Urban Theories Comparative Analysis Essay

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE & URBANISM [ARC61303]
PROJECT PART 2:
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY
- SEJONG-NO ROAD, KOREA
- JALAN TUANKU ABDUL RAHMAN, MALAYSIA
CHOK JIA JUN 0323117
TUTOR: MR. PRINCE FAVIS ISIP

INTRODUCTION
Every street has its own unique character as urban living space.
It is determined by the political and socio-economic impor-
tance of the street within the city itself, the types of economic and
socialactivitiesofthelocalresidenceandpedestrianitserves,the
intensity of human and vehicular traffic it contains, the physical
dimensions of the street, and the scales of the enclosing
buildings and appearance of the facades of the enclosing
buildings etc. There is no doubt that the physical characteristics
of the street itself would influence and affects greatly human
activities,perceptionandbehaviourthroughitsscale,dimensions,
layout and spatial order. This paper strives to examine how
these factors affect the fundamental behavior of pedestrian,
and how it influences street life by comparing and observing two
different kinds of street, namely Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one represents the way of life of normal
people; & Sejong-no in Seoul, Korea represents power and the
national pride.

JALAN TUANKU ABDUL RAHMAN
Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman (TAR), known as Jalan TAR was
foundedinthe1920s.ItwasoriginallyknownasBatuRoadand
was dubbed the shopping street of Kuala Lumpur especially for
fashion and Saree. Jalan TAR is a linear, approximately 12m wide
two/three lane carriage road of 1.9km long, shaped and molded
during the British Colonial era and lined on both sides with rows
of two to three storey pre-war shophouses. It starts on the north
with Sogo Shopping Centre and ends at the south with Masjid Is
and Merdeka Square. Some parcels of these pre-war shophouses
have already been torn down and rebuilt with boxes of taller
office buildings or shopping complex of 4 to 10 storey high.
Pockets of narrow open spaces or side lanes are inserted in
between blocks of buildings. Behind the rows of buildings are
the alleyways that are filled with scattered “life” with diverse use.
These privatised alleys are filled with street markets and hawker
stalls. There is a plaza in front of Sogo Shopping Centre, which
occasionally turns into a stage for street performance and its
steps become casual seatings for shoppers. Along both sides of
Jalan TAR are narrow 2m to 3m wide covered walkway for those
existing shophouses or open footpaths in front of those blocks of
new office or shopping towers. The shop owners and homeless
would occupy the sheltered 5-foot walkway by extending their
living space or business territories from their respective shop-
fronts. The small scale of the enclosing buildings, the commercial
activities and casual, impromptu and unexpected life patterns
happens along and among the street and uniquely for Jalan TAR.

SEJONG-NO ROAD
On the other hand, Sejong-no in Korea was originally a 10-lane
major road used by the royalties to access the Gyeongbok-
gung palace through GwangHwaMun gate, alongside with fine
grain buildings for businesses and homes for imperial officials.
Now it acts as the main arterial road of the area and has trans-
formedintoapublicstreetdottedwithmuseums,statues,restau-
rants, parks and office blocks along its sides. While it serves the
Seoul city as main arterial road, it is still a symbolic representa-
tion of power and national pride, where both cultural events and
politicalprotestscanoftenbeseeninfrontoftheplazaofGwang-
HwaMun gate.

STREET SCALE
Much of the human behavior, movement pattern, and activities of the both street are influ-
enced heavily by the design of the built environment especially the scale of the street itself
and pedestrian walkway.
JALAN TAR
For Jalan TAR, it was originally function as a road for catering the booming growth of tin min-
ing activities there. Many shoplot such a Coliseum Cafe & hotels was established since then
alongside the narrow road then evolved into a shopping street along with market street. The
typology of the street has not changed since then.
Due to the tropical climatic feature of Malaysia it has developed sheltered walkway known as
“5-foot-walkway” due to its narrow qualities. The upper level of shoplots extend over it to meet
the street boundaries, shedding the pedestrian away from scorching sunlight and rain. The side-
walks located next to the 5-foot-walkway, outside of the building structure are dangerous to walk
with as it is near to the road with heavy traffic and unsheltered which contributes little to no
contacts as it is not designed for human interaction in mind. These factors pull in the pedestrian
toward using 5-foot-walkway as their main movement route. The shop owner would take this
opportunity to spill their business onto the 5-foot-way which allow the pedestrian to have a much
intimate communication with the shops, encouraging interaction among pedestrians and own-
ers which creates opportunities for increasing the contact points. The loading and unloading of
goods also assists in increasing contact points attributed to the intimacy provided by the narrow
5-foot-walkway. It is obvious that there is no landmarks of importance along Jalan TAR except at
both the north and south ends with Sogo Shopping Centre and Masjid Jamek where groups of
people would stand and gather in larger groups.
Contact point:
5-foot-walkway in front of fabrics shoplot.
Physical characteristics:
Linear, partially sheltered, low scale, intimate.
Necessary activity:
pedestrian main access, shop owners spilling
their business onto 5-foot-walkway.
Optional activity:
People resting and observing goods sold by the
shops in shade of 5-foot-walkway. Resulting
in social activity such as conversation among
pedestrians with shop owner.
Medium to high intensity of contact point.

SEJONG-NO ROAD
On the contrary, Sejong-no Road spans 64 meters wide with Gwanghwamun Plaza in the mid-
dle represents great symbolic importance and historical significance to Korea. Due to this
reason, often there are events such as stage performance, demonstrations, election campaign
would be held in the gwanghwamun plaza that is situated in the middle of the road. However, the
open nature and large scale of the street and plaza allows greater distance between the pedes-
trian thus causes less contact points and human interaction. Seatings and resting points were
installed along this 600 meters long road and in the Gwanghwamun plaza to encourage pedestri-
an and passer-by to use it but seldom people appear to interact with others except among mem-
bers of their own groups. The buildings alongside the road are mostly free standing buildings
or high-rises such as museum, office buildings and etc where human activities are mostly intro-
verted and happened inside the buildings.Adding to that, the scale of the buildings are mostly
large and non human-scale; The plaza and walkway while looks ceremonial and solemn, are vastly
open with little sense of enclosure. People would hence choose not to have optional, intimate,
impromptu activities around this place. These factors contributes to less contact point happens
along not just the walkway but the plaza as well. However there is a symbolic importance and his-
torical significance to this region which makes the street a tourist attraction and place for events
which sometimes creates high contact points; this suggested that the intensity of contact point
of sejong-no road determines by the seasonal changes and depends on certain activities that held
there. Also to note that the contact point of Sejong-no are mostly created intentionally by plac-
ing seatings and planting around through government effort. Larger groups of human gathering
mainly tourists are observed in front of a few landmarks such as Gwanghwamun, Sejong Statue.
Contact point:
Gwanghwamun, Sejong Statue, pedestrian
walkway and plaza along Sejong-no road
Necessary activity:
tourist sightseeing, pedestrian main access,
guards patrolling, change of guards
Optional activity:
people resting and seating on the seats provid-
ed,gathering spot.
Low to medium intensity of contact point

CHAPTER WRAP UP
These studies shows that how scale of the buildings alongside the streetscape and itself affects
the intensity of contact points; Narrower, more intimate space naturally tends to push and
pull and gather the people more closely, which then encourage interaction among the individuals,
thusattractsmorepeopletojoininandactasamagnet;asstatedinLifebetweenBuildings byJan
Gehl: “people are attracted to people. They gather with and move about with others and seek to
place themselves near others”. While on the other hand large scale streetscape have loose bond
and lesser chance for the people to have interaction therefore contributes less contact points.

PUBLIC SPACES, PLAZAS, IMPROMPTU SPACES
JALAN TAR
PLAZA BESIDE COLISEUM CINEMA
The plaza beside the Coliseum Cinema, an open park is used mainly by the locals for relax and
gathering etc. Unfortunately, it’s neglect state due to ill maintenance has turned the place
into a open space for homeless to mingle in the days and sleep in the nights. It’s sorry, neglected
state and it’s current use make it a place to shy away and hard to trigger any positive form of
pedestrian interaction thus couldn’t act as contact points as envisaged. It is mainly used by pedes-
trian as shortcut for walking from main street to back lane.
Necessary activity: pedestrian walking across from back lane to main street and vice versa.
Plaza condition: Ill maintained open space. Little to no shading from surrounding buildings and
trees. Situated off the main street, rather hidden away. Little necessary activity.
LORONG TAR
Originally serves as a service backlane for garbage collection and loading and unloading
goods,it existed due to compliance with by-law of the colonial period. However, it had been
“rebranded” by the local community and used as a local market that sells daily cheap and afford-
able goods. It has attracted more outsiders to comes in within this narrow space despite its orig-
inal function does not cater for such usage. Observed that people sitting around the stairs of the
shoplots chatting.
Back Alley condition: Despite its undesirable hygiene condition and relatively narrow in width; it
is shaded from traffic noise from the street & sunlight by the surrounding buildings. High visibility
and situated in intersections of nodes & contact points, gives the shops and vendors the opportu-
nities to privatized such space and extend their business
Contact point:
Plaza beside Coliseum Cinema
Necessary activity:
tourist sightseeing, pedestrian main access
Optional activity:
people resting and seating on the seats provided,
gathering spot, resting and sleeping place for the
homeless.
Low to medium contact point
Contact point:
Lorong TAR
Necessary activity:
pedestrian access, merchants set-
ting up night market
Optional activity:
tourist sightseeing, gathering spot
for the community
medium to high contact point,
some regular customer would greet
the merchants or interaction be-
tween merchants, tourist and the
locals.

SEJONG-NO ROAD
GWANGHWAMUN PLAZA
Located in the middle of the Sejong-no road, it was designed as a formal public space that facil-
itate public activities such as events and gatherings while harmonizes with the beautiful scen-
ery of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukaksan Mountain. Its historical significance makes it as a
landmark for meeting point. However, due to its formality, people seldom turns up to use and
interact with the space spontaneously and constantly. It is also due to the fact that it is so isolated
and is far from other pedestrian walkways that can provide access to reach the plaza. The rela-
tively large scale of Sejong-no road dilutes and pulls apart the distance between pedestrian and
provides less opportunities for interaction and do not effectively generate contact points. The
plaza will only to be active when there are events or activities held within.
CHEONGGYECHEON STREAM
The adjacent Cheonggyecheon stream has now been transformed into a haven of natural beau-
ty amidst the bustle of city life. It is located 4.5 meter below the street level and feels a little
like a dugout green space that offers an oasis for the city dwellers to break away from the hus-
tle and bustle life. People often gathers alongside the river for various of activities ranging from
strolling to recreational activities such as education tours along the steam. The stream itself is
surprisingly serene secluded from the noisy road above. These factors contributes a strong mag-
net that attracts city dwellers to the stream therefore creates many contact points which drive
business from the surrounding street of the stream. It is a good proof to the statement in Life be-
tween Buildings: “people are attracted to people. They gather with and move about with others
and seek to place themselves near others.”
CHAPTER WRAP UP
Throughout the observation, it proofs that despite that some of the streets and urban spac-
es are purposefully designed and equipped with amenities to facilitate high robustness of
crowds to attract people to interact with them, it is found that people rarely lingers around the
area if the scale is not right, or when it is ill maintained. The other main factor of keeping a public
space lively is very much dependent on the presence of magnet in the form of human cultural
and socio-economic activities that one space could carry, as exemplified by the lorong TAR and
Cheonggyecheon Stream although they are both not ideal spaces and are not designed for high
robustness of activities. They have successfully attracted people mainly through their natural en-
vironment it has offered, the socio-economic activities it contains that strike the cords of human
heart, and the intimate and appropriate scale of their streetscape and enclosing buildings.
Contact point:
GwangHwaMun Plaza
Necessary activity:
pedestrian access, guards patrolling, tourist
sightseeing
Optional activity:
gathering spot, events, family activity
low to high contact point, very dependent on
date & types of activities & seasonal changes.
Contact point:
CheongGyeCheong Stream
Necessary activity:
pedestrian access, tourist sightseeing
Optional activity:
gathering spot, events, family activities, edu-
cational activities
medium to high contact point, one of the only
green spaces in the city, attracts city dwellers
to visit it.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES
Looking into core socio-economic activities both different streets carry, one may find the huge
difference. Whereas Jalan TAR serves the local community and pedestrian alike with retail
business close to their daily life, and functions as the vehicular and pedestrian arteries of this part
of urban centre, Sejong-no road are mostly lined by offices of local and foreign big names and
designated as tourist spot with landmarks, monuments and Statues, something that is non-local
and not community oriented.
JALAN TAR VS SEJONG-NO ROAD
The shops in Jalan TAR offer a wide range of fabrics and textiles that mostly caters the local
community such as batik, traditional dresses and Saree. The restaurants along Jalan TAR and
food stalls and market that are situated in Lorong TAR provide cheap & affordable goods & foods
to the locals, knowing that their customers are mostly from low to medium income group. The
customers would often come to bargain for a good price. High contact point occurs due to inti-
mate interaction. The street mainly caters to the local community thus attracts more people to
visit the area. The narrow lanes are jammed with bustling of people strolling around in search for
exotic food or goods. Most of these traders attract people to buy their food or goods by calling
out their product on sale or performing preparation of food such as fried chicken, which may
potentially draw crowds towards. This form of necessary activity attracts more crowds, a mul-
tiplying effect on the social activity and encourages more to happen by means of interaction via
auditory, sense of sight & conversation.
Contact point:
Plaza in front of Sogo Shopping
Centre
Necessary activity:
pedestrian access
Optional activity:
tourist sightseeing, gathering spot
for the community, performances,
seatings, by-street selling
medium to high contact point, peo-
ple would come to enjoy the per-
formance sitting by the staircases.

On the other hand, the core economic activity along Sejong-no are mostly being gentrified by
some big, influential company, museums and government buildings; slowly losing some of its
unique historical and cultural traits although is it coined as great symbolic importance and a his-
torically significant district. The buildings‘ activities are mostly introverted and the activities sel-
dom spill onto the street. However, the great symbolic importance and historical significance of
this place assist in generating life and crowds to this street, with the place especially the plaza
in the middle designated as a tourist spot with landmarks, monuments and statues where one
can learn the story of the particular region. The presence of pedestrian activity concentrates in
one linear path leading to main nodes with permeable edges such as intersection roads with ze-
bra crossing aids wayfinding for pedestrian, increases the likelihood of them travelling by foot in
search for either entertainment, food or retail. The frequency of necessary activity on foot is in-
creased and encouraged by landmarks such as the statue of King Sejong and public plazas which
can only be enjoyed by walking, thus increasing the chance of optional & social activities.
CHAPTER WRAP UP
In short, the economic activities and streetscape of Jalan TAR & Sejong-no road are very differ-
ent, as one explore through these 2 different streets, one may find that Sejong-no is far more
walkable and pedestrian friendly than Jalan TAR with its wide clear view of path & landmarks,
however Jalan TAR retains its sense of place with a lot of hidden gems hidden beyond sight and
act as a surprise when one finds it. These 2 contrasting feelings of walking down the street and
different kind of factors that affects the chance of social activity. For Sejong -no it’s high contact
points are mostly contributed by its streetscape and design intervention: street planning; whilst
Jalan TAR is not blessed with good planning, the interesting economic activities that primarily
focus towards humans need help to pull crowds and creates interaction and with a constant high
contact point. Both streets possessed different distinct factor to attracts & influence the way of
public life happening throughout the area.
Contact point:
GwangHwaMun Plaza
Necessary activity:
pedestrian access, guards patrolling, tourist
sightseeing
Optional activity:
gathering spot, events, family activity
low to high contact point, very dependent on
date & types of activities & seasonal changes.

CULTURE & COMMUNITY
The difference in street scale and usage of public space determines types of socio-economic ac-
tivities happening around the street, therefore further influence the type of cultural activities
and community of the particular area.
JALAN TAR
Jalan TAR it is viewed as a street that mainly focuses on satisfying local community’s daily needs
for varied and affordable food and goods and urban spaces for impromptu activities.Thus it is
mainly the locals from surrounding district who come in to shop for daily necessities as their nec-
essary activity while having the chance to enjoy street entertainment that is affordable to them
such as the live performance of street buskers in front of the plaza of Sogo Shopping Complex as
their optional activities. It can be determined that Jalan TAR’s displays the characteristic of typi-
cal Malaysia lifestyle which is diverse & multicoloured.
SEJONG-NO ROAD
Sejong-no can be seen as a street of great symbolic importance and historically significance, a
place that showcases Korea’s technological innovation and advancement in terms of economy.
The region surrounding Sejong-no thus mainly caters to the tourism industry and acts as a com-
mercial hub that houses headquarters of large corporations. The kind of street activities there
are often in the form of a single-minded and organised tour itinerary with tourists moving swiftly,
pause occasionally to take single or group photos and they mainly interact ‘internally’ among their
group members. This kind of interaction is less impromptu and introverted, creates low-intensity
contact point. However, the intensity of contact points of Sejong-no road is heavily dependent on
seasonal change and the occurrence of events there such as music festival or political demonstra-
tions which then makes Sejong-no a high contact point.
JALAN TAR NIGHT MARKET
Busy all day long, provide daily untesils and
goods, that is necessary for life; therefore
brings up the oportunity having optional ac-
tivity (social, community activity).
SEJONG-NO ROAD
Filled with spaces that serve the public ac-
tivities but lack of optional activities that
act as a pull force for crowds; the intensity
of contact point very dependent on large
events or certain seasons.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the physical characteristics of the street contrib-
utes deciding factors and forces that pulls & pushes, affecting
the types of activities, intensity of contact points, and in return
reshapes the overall spatial quality and character of the street,
and the image it presents to the observers there. While one
will find Jalan TAR, this kind of Southeast Asian urban street
narrow, messy and unorganised, filled with traffic jams, broken
sidewalks and lined with dilapidated buildings, it’s users mainly
the locals or casual pedestrian might find this place interesting,
filledwithfamiliarnichesscatteringalongandaroundthecorners
of the street and back alleys, forming hidden secrets Harlem that
they would love to frequent everyday. However i don’t think such
romanticising of a shabby urban conditions shall not become the
reason to hinder the city from improving and revitalizing. In fact
good lessons can also be learnt from the upgrading programs of
Sejong-no road in order to further enhance the user experience
of Jalan TAR. Examples are by replanning the city layout of jalan
TAR to improve the traffic problem; upgrade accesibility of the
streetandconditionofstreetamanities;andenhancethesecurity
of the street.

Reference
Gehl, Jan and Jo Koch. Life Between
Buildings. 1st ed. washington, DC: Is-
land press, 2011. Print.
NITSCHKE GUNTER. “MA: Place,
Space, Void | Kyoto Journal“. Kyo-
tojournal.org. N.p. 2016. Web.
29.6.2017
Batu Road: Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rah-
man
https://www.timeout.com/kuala-lum-
pur/things-to-do/batu-road-jalan-tu-
anku-abdul-rahman
Sejongno Park (세종로공원)
Gwanghwamun Gate (광화문)
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/
e n u / A T R / S I _ E N _ 3 _ 1 _ 1 _ 1 .
jsp?cid=1930107
Gwanghwamun Square
http://www.theseoulguide.com/
sights/public-spaces/gwanghwa-
mun-square/
Other general websites:
https://www.google.com.my/maps

Urban Theories Comparative Analysis Essay

More Related Content

What's hot

Viewers also liked

Similar to Urban Theories Comparative Analysis Essay

More from Jia Jun Chok

Urban Theories Comparative Analysis Essay