Rethinking Urban Public Space: Physical and Functional Analysis through Visual Surveys

Abstract

Pedestrian-friendly, liveable, sociable human scale and fun urban environment are the qualities for good cities. Human activities will happen in urban public places if cities can offer choices for people. Increasing the use of the spaces in an urban environment through human activities can turn urban spaces into becoming “places” that is crucial to create good cities. Urban spaces should cater the functional, social, and leisure needs of people. It has positively related to a sense of community that contributes to the identity and image of the city. Therefore, urban street planning and design need to emphasis more on crucial aspects such as the physical, social, cultural, economics and pedestrians to create an urban street environment that is attractive as a destination for economic and social activities. This paper aims to propose and discuss optimal design solutions for a better urban street environment in Ipoh old town, Perak. The objectives are 1) to identify nodes and linkages, qualities of place and fabrics of the spaces and; 2) to determine relationships between the quality of the physical environment of the street and social activities that contribute to the use of the spaces. The study adopted a qualitative methodological strategy. Visual surveys were used to observe the relationship between the physical urban environment and the users’ activities in Ipoh old Town, Perak. Field observation was conducted to gather evidence focusing on the functional aspects of the actual scenes of the place through physical and activity mapping. This study has found that the relationship between the physical environment and the users’ activities significantly influenced the quality of place and fabric of the Ipoh town and in turn, contribute towards reimagining identity of Ipoh as a prominent heritage town.