A., & Shamsuddin, S. (2018). Landscape features and traditional streets character in Malaysia. Asian Journal of Environment-Behaviour Studies, 3(8), 25–35. https://doi.org/10.21834/aje-bs.v3i8.285.
Othman, I. W., Pullong, A., & Maidin, I. (2022). The Enhancement of The Concept of Liveability and Inclusive Community in Relation to Sustainable Development. Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Environment Management, 7(29), 294–313. https://doi.org/10.35631/jthem.729020.
Rubenstein, H. M. (1992). Pedestrian malls, streetscapes, and urban spaces. John Wiley & Sons.
Sadik-Khan, J., & Solomonow, S. (2017). Streetfight: Handbook for an urban revolution. Viking.
Samsudin, N. A., Fitry Rosley, M. S., Lai, Y. L., Omar, S. R., Rashid, M. F., Mohd Hanifi, N. S. N., & Bakhtiar, I. S. (2022). A comparative study of smart city initiatives in Malaysia: Putrajaya and Iskandar Puteri. Planning Malaysia: Journal of the Malaysian Institute of Planners, 20(5), 14–28. https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v20i24.1180.
Shamsuddin, S., Hassan, N. R. A., & Bilyamin, S. F. I. (2012). Walkable environment in increasing the liveability of a city. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 50, 167–178. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:110748041.
Şişman, E. E. (2013). Pedestrian zones. In M. Özyavuz (Ed.), Advances in landscape architecture (pp. 401–406). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/55748.
Sonet, U., & Shahruddin, S. (2024). Identifying Barriers for Sustainable Townscape Development: Challenges in Malaysia. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 29, 19–35. https://doi.org/10.21315/jcdc.2024.29.S1.2.
United Nations Habitat. (2017). Global public space programme. UN-Habitat.
Urban Design Lab. (2024, August 7). Book Review: Cities for People by Jan Gehl.
Van Grunsven, L., & Benson, M. (2020). Urban development in Malaysia: Towards a new systems paradigm (Malaysia’s Urban Futures: Urban Policy Series). [Publisher].
Yassin, H. H. (2019). Liveable city: An approach to pedestrianization through tactical urbanism. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 58(1), 251–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.AEJ.2019.02.005.
Zakariya, K., Harun, N. Z., & Mansor, M. (2017). Design factors contributing to active urban squares in Malaysia. Advanced Science Letters, 23(7), 6068–6072. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2017.9207.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Environment
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
MySE journal is a scholarly online, open access, peer reviewed journal.
Effective from June 2023, the Malaysian Journal of Sustainable Environment is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
