TULC, Theories of Architecture & Urbanism

1. Project 2: Comparative Analysis Essay
Ho Yen Liang 0326660
Tutor: Mr. Nicholas Ng
Theories of Architecture & Urbanism (ARC61303)
Sisavangvong Road, Luang Prabang
Jalan Sulaiman, Kajang

2. Content
1. Introduction / 3
2. Street Background/ 4
2.1 Sisavangvong Road, Luang Prabang, Laos
2.2 Jalan Sulaiman, Kajang, Malaysia
3. Comparative Analysis - Urban Elements & Outdoor Environment/ 8
3.1 Social Space as Nodes
3.2 Urban Wall & Frontages - Five-Foot Walkways & Sidewalks
3.3 Street Permeability - Vehicular & Pedestrian Permeability
3.4 Landmarks as Points of Interest and Reference
3.5 Informal Spaces - Leftover Spaces
4. Conclusion/ 23
5. Reference / 24
2

3. 1. Introduction
Urban streets are public places that invite people to visit, gather and stay
and created an engaging atmosphere of the public city life which
determined the character of the city and also its sense of place. Jan Gehl
stated in his book - Cities for People, that a lively city should be design
with great city spaces and city life as a point of departure, therefore the
constant changing patterns of an urban street are to be studied to
familiarise with the urban fabric of the street (Gehl, 2010, p.198).
This assignment is a further study of our Project 1 Case Study, which is to
explore and compare the similarities and dissimilarities between the case
study on Sisavangvong Road, Luang Prabang and a local site research at
Jalan Sulaiman, Kajang. The thesis of my analysis will be focusing on the
urban elements that made up both asian streets, in the dimension of
social activities pattern, types of contact points and the varying level of
contact intensity between the urban spaces on both streets.
People who move through the city engage in way-finding. They need to be
able to recognize and organize urban elements into a coherent pattern
(Lynch, 1977). The five urban elements proposed by Kevin Lynch is
influenced by the planning of the physical quality of urban spaces. Lynch
presents his work as an agenda for urban designers. They should design
the city in such a way that it gives room for three related ‘movements’:
mapping, learning, shaping (Lynch, 1977). The idea statement will further
explore the relationship between the urban elements of shaping the
image of the city and the physical quality of the urban environment.
According to Jan Gehl, a great city life is created when a desirable
condition outdoor space allows the opportunities for people to engage in
necessary, optional and social activities (Gehl, 2011, p.31). The analysis
will be comparing the interaction of people with the street environment, by
means of the type of outdoor activities and contact points. “People come
where people are”, life in the city is a self-reinforcing process and a good
quality public space is to support the process of inspiring the presence of
outdoor activities and the need for contact (Gehl, 2011, p.15). The
analysis will look into how the contact points and social spaces on the
streets are influenced by physical outdoor conditions.
Street as
Public Spaces
Outdoor Spaces
& Activities
Mental Image
of the City
3

4. Luang Prabang is located in northern Laos at the heart of a mountainous
region. Mountain ranges (in particular the PhouThao and PhouNang
mountains) encircle the city in lush greenery. After the establishment of
the French Protectorate in 1893, following a period of turmoil during
which the country was divided into three independent kingdoms, Luang
Prabang once again became the royal and religious capital during the
reign of King Sisavang Vong (Centre, 2019).
Sisavangvong Road, named after the king, Sisavang Vong, located in the
Northern Province of Laos, formed between the Mekong River and Nam
Khan River. The street spans approximately 700 metres long with
commercialized shoplots and it is now being known as “backpacking
universe” as it offers a lot of tourist spots and activities, such as the
national museum, heritage centers, and street markets from sunrise till
sunsets.
The road is being bounded by the integration of traditional and colonial
built form. Bright yellow temples occupy the street and kept sacred for its
religious practice often opened to tourists. The street is the heart of the
city surrounded by traditional and cultural aspects of Luang Prabang. The
vibrancy of the street has led to the locals running commercial practices
to appeal more to the tourist, the variety of street activities and
commercial experience tends to enhance the experience of both locals
and tourists (History, 2012).
Sisavangvong
Road
2. Street Background
Figure 2.1: Sisavangvong Street, Luang Prabang (Winder, 2019)
4

5. 1353 - 1886
The new Royal Palace was built in 1904
during the French colonial era for King
Sisavang Vong and his family. The site for the
palace was chosen as official visitors to
Luang Prabang could disembark from their
river voyages directly below the palace and be
received there and big volumes of brick and
stucco buildings was built giving the city a
colonial atmosphere (History, 2012).
1887 - 1975
During the 1989, Laos opened to foreign
tourism for first time since 1975 after the
Luang Prabang was granted the Unesco’s
World Heritage status, as to preserve and
enhance the historic architecture. The Royal
Palace was renovated and reopened to the
public as the National Museum (History,
2012).
1976 - Present
A rapid growth of tourism in Laos especially
near to the Sisavangvong Road can be
observed from the transition of residential
area towards touristic residential area
showing great richness in terms of street
cultures (History, 2012).
Morphological Study of Sisavangvong Road, Luang Prabang
Royal Palace Tourist Residential
Diagram 2.1: Historical Timeline of Sisavangvong
Street (Goh, 2019)
5

6. Jalan Sulaiman The first settlement in Kajang came in 1709. In 1807, Kajang was founded
after the Klang War. Due to its central location, it was made the district
capital of Hulu Langat. Kajang as a modern town owes its rise in
particular to the coffee estates which were opened up around it in the
1890s by one of the famous coffee estates were Inch Kenneth Estate
managed by the Kindersley brothers, who were among the first to plant
rubber in the country on a commercial basis. As Kajang undergoes
modernisation, it is more convenient for people to visit Kajang through
different means of transportations like the MRT Train Services, public
buses and cabs, and well supported by various highways.
Jalan Sulaiman is part of a new and developing township. Kajang
nowadays has transform into a 'sub-city' on its own with unstoppable
sprawling developments on its peripheral surrounding. Some new
developments like the mall Plaza Metro Kajang, the KFC Restaurant, etc.
were built along this street. However, the structure and designs of the old
colonial era shophouses were preserved on this street, therefore there is
an interesting narrative of old and new architecture.
People of Kajang visited the street mainly due to acquiring daily
necessities due to the variety commercial functions around it. A public
taxi route is built on the street, making Kajang a stopping or a pass-by
point between the major cities like Klang Valley and Kuala Lumpur. Other
than that, tourists usually visit the town due to the famous local food -
Satay. It is a diverse and mundane developing town where the authorities
intended to preserve the old essence and embrace the new lifestyle in
Kajang Old Town.
Figure 2.2: Jalan Sulaiman, Kajang (Ho, 2019)
6

7. Morphological Study of Kajang Old Town - Displaced City
7
Diagram 2.2: Historical Timeline of Jalan Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)
1850: Founded during the Klang War. The
first settlement were built by the
Mendaling, located by Sungai Chua.
1900: Rich for its tin mining, the British built
railway track to transport tin to the nearby
port. Migrants from mainland China were
drawn in as labours and merchants.
1950: After Malaya gained independence
the town undergoes a mass development,
by building schools, stadium and TV
station.
2000: During the modernisation era, more
residential areas were built in the outskirt
of the town. Resulting to many locals
chose to move out of the old town, leaving
the foreigners staying in the old town.
In the present day, with the new MRT line
and bigger new development building up.
As a result, many of the old building seen
today, some were displaced for new
purpose and some left neglected.

8. 3. Comparative Analysis of both Asian Streets -
Grounds of Comparison
In Kevin Lynch’s “The Image of the City”, he argued that people orientated
themselves and move through the city by means of way-finding and
creating mental images of the city. These mental images can be
categorised into five elements of legibility, which are paths, nodes,
districts, landmarks, and edges (Lynch, 1977). These are the urban
elements who played an important role in the planning dimension of a
city, an environmental image consists of three components: identity,
structure and meaning. It is important that these urban elements are not
hermetically designed into precise and final detail but present an
open-ended order (Lynch, 1977). Therefore, Jan Gehl’s concept about the
quality of outdoor spaces and outdoor activities came into the planning
framework of the city (Gehl, 2011, p.11). Urban inhabitants should be able
to actively form their own stories and create new activities in a favourable
condition of the physical outdoor environment.
Relationship
Between
Urban
Elements &
Quality of
Physical
Environment
Diagram 3.1: Graphic Representation of the relationship between the quality of outdoor spaces
and the rate of occurrence of outdoor activities (Gehl, 2011, p.11)
8

9. Outdoor
Activities &
Contact
Intensity
Jan Gehl defined the three types of outdoor activities: necessary, optional
and social activities occur in a finely interwoven pattern, and if the quality
of the outdoor environment permits, the activities are intertwine in
countless subtle ways (Gehl, 2011, p.14). Life between buildings is in
relation to the need of contact, the opportunities for people to meet and
gather in public spaces. The modest intensity of contact merely being
able to see, hear and crossed-path with each other should be considered
as the point of departure for a social activity to happen.
Diagram 3.2: Intensity Level of Contact (Gehl, 2011, p.15)
By analysing both Sisavangvong Street and Jalan Sulaiman with these
two key points, both streets have similar urban elements to pinpoint,
whereby both streets are linear streetscape typologies with sidewalks for
pedestrians and a main vehicular route in between buildings. The
differences are the patterns of activities influenced by the different
cultural backgrounds of both cities, resulting in varying degrees of
intensity. The comparative analysis will be looking into how the five
elements of legibility and the social activities pattern as well as the spatial
quality of the public spaces shape the image of both streets.
9

10. 10
2
Contact Point in Sisavangvong Road
1. Back Lane Market
2. Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham
3. Royal Palace
4. Luang Prabang Night Market
5. Haw Pha Bang
6. Wat Pa Huak Front Plaza
7. Restaurant Luang Prabang Bakery & Guesthouse
1 3
4 5 6 7
Diagram 3.3: Contact Points in Sisavangvong Road (Ho, 2019)

11. 11
Contact Point in Jalan Sulaiman
1. Back Alley
2. Five-Foot Walkway
3. Medan Sate Restaurant
4. Plaza Metro Kajang
Diagram 3.4: Contact Points in Jalan Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)

12. 3.1 Social Spaces as Nodes
Sisavangvong street is famous for its tourist and cultural attractions along
the street. The contact points along the streets are well-designed with
public spaces, acting as the interstitial space in between the sidewalks
and the attractions. For example, Royal Palace is a cultural and historical
platform which act as a optional activities for people to visit as a source
of information regarding to the historical aspects of Luang Prabang. A
beautiful and harmonious landscape is designed on the front space of the
building where people is able to have a lengthy stay around the building
and also give life to the surroundings. The landscape has given a
stimulating experience to this monotonous city, which leads to the
gathering of people and a chance contact for social activities to take part.
Another example will be the elevated sidewalk opposite the famous Haw
Pha Bang temple. The platform act as the point of departure for tourists
who visit Mount Phousi, and the front plaza space of the temple Wat Pa
Huak. The sidewalk was elevated to capture a nice view towards the
temples and it is well shaded with vegetations. Local and tourists who
visited the temple or Mount Phousi, took it as an opportunity to capture
excellent photos of the scenery as it is a vantage point especially when
the quality of the space is favourable. Thus, the desirable condition of
public spaces connected to the contact points in Sisavangvong street
offers a wealth of sensual variation, the opportunity to learn about the
surrounding social environment through the cultural appeals.
12
Figure 3.1.1: Royal Palace landscape design (Laos, 2019) Figure 3.1.2: Elevated Walkway
opposite Haw Pha Bang (Ho, 2019)
Public Spaces
as Passage of
Interest

13. 13
Whereas people who lives around Kajang usually visit Kajang Old Town to
shop for their daily necessities and also to look for food ingredients.
Jalan Sulaiman is made up of fine-grains shophouses, hence public
spaces only consist of the five-foot walkways which are also part of the
frontage the shophouses. The quality of the walkways there is not
favourable for people to have a lengthy stay as it is in close proximity with
the vehicular route, however locals and tourists are attracted to the
commercial activities, which act as an attraction to people. As Jan Gehl
stated, people is generally attracted to other human activities, they gather
with and move about with others and seek to place themselves near to
others (Gehl, 2011, p.23). Hence, there is a relationship between the
activities planned and the quality of the outdoor space which influences
the behavioral pattern of passer-bys.
Plaza Metro Kajang is a commercial shopping mall where locals normally
visit for indoor grocery shopping activities. In spite of that, the spaces
around the building is built to place bazaar and mini food stalls which has
enliven the quality of the public space around the building. The wide
spectrum of activities allowed social activities to take part in outdoors.
Compared to Sisavangvong street, the passage of social activities
designed in the public realm has initiated a lively experiences to Jalan
Sulaiman. The public spaces on both streets are activated differently by
the surrounding patterns of activities, but in the end both have invite
people to enjoy a worthwhile stay as it contributes to formulating a lively
city with the most important subject: people (Gehl, 2011, p.21).
Figure 3.1.3: Hawker Stalls
adjacent of Plaza Metro
Kajang Mall (Ho, 2019) Diagram 3.1.1: Hawker Stalls adjacent of Plaza Metro Kajang Mall (Ho, 2019)

14. 14
Passive Contact
Chance Contact
Close Contact
Passive & Chance Contact
Close Contact
Elevated Walkway
Diagram 3.1.4: Section Drawing of Elevated Walkway & Mount Phousi (Ng, 2019)
Diagram 3.1.3: Front Elevation showing Public Spaces connected to Royal
Palace and other attractions at Sisavangvong Road (Voon, 2019)
Diagram 3.1.2: Front Open Plaza of Plaza Metro Kajang Mall (Ho, 2019)

15. 3.2 Urban Walls & Street Frontages
The sidewalks of Sisavangvong Road and the five-foot walkway along
Jalan Sulaiman are compared – both contact points are the primary forms
of circulatory routes which possess a clear boundary that isolates the
open public space and the privately-owned shophouses. Along the stretch
of the exposed sidewalks on Sisavangvong road, greeneries are planted to
provide shades and act as a buffer between the busy vehicular street and
the shoplots. Outdoor benches are provided on the sidewalk facing the
vehicular route and the shoplots on the opposite, however they’re not very
well shaded by the greeneries despite the role of primary seatings for the
people who had a long walk along the street. Compared to Jalan Sulaiman,
the five-foot walkways along the Jalan Sulaiman street are well-shaded
from the unbearable amount of direct sunlight in Malaysia, hence less
people would prefer to use the exposed sidewalks in Jalan Sulaiman even
if greeneries and outdoor benches are provided.
Both streets have similar characteristics of a transparent ground floor
frontages facing towards the sidewalks and five-foot walkways. Users are
able to engage with this path-space relationship, allowing stopping
opportunities for them in a comfortable space. Jan Gehl mentioned, to be
able to see what is going on along the public spaces can be an element of
invitation. Hence, the walkways played an important role in smoothing the
transition between the private shops and the main routes, functioned as a
flexible connecting link between the people and the transparent storefront
activities. A 2003 study of Copenhagen shopping streets shows that the
activity level in front of active facade is seven times greater than in front of
passive facade (Gehl, 2010, p.79).
Five-Foot
Walkways of
Shophouses and
Open Pedestrian
Sidewalks
15
Engaging
Storefronts
Figure 3.2.1: Open storefront in
Sisavangvong Road (Winder, 2019)
Figure 3.2.2: Open storefront in Jalan
Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)

16. Scale of the
Sidewalks
16
The sidewalks of Sisavangvong Road is exposed to open air and it has a
wider social field of vision compared to the five-foot walkways in Jalan
Sulaiman. Pedestrians are able to have both vertical visual connections
with the local dwellings on the first floor, and also the horizontal field of
vision of the surroundings, which can allow the pedestrians to be more
alert of the social surroundings (Gehl, 2010, p.41). The outdoor space
planning dimension of Sisavangvong road focused on the cultural and
social surroundings, therefore the sidewalks are not enclosed, permitting
the chance contact to see and hear other people in the street.
On the other hand, walking through the five-foot walkways gave a more
intimate scale as it is semi-enclosed. However, the intimate scale of
five-foot walkways instigated a more intimate horizontal field of vision
with pedestrians when crossing-path to each other. The close proximity of
contact between people encourages a passive contact among one
another in this relationship between the built form and the human scale.
Both streets have a different quality of outdoor spaces but have achieved
a different way of stimulating experiences in developing contact points.
Diagram 3.2.1: Types of Storefront Transparency in Jalan Sulaiman (Voon, 2019)
Open Facade Close Facade Glass Facade Tinted Facade
Figure 3.2.3: Open Air Sidewalks in
Sisavangvong Road (Winder, 2019)
Figure 3.2.4: Semi-Enclosed Five-Foot
Walkways in Sisavangvong Road (Ho, 2019)

17. 17
Open Facade Glass Facade
Passive Contact Chance Contact Close Contact
Chance Contact
Jalan Sulaiman
Diagram 3.2.2: Front Elevation Sidewalks of Shoplots in Sisavangvong Road (Ho, 2019)
Diagram 3.2.3: Section Drawing of Five-Foot Walkways in Jalan Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)
Diagram 3.2.4: Five-Foot Walkways of Shophouses in Jalan Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)

18. 3.3 Street Permeability
Pedestrian
Permeability
18
The vehicular traffic in Sisavangvong Road is relatively moderate as locals
and tourists are seen to walk rather than driving in the town. However,
Jalan Sulaiman is situated in a busy town and the vehicular movement
pattern varied over time daily, highest intensity of vehicular traffic is during
the morning period where people can be seen hurry to work.
Along Sisavangvong Road, the vehicular and pedestrian pathway is a
direct route, stretched along the whole town until it ends at a junction,
hence the street provides a clear visual permeability to what is going on
ahead and around the street. Jan Gehl’s theory about “slower traffic means
lively cities”, this phenomena can be seen in Sisavangvong street as there
is relatively low intensity of vehicular traffic, the goal of creating city where
more people are invited to walk and bike will bring more life to to the
streets and a greater wealth of experience because fast traffic will be
converted into slower traffic (Gehl, 2010, p.71).
Diagram 3.3.1: Site Plan of Sisavangvong Road (Ng, 2019)
Linear path
clustered in
between buildings,
diverging
attentions to the
places on the side.
Site Context
1. Back Lane Market
2. Hmong Crafts Day Market
3. Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham
4. Wat Pa Huak Front Plaza
5. Mount Phousi
6. Royal Palace
7. Haw Pha Bang
8. Luang Prabang Night Market
9. Restaurant Luang Prabang Bakery & Guesthouse
10. Heuan Chan Heritage House

19. 19
Jan Gehl also mentioned the fact that it is tiring to walk makes
pedestrians naturally conscious of their choice of routes. People
reluctantly accept large deviations from the determined main direction,
and if the goal is in sight, they tend to steer directly towards it (Gehl, 2011,
p.137). There are a lot of direct and alternative routes to reach Jalan
Sulaiman, simply by using the five-foot walkways as the primary
circulatory option and the alleyways as the secondary alternative walking
route. Both length of the street and quality of the walkways will affect the
stimulation of contact in an experienced distance.
Despite the fact that it can be tiring to walk when the entire distance to a
far destination is in sight, it is still one more tiring and unacceptable to be
forced to use routes other than the direct one when the destination is in
sight (Gehl, 2011, p.141). Jalan Sulaiman is a moderately busy street at
different times, but pedestrians are familiarised and fond to accepting the
risk of their circulation safety by crossing the busy vehicular street to
proceed with the journey to their destination in sight.
Walking
Distances &
Pedestrian
Routes
Diagram 3.3.2: Diverse network of movement pattern in Jalan Sulaiman (Goh, 2019)

20. 3.4 Landmarks as Points of Interest and Reference
Landmarks as
Point of
References and
Attractions
20
The historical landmarks of both streets have a significant local character
and collective memory which are worth preserving to be the source of
information gathering informing about the sense of place. There are
numerous historical attractions on Sisavangvong Road which are the
contact points of the street, for example, Haw Pha Bang and Wat Mai
Suwannaphumaham temples are historical attractions which attract
tourists to visit through the means of religious activities. Local prayers are
able to attract tourists to visit the temple as their religious activities can
act as attractions too. When locals and tourists have a similar interest
about the cultural and historical context of the temple, they could engage
with a brief conversations. The optional activities in Sisavangvong street
have inspired to develop connections by merely a short exchange of
words, or a brief discussions with the locals about the historical
background of Luang Prabang.
Comparing to Jalan Sulaiman street, the landmarks are functional places
which act as the point of references for non-locals to familiarise with the
surroundings. For example, Kajang is famous for its local food, Satay, and
the restaurant Medan Sate has been well known for its eatery place.
People feel the pleasantness of a place when they are able to engage in
way-finding and would not get lost in the city. Despite of the functional
viewpoint of the street, the architecture and structure of the traditional
shophouses are still retained and they are given new life through adaptive
reuse method. Through the design of the shophouses, visitors are able to
source information about the collective memories of the town.
Figure 3.4.1: Haw Pha Bang Temple
(Winder, 2019)
Figure 3.4.2: Medan Sate Restaurant at the
corner edge of Jalan Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)

21. The historical landmarks in Sisavangvong street has a major influence to
the physical quality of the surrounding environment since the early days.
Cities are built through a slow process which permitted continual
adjustment and adaptation of the physical environment to the city
functions (Gehl, 2011, p.41). Sisavangvong road was surrounded by
historical landmarks, which then shaped the physical environment of the
surroundings over the last hundreds of years, while the urban fabric of
Kajang Old Town was influenced by the traditional shophouses. The
conservation of architecture form will not be effective enough to establish
a social contact with others only if the quality of outdoor space is pleasant
for users to stay.
21
Landmarks
affecting
Surrounding
Environments
Diagram 3.4.1: Front Elevation of Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham Temple (Ho, 2019)
Diagram 3.4.2: Medan Sate Restaurant as an Eatery Node on the edge of Jalan Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)
Medan Sate
Passive Contact
Chance Contact

22. According to Jan Gehl, life between building is a self-reinforcing process.
When someone begins to do something, people will be attracted to the
activities, either they will participate themselves or just to experience what
the others are doing (Gehl, 2011, p.73). The informal spaces in Jalan
Sulaiman are the back alleys formed in between buildings. They are
negative spaces formed by the clustering context of the shophouses but
they are left unused as the quality of the back streets are not desirable for
activities to take place. As the saying “nothing happens because nothing
happens”, tourists or non-locals have a negative first impression of the
alleyways in Kajang Old Town due to the lack of cleanliness and dodgy
sense of place. However, locals tend to utilise the back alleys as shortcuts
or alternative routes to reach their destinations faster. As a result, the
condition of the alleyways has to be improved as it correlates to building a
lively city.
3.5 Informal Spaces - Leftover Spaces
Back Lane
Activities
22
Figure 3.5.1: Alleyways behind Medan Sate Restaurant (Ho, 2019)
Back Lane as
Placemaking
Element
The back alleys in Jalan Sulaiman are more inviting if there is an open
facade where people are allow to see the activities going on at the edge of
the buildings; if the distance of the alleys is short and direct; and if the
alleyways are pleasant for users to walk or stop for the activities.
Something happens because something happens, the back lane market in
Sisavangvong road is a good example of placemaking in informal spaces.
The market is a popular tourist spot in Sisavangvong Road where it invites
people to shop and purchase their exotic delicacies and fresh groceries.
The intimacy and close proximity between the stalls placement encourage
a chance contact between locals and tourists.

23. 23
The night market is held on the main vehicular route and span along the
whole street in between the shoplots. The night market celebrates the
cultural aspects of the town by setting up colourful stalls which sells their
famous local street food and crafts to locals and tourists. This cultural
platform offers high intensity of close contacts and possibilities for people
to have spontaneous meet ups among one another. The whole road
became a lively converging space for all walks of life. At the back alleys of
Jalan Sulaiman, eateries business have soften the edges of the building by
providing a sense of safety and protection to people. Although Jalan
Sulaiman alleyways lack the proper treatment to the pavement design and
the physical quality of the space, locals frequently used the space still as it
has a purpose and the familiarity sense towards it.
The planning of both physical quality and outdoor activities in informal
spaces could invite a smooth transition space for social activities to occur
spontaneously, as a direct consequence of people moving about and
being in the same spaces. This implies that social activities are indirectly
supported whenever necessary and optional activities are given better
conditions in public space (Gehl, 2011, p.12).
Figure 3.5.2: Alleyway Market in SIsavangvong Road (Wiens, 2019)
Figure 3.5.3: Night Market in Sisavangvong
Road (Wanderslust, 2019)
Figure 3.5.4: Passive Alleyway in Jalan
Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)
Informal Space
evokes Sense of
Belonging

24. 24
Diagram 3.5.1: Section Drawing of the Back Lane Market in Sisavangvong Road (Ng, 2019)
Back Alley
Diagram 3.5.2: Section Drawing of the Back Alley in Jalan Sulaiman (Ho, 2019)
Chance Contact
Passive Contact
Chance Contact

25. 4. Conclusion
25
To conclude, both Sisavangvong Road and Jalan Sulaiman reinforces the
idea that human behavior is shaped by the built environment, as social
patterns and street cultures are results of the way public spaces are
planned and designed. Through the study, both streetscapes are adapting
to the constant change of urban environment in this modernized era, both
celebrates common events which made them lively cities, but with
different purposes and experiences. Both places have the urban
characteristics which provides a spectrum of possibilities for social
activities to take place.
The functional planning of the cities which have two extremes of
possibilities. Sisavangvong road was planned with loosely spaced
buildings, and good areas for outdoor stays along the street in direct
relation to residences, places of work, public buildings and so forth.
Nevertheless, Jalan Sulaiman formulates a working lifestyle where people
are connected through the five-foot walkways span along the linear row of
shophouses; less outdoor areas for people to have a lengthy stay; people
hurry and go to their destinations, nothing much to experience outdoors;
activities that take place indoor on the ground floor level. The historical
and cultural attractions of Sisavangvong Road influence the surrounding
environment, as tourism activities are the reason why people visit and
stay; Jalan Sulaiman is not a quiet realm either, but it is considered
monotonous because of the fading of historical and cultural value of the
place due to modernization.
Both streets can be defined as livable cities embodied in the movement of
time and memories. Both made the effort of conserving the architecture
and preserving the heritage culture as the first step of revitalising the
image of the city through learning. Therefore, the next consideration is to
shape and design pleasant places for optional, recreational and social
activities to take place in every respect (Gehl, 2011, p.171). Jan Gehl has
mentioned cultures and climates differ all over the world, but people
remained the same. They’ll gather in public if you give them a good place
to do it. First life, then spaces, then buildings - the other way around never
works. Thus, it is crucial to recognize these contact points as the
connecting link for city life and space.

26. 26
Book
1. Gehl, J. (2010). Cities for people. Washington: Island Press.
2. Gehl, J., & Koch, J. (2011). Life between buildings: Using public
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