This document compares public spaces in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Queen's Road Central in Hong Kong based on Jan Gehl's theories of necessary, optional, and social activities. It finds that Queen's Road sees more optional and social activities due to its dense pedestrian traffic and well-designed alleys and plazas that encourage lingering. Both areas share similar necessary contact points like crosswalks but differ in intensity. Higher intensity optional and social activities are more common in Queen's Road alleys and Statue Square plaza versus Jalan TAR's pedestrian walkway and SOGO plaza. The analysis shows how public space design influences social patterns.

1. THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM
[ARC61303]
Project: ‘Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space’
Part II : Comparative Analysis Essay
Name : Teo Hong Wei
ID : 0322990
Tutor : Mr. Nicholas Ng

2. Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction
2.0 Comparative Analysis
2.1 Necessary Activities
2.2 Optional Activities
2.3 Social Activities
3.0 Conclusion
4.0 References

3. 1.0 Introduction
Figure 1.1 Diagram of Jalan TAR with major nodes
Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, sometimes referred to as Jalan TAR, is located in the
North of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This street began as a track leading to Batu village,
limestone caves and tin mines, and developed into the famous ‘textile street’ today.
The stretch of the street is flanked by pre-war buildings, whose distinctive facades
have been preserved and readapted to accommodate modern retailing businesses which
offer a variety of fabrics, textiles, clothing, domestic items and food. Before the modern
shopping complexes took the KL metropolitan city by storm, this place was a shopping
hotspot where the locals shop for goods, and due to the heavy traffic in Jalan TAR, it was
turned into a one way street to ease traffic flow. In the present days, Jalan TAR may have
lost its initial shine but it still retains part of the charm in the alleys between the shop lots,
where strong culture of the place can be experienced. The SOGO Shopping Complex,
Coliseum Theatre, Coliseum Café, and many other established shops which chose to remain
when others moved out, keeping Jalan TAR as a place to go rather than fading away.
In this analysis essay, comparisons are to be made on two streets, which is Jalan
Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong.
Queen’s Road runs from Central to Sheung Wan, it was one of the first roads, along with
Hollywood Road to be built by the British. Central, Hong Kong is a city with a pedestrian-
centred, vertical oriented, and multifunctional urban planning, and a unique urban identity
which was created by the organic and spontaneous street culture and visual communication.
The comparisons are made based on the patterns of social activities, type of ‘contact points’,
and the varying degrees of contact intensity between the two cities.

4. 2.0 Comparative Analysis
According to ‘Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space’ written by Jan Gehl, there
are three types of outdoor activities in public spaces, which are necessary activity, optional
activity, and social activity, while each categories places very different demands on the
physical environment. When these activities are carried out, different types of contact point
will be formed, from low degree contact intensity to high degree contact intensity, including
passive contacts, chance contacts, acquaintances, and to closer friendships. As the degree
of contact intensity and the type of contact points are strongly affected by the types of
outdoor activities in public spaces, the comparisons made between the two cities will be
based on the types of outdoor activities in public spaces within the two streets.
2.1 Necessary Activities
Necessary activities include those activities that are more or less compulsory, which
are the everyday tasks, pastimes, and a great majority of activities related to walking. Those
who are involved are to a greater or lesser degree required to participate, and the necessary
activities will take place throughout the year, and will happen under nearly all conditions as
the ones involved have no other choices.
Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman is a long stretch of busy street between two LRT stations
and a few office buildings. The amount of cars and pedestrians are relatively high because
of the location of the street and the public transports around the area. The first contact point
which consists of necessary activity in Jalan TAR is located at the two ends of the zebra
crossings in front of the retail shops, where pedestrians wait for the pedestrian traffic lights to
turn green to cross the road. Pedestrians waiting at the ends of zebra crossings make it a
low intensity contact point created by passive contacts, as the interactions between the
pedestrians are just ‘see and hear’ contacts. However, according to Jan Gehl, low-intensity
contact is also a situation from which other forms of contact can grow, as there is a
possibility that the necessary activities may help maintaining the established contacts.
Similar necessary contact points can be seen in the Queen’s Road, which are the
two ends of the zebra crossing in front of the Central-Mid-Level Escalator. Although the both
compared streets have the same zebra crossing, but the degree of contact intensity is
different because of their context. The Central mid escalator is a major node of circulation in
the Queen’s Road, and there are different stalls and activities happening in front of the zebra
crossing. Fortune tellers and newspaper kiosks can be found in at the ends of the zebra
crossing in the Queen’s Road, which will form chance contacts or even becoming
acquaintances when the pedestrians may interact with the fortune teller or the newspaper
seller. The zebra crossing in front of the Central-Mid-Level Escalator involves necessary
activity, and the appearance of the stalls and activity at the end of the zebra crossing creates
chance contact, the necessary activity helps maintaining the established contact between
the pedestrians and the stalls which will create even higher level contact intensity, and these
make the zebra crossing in front of the Central-Mid-Level Escalator a moderate intensity
contact point.

5. Figure 2.1.1 Zebra crossing at Jalan TAR Figure 2.1.2 Zebra crossing at Queen’s Road
Another contact formed by necessary activity in Jalan TAR is the stores and
restaurants’ loading and unloading activity as the restock of goods and ingredients are tasks
which must take place at a particular time for the shop owners. Although the main interaction
of this necessary activity is between the shop owner and the delivery person, there is a
possible passive contact between the pedestrians, the delivery person, and the shop owner,
during the happening event of necessary activity. Similar to Jalan TAR, Queen’s Road which
is lined with retail shops and restaurant, have the same loading and unloading activity as
Jalan TAR, which creates passive contacts which forms low intensity contact points.
As both Jalan TAR and Queen’s Road are major roads for vehicle, there are drop-off
points for private vehicles and public transport, as well as bus stops and taxi stops.
Necessary activity of waiting at the drop off and waiting areas create a higher intensity
contact point than the ends of zebra crossings, as people stay longer at the waiting point
which sometimes has seating, having a higher chance for a higher level of intensity contact
between people.
Figure 2.1.3 Drop-off point at Jalan TAR Figure 2.1.4 Drop-off point at Queen’s Road

6. 2.2 Optional Activities
Optional activities are strongly in relation with the physical condition of the place, as
these activities take place only when exterior conditions are in better quality, when weather
and place invite the people to perform these activities. People who participate in an optional
activity are doing it on their own will, as it is not a compulsory activity.
Along Jalan TAR, a wide pedestrian walkway was made to provide a better walking
experience for the pedestrians, and to create a better environment by planting greeneries
along the walkway. Public benches and platforms in a deep building set-back can be spotted
along the walkway, which act as a resting spot for the pedestrians, or even for those who
purposely sit there to enjoy their day. During a sunny day at Jalan TAR, pedestrians walking
along the walkway in front of the shops will actually take a rest or spend their time sitting on
the benches and platforms which is shaded by the trees and buildings along the walkway.
With a favourable physical condition at Jalan TAR which contributes to the optional
activities formed at the walkway in front of the shops, passive contacts are formed between
the pedestrians, shoppers, shop owners, and those who are sitting on the benches and
platforms. With the appearance of people who perform optional activities along the walkway,
the regular low level contact intensity may develop into higher level contact intensity like
chance contact or acquaintance contact. For example, regular shoppers may be closer to
the shop owners after a few visits to the same shop, and two individuals may get to know
each other after sitting together on the benches along the walkway.
Figure 2.2.1 Public seating along pedestrian walkway at Jalan TAR

7. In the Queen’s road, benches are not provided along the pedestrian walkway
because of the high human flow in the Queen’s road, which benches will be obstructing the
flow of movement along the walkway. Resting areas can be spotted in the Alleys along the
Queen’s Road, especially the Pottinger Street, which leads to the Wellington’s Street which
has a big height difference in between. Ramp is used along the middle of the alley as a main
pedestrian walkway, and stairs along both sides of the alley, where stalls are extended out
from the adjacent buildings, providing shades along the alley and promotes chance contact
between the pedestrian and the shop owners. Optional activities can be seen in the alley,
like people seating on the stairs along the alley, and in the designed seating area which is
located beside the stairs, as the Alley is shaded by the tall adjacent buildings and extended
stalls, which provide a good physical environment for optional activities. With the optional
and necessary activities happening in the alley, chance contacts and acquaintance contact
can easily happen in the alley with the existence of the elements stated above, which makes
the Pottinger Street moderate intensity contact point.
Figure 2.2.2 High density pedestrian walkway along Queen’s Road
Figure 2.2.3 Activities along Pottinger Street Figure 2.2.4 Stairs as seating

8. A huge difference in happening location of optional activities can be seen in Jalan
TAR and Queen’s Road. Although Jalan TAR has alleys where stalls extends out from the
adjacent buildings, the intensity of contact in the alleys are low because of the narrow alley
consists vehicular movement which makes the alleys a dangerous place to stay. Hence,
optional activities in Jalan TAR are less possible to happen in the alleys, but in the main
walkway which has benches along the street. The levels of contact intensity in both optional
activity points within the two compared streets are different, as majority of contact in the
Queen’s Road’s alley are chance contacts, and passive contacts in the pedestrian walkway
along Jalan TAR.
Figure 2.2.5 Alley connecting Jalan TAR and Lorong TAR

9. 2.3 Social Activities
According to Jan Gehl, social activities can also be termed as ‘resultant’ activities, as
in nearly all instances they are evolved from activities linked to necessary and optional
activities. The occurrences of social activities are indirectly supported whenever necessary
and optional activities are given better conditions in public spaces, and develop in
connection with the other activities as people are in a same space, hearing, seeing and
meeting each other.
In Jalan TAR, there is no designated area for social activities but there are some
nodes where people gather and perform social activities within the street. Social activities
may happen along the street with the existence of passive contacts and chance contact
between the pedestrians, shop owners, workers who are performing their necessary activity,
or those who are performing optional activities in the wide pedestrian walkway under good
weather condition. The highest contact intensity node in Jalan TAR is located at the plaza in
front of the SOGO Shopping Complex, where wide staircases facing the plaza can be
treated as seating, and the greeneries around the plaza create a shaded sitting area to rest
and sit around. Due to the good physical condition in the plaza, optional activities are more
likely to happen around SOGO mall plaza, with a high density of shoppers and pedestrians
passing by the plaza. During evening or night time, as the scorching sun has gone down,
events like street performances can be seen at the plaza, using the plaza as stage and stairs
as audience seating, which will attract crowds and create a higher intensity contact point
where social activities will occur between families and friends who are familiar with each
other, or social activities evolved from the other categories of activity which have established
a connection with each other.
Figure 2.3.1 Street performances at the plaza in front of SOGO Shopping Complex

10. Social activities in Queen’s Road are more likely to happen in the alleys and plazas
along the street, as the high human flow of the street is in fast paced movement, where
majority of the contact along the busy street is passive contact. In the Pottinger Street, which
is an alley connected to Queen’s road, the optional and necessary activities are more likely
to evolve into social activities, as the alley is a place for human circulation which consist of
high intensity contact between the pedestrian, shop owners, and people sitting on the stairs,
while more necessary and optional activities can be seen in the alleys comparing to the
pedestrian walkway along Jalan TAR, which can easily evolve into social contact when there
is a lot of informal seating along the alley and the interaction with the shop owners and
pedestrian is very close.
Figure 2.3.2 Stalls and stairs along Pottinger Street
Other than that, another high intensity contact point that can be found in Central is
the Statue Square which is located at the opposite of the HSBC headquarters, which is a
communal space designed for the public, with a MTR located right next to it. The
landscaping and water features in the plaza soften the space, and create a more pleasant
atmosphere for the people to enjoy being in the place. Shadings are also provided in the
plaza as a shelter from the natural weather, where shaded seating in the plaza can be found
anywhere in the plaza, which invites longer stays, and the informal seating in the space
creates interest of the space from passer-by. Necessary activities can be found from the
MTR station and the office buildings near the plaza, and optional activities can easily happen
in the well-designed plaza which has very good physical condition for the people to stay and
hang around. With the high amount of human activities happening in the plaza, the plaza
become a high potential space for social activities which are developed from the established
contacts from the previous categories, and a place where friends and families would go, with
the good physical condition and activities in the plaza.

11. Figure 2.2.1 Social activities in Statue Square at Central
Social activities can be seen in the two plazas in both compared cities, but the
contact intensity in both plazas is slightly different. Although both contact points features
high level contact intensity, the plaza in statue square have a better physical condition and
space for people to stay, comparing with the plaza in front of the SOGO mall which is not
designed for people to hang around. Most of the social activities are accidental in the plaza
in front of SOGO mall, which are normally evolved from passive contacts and from the
shoppers in the mall. For the plaza in Statue Square, the space is planned and designed for
social activities, where people would purposely go for optional activities, and further develop
into social activities. Hence, the social contact in the Statue square is higher than the plaza
in front of the SOGO mall in most of the time.
3.0 Conclusion
Based on Jan Gehl’s theory on the patterns of social activities, type of ‘contact points’,
and the varying degrees of contact intensity, visual analysis can be easily made on the
social patterns in the compared cities, and comparative analysis can be done in a clearer
form. From the comparison of Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in KL and Queen’s Road in
Central, Jalan TAR has a lower amount of social and optional activities in overall, as
pedestrian movement in the street is lesser than in Queen’s Road. The locations where
optional and social activities happen are also strongly affected by the pace and amount of
movement, the difference in outdoor environment, and the difference in designated and
accidental social space, which all of the difference and similarity can be clearly seen from
the comparison of Jalan TAR and the Queen’s Road.

12. 4.0 References
Gehl, J. (2011). Life between buildings: using public space. Washington, DC: Island Press.
Lynch, K. (1960). The image of the city. London: Harvard University Press.
Samadi, Z., Mastura, N., & Mohammad, N. (2012). An Urban Outdoor Environment in the
‘Textile District’ of Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, K. Lumpur. Procedia - Social and
Behavioral Sciences, 35, 659-663. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.02.134
Ho, C. H. [何志勤]. (1995). Experiencing the city : a walkway system for Hong Kong's Central
District. (Thesis). University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR. Retrieved from
http://dx.doi.org/10.5353/th_b3198236
Queen's Road, Hong Kong. (2017, July 03). Retrieved July 04, 2017, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen%27s_Road,_Hong_Kong