Public Policies & Plans Study Regard to the Conservation of Shophouse Townscape in George Town, Pulau Pinang: Assessment, Limitations, and Current Issues

Abstract

The conservation of townscape in George Town usually involves the enforcement of public policies and plans, which facilitate the conservation work in a sustainable and scientific way. In the recent decade, it has been increasingly recognized that public policies and plans in heritage sites have the significant impact on urban scenery, ethnic identity, and heritage sustainable development. However, the enforcement of public policies and plans in order to achieve successful townscape conservation is still insufficient in George Town. This study aims to assess the public policies and plans in relation to the townscape from the federal level to local level, and in turn, showing the current issues which caused by the deficiency of public policies and conservation plans. To ensure the objectives achieved, qualitative methods will be applied, including several approaches such as site investigation, cross-referencing, extrapolation and interpretation method. Empirical findings suggest that townscape in George Town should be ensured by implementing prudent public policy. Nevertheless, the current public policies and plans are inefficiently run, and various problems arise in the townscape such as de-contextualization, loss of authenticity and cultural integrity, Disneyfication, and environmental deterioration etc.