This document provides a comparative analysis of Newbury Street in Boston and Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur. It analyzes the streets' social activities, contact points, sidewalk widths, and intensity of visual contact. Both streets have narrow and broad sidewalks that influence human interaction. Newbury Street has low visual contact but high friend activity at cafes. Petaling Street has higher visual contact and various informal social activities like stalls and temples. Contact points include intersections, crossings, and other gathering spots.

1. PROJECT PART 2 : COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
ESSAY
NAME : JASON LIM CHEE SHEN
STUDENT ID : 0316791
TUTOR : MR. NAZMI

2. In urban design, the street is one of the important element that act as a public open
space. Its essential role can be seen through its function as a communication channel social and
activity space. The street act as a medium of movement for all categories, including human,
vehicles, goods and services. This circulation systemportrays the life of society that can be
found on the street. Street can be defined as a public parcel of land adjoining building in an
urban context and also a public thoroughfare. On which people may freely assemble, interact,
and move about. Based on the book “Life between Building“ by Jan Ghel, he state that
functionally doesn’t meant it is just the street and building. It meant more than that, like how
does activities of a human life style happening in between street with the building and how
does the pedestrian uses the land in the city; how the people do during work time or go to work
and also time spending within the space. It basically meant that what type of integral system
they used. He had also stated that would a city’s street look more interesting if the social
activities formed by spaces from the various contact points or the public spaces? The
importance of a street as a public realm in the city.
Throughout all the analysis that I did, between Newbury Street and Petaling Street.
Similarity and dissimilarity can be found on these two places. During the last period, Newbury
street that was once a part of Boston harbor. After filling of the ground due to floods, it became
a residential neighborhood with a prestigious and exclusive background. The structure from
that time onward lasted till this day. The origins of the street as a retail and tourist destination
is unknown although it has been a hotspot for many decades. It is also known as the ‘Rodoe
Drive of east,’ and is Boston’s representative of fashion and style. Most user that visit this street
have specific destinations rather than aimless shopping. By comparing with Petaling Street, The

3. original Chinatown centered on Market Square, Jalan Tun H.S. Lee. The Petaling Street area was
popular during that time because it used to have higher level than the rest of the town and was
therefore less prone to floods, and the wealthier population were inclined to build their shop
houses here. Petaling Street was a trading area during that period. The men were
mainly Cantonese and Hakkas who had come to the city because of the tin trade, working
as coolies in the mines.
The comparison will have based on social activity and type of contact point. Other than
these 2 comparisons, I have also analyzed the vary degrees of contact intensity from the site.
On the other hand, landmarks were majorly created by exclusive stored around Newbury street
in Boston. They are usually one of a kind and is visited by regular customers. To get from one
destination to another, one has to walkout of the store and along the sidewalk to reach their
preferred destination. Along the street, various type of contact points may occur. For the
example of various landmark that usually customer will visit are Danker’s garage, comic store,
some boutique shops, Deluca’s market, Olive oil company, Nike Boston, Cherry mart and
Emmanuel church. Same goes to Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur as well, local contrast can be
formed by physical appearance or function contradiction to surrounding context. Physical
contrast happens due to distinctive height or façade design difference. Contrasting function
create a highly recognizable image. The street itself carry numerous histories, yet this landmark
brings lots of tourists and quite a number of local people to visit. Along the Petaling Street there
are lot of shop that sell goods from china and also stall that selling food. Other than all the
shops and stalls, there are also have a quite number of religious temple around the street. Talk
about the sidewalk and also the contact point, it goes similar as the Newbury Street.

4. On the internet research, Newbury street have a low intensity of visual contact. People
are heading to a destination, purpose on their necessary activity over the place. In comparing
sidewalk along the Newbury Street and Petaling Street, there are narrow and broad side walk in
Newbury Street. For the narrow sidewalk, shopping is dominant pushes pedestrians into the
stores. This in turn generates population over the street and traffic to the stores. “People are
attracted to people.” This giving out some sort of interaction between pedestrians and building.
“They gather with and move about with others and seek to place themselves near others. “. For
the broad sidewalk, it provides a bigger space for the human interaction. It is strategy to
increase contact points by providing the space suitable for that to occur. “living cities are ones
on which people can interact with one another, and is always stimulating as they are rich in
experiences.” In Petaling Street, there also two different sidewalks same as Newbury Street. In
the Flea market along the Petaling Street, there have broader sidewalk and all the stalls show
up along the street but at the same time the car can’t go into it. This is because it follows the
time frame on the street. In the morning the street are open for car to go along the street until
the day afternoon and it close again for the pedestrians or the customers. In the other part of

5. Petaling Street there are some shops having a narrow sidewalk which means the 5 foots
walkway. It goes the same way as the Newbury street.
Beside the necessary activity that I have talked about, there is resultant activity as well
in Newbury Street. That’s called Street observing. Newbury Street has low intensity of visual
contact chance contact. People tend to stop and look at the shop exhibits on Newbury street
and this may lead from visual contact to chance contact. It creates situations that results in a
direct relationship to other people and to the surrounding social environment. “Spontaneous
contact is incited when forms of human activity appear, as it is a contributing factor that lead to
contact.” Those shops along the Newbury street are parts of contact point. In other ways of
knowing Petaling Street are also being part of street observing, in order to understand the
place. Pedestrians could be visit the various kind of religious temple and building over there. I
would agree that the essence of Petaling Street is to be found sitting on coffee shop with a cup
of coffee. Maybe for the foreigners over Petaling Street wish to understand the soul of the
street and they will probably hire a car and drive around for a while. In the same time, Petaling
Street has higher intensity of visual contact than Newbury Street.
Moreover, the other contact points are social activity along the street. Newbury street
has high intensity of friend and close friendships. Most of the place are sidewalk cafe along the
street. The seat in the restaurants are mostly oriented to face the street which offers one
chance to observe other human activities. Relationships can be easily established in these
situations. “At sidewalk cafes, the life on the sidewalk in the front of the café is the prime
attraction as being able to see other people in action constitutes to the area’s main attraction.”
People over there are willing to spend their time at the café, chatting and chilling with friend.

6. But all of the are optional to the person itself. In Petalling Street, there are lots of contact point
of social activity happened in that particular areas. There are 2 types of activity have been
identified; informal and formal activity. Informal activity refers to the business form outside the
building that occurs along the street. It can be seen in the business form such as stall, hawking
and outdoor bazaars. The presence of activity in the form of social such as conversation,
walking, reading, watching and relax also contribute to informal activity. For example, in front
of temple and also inside of the temple create a socially interaction among people. Along the
Petalling Street if there is a bus stop over there it is counted as one contact point of social
activity. Informal activity is also derived from formal activity, like business inside the building.
Among all the point that I had listed above, people around Newbury street are having
spontaneous informal sitting. Planter boxes, staircase and shopfront grills are informally used
as seating area. This can be concluded by the lack proper seating areas along the street.
Simultaneously, observation of the surroundings occurs. Jan Gehl’s theory is that, low intensity
contact is also a situation from which other forms of contact can grow. It is a medium for the
unpredictable, the spontaneous, the unplanned. In the other hand, Petaling Street are having
the same situation like Newbury street. Along the street there is no sitting for the people and
its only have a long walkway along the street. Under the necessary activity, there are 2 activities
that visual contact on the Newbury street. Crossing Junctions at Newbury street are spacious
and suitable for establishing conversations. The straightforward nature of the stretch allows
frequent bump ins at junctions. “Frequent meeting in connection with daily activities increases
chances of developing and maintain contact.”. Zebra crossing, this event occurs only for a
fleeting moment and usually will not lead to other forms of contact. The zebra crossing are not

7. safe for conversations to occur. However, in “To see and hear each other, to meet, is in itself a
form of contact, a social activity.” In Petaling Street, wherever there is a junction. It became
node whereby lots of people will gather over the area. The strategic focused that are formed by
high concentration or circulation along the street. When a node forms, its activity could affect
the surrounding context to become a node. The chain effect could go on and cause high
concentration of nodes in certain area. Node pattern can also be dispersed. These nodes are
usually formed by specific user group due to context and demand.

8. Beside the street that make types of contact point, places like temples and churches will
also be part of it. In Newbury Street, there is one gothic church at the end of the street and it is
called Emmanuel church. Conversation tend to take place at the foot of the stair outside the
church. This is due to the lack of space at the upper landing stairs. From here, social events
evolve spontaneously and it can maintain already established contacts in a relaxed manner.
“People tend to stay in places that has most activities happening around them or where there is
a high chance of something happening.” Same goes to Temples and churches in Petaling Street
as well. There are 1 Chinese temple which is nearby Petaling Street called GuanDi temple and
also 1 Hindu temple opposite the Chinese temple called Sri Mahamariamman Temple. Both of
these temples are having activities inside their boundary area and not to take place on the
street. Probably when they having functions, car parked on the pathway in front of the temple.
Talking about social updates in Newbury Street, contact is at a modest level such as
visual contact point and chance contact. The advertising board along Newbury Street are fitted
with shading devices which allows for private conversations to occur beneath it. “In addition to
imparting information about the social world outside, the opportunity to see and hear other
people can provide ideas and inspiration for action.” In Petaling Street, contact can be
happening in everywhere. Even some of the buildings are providing some advertising in front of
the façade. Social update can easily distribute to everywhere.
In conclusion, Newbury street is a retail and tourist destination same way goes to
Petaling Street. Lack of seating areas provided along the streets, and movement pattern is

9. influences by the size of the sidewalk. Both street may be similar in terms of density of users,
but they differ in terms of the occurrence and intensity of contact point, played by part of the
built environment and activities in the street.

10. REFERENCE
https://times.taylors.edu.my/pluginfile.php/2390515/mod_resource/content/1/PROJECT%20A
UGUST%202016.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petaling_Street
http://www.academia.edu/2004427/Traditional_Street_Activities_in_Kuala_Lumpur_City
http://www.pps.org/places/public-markets/petaling-street-market/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newbury_Street
http://www.newburystreetleague.org/