comparative essay

1. 1.0 Site Introduction
The selected macro site for this project is Petaling Street. Petaling Street is the centre of
Kuala Lumpur’s original Chinatown, maintains its traditional atmosphere. The cultural value
of Petaling Street is retain by the local community throughout the years. With Jalan
Petaling,Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Jalan Sultan segregates the site into different zones.
Petaling Street is surrounding by the commercial zone, education, office zone and banking
zone. It is interesting to see how the existing community interact with each other and how
the different community lifestyle influence the social activities in that area.
Petaling Street is located as show in the figure below. Jalan Petaling intersect with Jalan
Sultan and Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. Petaling Street have two part, the upper part is fill
with the stall sell several of things to attract tourist. And for the below part is the area is the
old shop houses but many local business have move out because of the local community

2. lost their business can’t maintain and suitable for this area anymore. Now, new generation
renovate the shop houses to become a style cafe to attract the people to consume.
2.0 Analysis
In this analysis essay, I will comparing two streets: Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur and Central
Square, Cambridge. The comparison will be done on the social and physical attributes as
well as the contact points and the intensity level. Compare two street base on the Jan Gehl
theory ‘Life Between Buildings’.
According to Jan Gehl, the contact point are affect by three types of activities which is
necessary activities, optional activities and social activities. In term of social activities,
Petaling Street act as a hotspot, a landmark of Chinatown that attract tourist to come over
to visit. Jan Gehl once mention the character of social activities varies, depending on the
context in which they occur. (Gehl, 1986.pg.15). For example, In the PJS 7, a place near
schools and a stranger who I often meet in this area I “Know” his/her because we have the
low-intensity contact which contact at a modest level “see and hear Contacts”. In Petaling
Street which located in a city area and surrounding by the several of zones. In Petaling
Street the social activities take place eating, shopping area or back alley.
Central Square act as a cultural district, attracts the incoming artist, makers retailers and
non-profit organizations. Central Square is a downtown area which mainly support the need
of the residential area. The Central Square features a number of food, retail and
entertainment venues that attract residents. The social activities in Central Square is a bit
different compared to Petaling Street because the Central Square context is more toward
local community but Petaling Street is more toward tourist. I would say the average of the
intensity contacts level of Central Square is more likely higher that Petaling Street. Mostly
the social activities occur in the junction and the open seating area and public
transportation place. The different context of two place have big influence toward the social
activities. In Petaling Street Malaysia the weather is hot and the safety is not as good as
Central Square. So the social activities mostly occur in the interior space due to the safety
issue and there are too hot at the outdoor environment. People don’t want to carry any
activities under the sun so choose the interior space. In contrast, Central Square context is
no that hot and the safety in that area is not dangerous as Petaling Street so the social
activities no specific take place in the interior space. The social activities in Central Square
take place in more public area. This connection is important in relation to physical planning.
Although the physical framework does not have a direct influence on the quality, content
and intensity of social contacts. However, the architects and the planners can affect the
possibilities for meeting, seeing, and hearing people mentioned by (Gehl, 1986.pg.15).
In my opinion, the difference of the context is really make huge different to the character of
social activities. The contrast of two different context have shown us the context is very
important toward the social activities possibility. Maybe the architects design the shops
houses In Petaling Street have to set back more. I think the social activities in Petaling Street
will not only limited in the interior space.

3. In term of contact point, the entrance of the Petaling Street definitely is one of the famous
contact point around that area because visual of the entrance gate become a significant
landmark. The high intensity contact point in Petaling Street is at the back alley, old
traditional market or food stall. The low intensity contact point is at the five- foot way of the
shop houses.
On the other hand, the main contact point of the Central Square is itself. The high intensity
level contact point mostly at the transportation station and open space seating area. One of
the major reason of the difference of the two selected site contact point undoubtedly is
own context. The context of Malaysia is very hot that influence the people choose the
gathering of the meeting place is somewhere under cover or an area that no exposure to
sun. However, in Central Square USA is chiller so the gathering space didn’t influence by
weather. In Petaling Street the contact point is at the food stall or at the back alley. It is
because the pathway and the street is occupied by the vehicles and stall but the back alley
between buildings is less occupied by stall or vehicles cause back alley become main human
circulation pathway that indirect occur the contact point in back alley. The back alley is a
contact point is a unique point toward western country because Central Square district
didn’t have any back alley. Compared to Central Square where didn’t have any issue about
the vehicles occupied the pedestrian pathway. One interesting part compare with Petaling
Street is the transportation station is one major contact point. The reason of the
transportation is a contact point is because the public transport is convenient and cheap
that encourage the local community use it but I Petaling Street our country public
transportation still have not that convenient yet cause no many people try to use public
transport to travel in the city. For Central Square the contact point is in open public space
and significant landmark US Post office. Those open public space can become a contact
point is because the planner of Central Square planned a good pedestrian path to encourage
the walkability within the Central Square. This is to increase the opportunity for people to
see, hear and meet other.
In my opinion, Petaling Street should increase the walkability of the area to encourage
people use the pedestrian path so that can help to achieve the modest level of contact.
Moreover, Petaling Street can also design more public resting point to increase the
opportunity of interact with people that help to bring liveness to this area.
In term of contact intensity there have low intensity to high intensity mention by (Gehl,
1986.pg.17). The low contact intensity in Petaling Street is the front of the street which is
passive contact and chance contacts. But there is a chance, the people working that area
everyday seen each other that have the chance to develop the contact intensity to higher
like acquaintances or friends. However, the contact intensity is higher in the food stall or
back alley. For example the hawker works in the wet market allow friendly try to approach
the visitor or passer-by because there got the friendly culture. Jan Gehl got mentioned
about, wherever there are people- it is generally true that people and human activities
attract other people. (Gehl, 1986.pg.25). For example, in the home we can see that children
prefer to be where there are adults or where there are other children, instead of where are
only toys.

4. In Central Square the low intensity contact place is located in food stall or café because
western culture influence when they were eating they wouldn’t not disturb other. So, in
café or restaurant there are much more interact compare with other. The high contact
intensity place is where many people intersect for example transportation station and the
public seating area. The intensity level is about the acquaintance or friends. In Central
Square there are many seating or resting area that indistinctly help to provide the
opportunity to help people interact each other. Jan Gehl have mentioned about
corresponding trends can be found regarding where people choose to sit in public spaces.
Benches that provide a good view of surrounding activities are used more than benches
with less or no view of other. (Gehl, 1986.pg.29)
In the nutshell, the comparison of the Petaling Street and the Central Square have shown
although have some similarities but with different context, cultural and community around
the area can impact a huge different. I think Petaling Street is a good tourist spot but no for
the local community there is lack of the interacting space that help to bring opportunity to
let people interact. In Central Square I think is a good district for the local community
because the well urban planning that enhance the local community ever better. Based on
the Jan Gehl theory, Petaling Street really need change a few things to let it become a better
city street that help to bring benefit to the society.

5. 4.0 Reference
CHINATOWN: Chinatown - Petaling Street Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tip - VirtualTourist.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2016, from https://www.virtualtourist.com/1282074-
2371243/Kuala-Lumpur-Tips/chinatown
Attractions in Malaysia. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://kuala-
lumpur.attractionsinmalaysia.com/Petaling-Street.php
Petaling Street (Chinatown), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (2016). Backpacking Malaysia.
Retrieved 28 November 2016, from http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/things-to-
do/petaling_street_chinatown/kuala-lumpur
Staff, B. B. (n.d.). Getting to Know Your Neighborhood: Central Square | BU Today | Boston
University. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from https://www.bu.edu/today/2013/getting-to-
know-your-neighborhood-central-square/
Central Square, Downtown Cambridge. (2016). Centralsquarecambridge.com. Retrieved 28
November 2016, from
http://www.centralsquarecambridge.com/CentralSquare/index.php?id=3
Visit Cambridge Massachusetts | Cambridge Office of Tourism. (2016). Cambridgeusa.org.
Retrieved 28 November 2016, from http://www.cambridgeusa.org/