SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE BUILDING AND DESIGN

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS) IN ARCHITECTURE

THEORIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBANISM (ARC61303)

“LIFE BETWEEN BUILDINGS: USING PUBLIC SPACE”

PROJECT PART 2: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ESSAY

NAME: KIMBERLEY EE SZE ANN

ID: 0315319

TUTOR: MR NICHOLAS NG

Life Between Buildings: A comparative analysis of Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia and Petaling Street,

Kuala Lumpur.

“First Life, then Spaces, then Buildings the other way around never works”-Jan Gehl. Life Between

Buildings focuses on the urban design phenomenon which the author, Danish Architect and Urban Design

consultant, Jan Gehl, has identified through his research and commitment to enhance Life Between

Buildings in cities. The book explores the kinds of activities that take place in the urban context, how they

contribute to the quality of life in cities, the factors that hinder or enhance this life and the measures which

can be taken to improve life between buildings and the city life experience. In this essay I will be comparing

the pattern of social activities, types of contact points and varying degree of contact intensities for the

selected areas of Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia (Figure 1) and Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur

(Figure 2).

In the first chapter of the book, Gehl identifies a pattern of outdoor activities that take place in cities, i.e.

necessary activities, optional activities and social activities. He establishes that necessary activities are

independent of the physical environment and merely enhance them. However, optional activities depend

greatly on the physical environment and the atmosphere in cities, and acts as catalysts for social or

resultant activities to take place.

Figure 1: Selected area of Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia

Source: Google maps

Figure 2: Selected area of Petaling Street, Kuala Lumpur

Source: Google maps

Whether in an American city like Philadelphia or in a Malaysian city such as Kuala Lumpur, necessary

activities are inevitable as citizens go about each day carrying out everyday tasks and pastimes. These

task and pastimes are compulsory to the individual and could include going to work, school and shopping.

Necessary activities are set apart from optional and social activities because no matter in whichever place

in the world despite whatever conditions these activities are compulsory to be carried out in order to fulfill a

person’s living requirements.

On the other hand, optional activities are not based on necessity but on the wants and wishes of a person.

Optional activities only occur when a person has the desire to carry them out and could include activities

such as taking a walk, simply standing around or sunbathing to enjoy the weather. The types of optional

activities that occur in Rittenhouse Square and Petaling Street greatly differ from one another as the

weather and outdoor environments are conducive for different types of activities and the availability of

public spaces in America is much greater than that of Malaysia. For example, American citizens can easily

be found lying down on the grassy areas in Rittenhouse Park (Figure 3) simply enjoying the weather or

picnicking under the sun whereas in Malaysia, the weather is far too hot for such activities and most people

would prefer to be under the shade (Figure 4). Furthermore, there are no public outdoor spaces in Petaling

Street that have been purposely designed for the people and as of such people have no reason to linger

outdoors after having completed their activities.

Figure 3: People enjoying the weather in Rittenhouse Park Source: (Rigney, 2016)

Figure 4: Man walking in the shade of the five foot way at Petaling Street Source: (Google maps)

Subsequently, social or resultant activities are reliant on both necessary and optional activities as they

depend on the presence of others in public spaces. Some social activities would include children at play,

greetings and conversations, communal activities, or passive contacts. When comparing Rittenhouse

Square and Petaling Street it also becomes apparent that social activities rely heavily on the context in

which they occur. Consequently, social activities are more likely to occur in Rittenhouse Square than

Petailng Street due not only to the fact that there are more public spaces for these interactions to occur (as

mentioned in the previous paragraph) but more so due to the locality. While Rittenhouse Square is

considered a high end commercial and residential area in Philadelphia, Petaling Street is considered a

rather shady neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur and plays host to many illegal activities such as the selling of

imitation goods in the Petaling Street Flea Market (Figure 5) and prostitution that occurs at the back alleys.

Also, in Rittenhouse Square the people that inhabit the area consist of only locals while in Petaling street

there are many immigrants that run the businesses there and affect the sense of security felt by people in

the streets which could cause them not to stay any longer than necessary in that area.

Gehl also draws attention to the need for contact and places importance on low intensity contacts, i.e.

seeing and hearing people and other mild interactions, as the driving force of Life Between Buildings. He

identifies this form of contact as an essential prerequisite for other more complex interactions; a tool for

maintaining already established contacts, sources of information and a stimulant of urban life. It is shown

how its presence adds to more lively cities as “people come where people are” and how its absence

degrades urban life and contributes to lifeless cities and worse conditions of public space and public life.

Thus, in the following paragraphs the types of contact points in both Rittenhouse Square and Petaling

Street will be identified and analysed based on varying degrees of contact intensity.

Figure 5: Imitation goods sold openly in the Petaling Street Flea Market Source: ("Petaling Street Market | Chinatown | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia

Travel, Vacation and Tourism", 2016)

The largest contact point in Rittenhouse Square is Rittenhouse Park (Figure 6). Rittenhouse Square is one

of five original squares planned by city founder William Penn in the late 17th century and is today home to

the most desirable addresses in Philadelphia with high-rise residences, luxury apartments, an office tower,

popular restaurants and retail stores and at the heart of all this lies Rittenhouse Park which offers an oasis

of respite and relaxation amidst the bustling city. The park hosts many high contact intensity activities such

as pop up farmer’s markets (Figure 7) and random festivals during the warmer seasons. Meanwhile, during

cooler seasons, there is an annual Christmas light event (Figure 8) where many people gather in the park

to appreciate the beautiful lights and decorations. However, high contact intensity activities do not happen

only during these seasons but all year round every day, there is a mixture of high and low contact intensity

activities that go on in Rittenhouse Park. These activities range from family and friends having gatherings in

the park to the lonesome person taking a stroll while observing the ongoing park activities.

Figure 6: Location of Rittenhouse Park Source: Google maps

Figure 7: Rittenhouse farmer’s market Source: (Philly, 2016)

Figure 8: Rittenhouse Christmas light event Source: ("10 Places To See Holiday Lights In Center

City", 2016)

On the other hand, in Petaling Street, the largest contact point that can be identified is the Petaling Street

Flea Market (Figure 9 and 10). The Petaling Street Flea Market is a long stretch of road market that

occupies a large span of Petaling Street and the charm behind the market place that would otherwise be

like any other Asian flea market with the uncomfortable heat and loud bustling environment, is its long

standing history as an old Chinese tin mining settlement. Unlike Rittenhouse Park which came about due to

the planning of the government, the market sprung up due to the history of the Chinese immigrants who

came to Kuala Lumpur and settled in Petaling Street. Today, the market place is filled with high contact

intensity activities such as family and friends whether foodies, tourist or school children from the nearby

schools meeting up for the popular local cuisine offered there. Also, the low contact intensity activities

include the passive contact between the dense crowds in which people bush against each other as they

move through the market.

Figure 9: Location of Petaling Street Flea Market Source: Google maps

Figure 10: Entrance of Petaling Street Flea Market Source: Google maps

Furthermore, along the east side of Rittenhouse Park on 18th Street, there are a string of restaurants

including Rouge, Devon, Parc and Barclay Prime (Figure 11 and 12). These restaurants are on the ground

floor of the high rise residential buildings facing toward the park and have outdoor tables that allow people

to take in the serenity of the natural landscape. Thus, while high contact intensity activities are happening

within the restaurant space such as people talking together while dining, there are also low contact intensity

activities that occur through activities such as people watching by people from the restaurant observing the

park or even by people from the park observing the restaurant. Meanwhile, there are also several more

restaurants in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood such as The Happy Rooster and Marathon Grill

(Figure 13 and 14) which face opposite each other and provide outdoor seating for customers where similar

high intensity contact activities occur within the restaurant while low intensity contact activities occur in

people observing pedestrians walking along the street and diners at the opposite restaurant.

Figure 12: Rogue Restaurant Source: Google maps

Figure 11 : Location of Rouge, Devon, Parc and Barclay Prime

Source: Google maps

Figure 14: Marathon Grill and The Happy Rooster Source: Google maps

Figure 13: Location of The Happy Rooster and Marathon Grill

Source: Google maps

In Petaling Street, restaurants with outdoor seating are not as common as that in Rittenhouse Square and

this is due mostly to the hot weather of Malaysia which gives Malaysians a preference for indoor dining.

However, beneath the awning covering the Petaling Street Flea Market there are a few of these

restaurants, such as Kim Lian Kee (Figure 15 and 16) near the street in intersection of Hang Lekir Street

and Petaling Street, that offer many outdoor seats that encourage high contact intensity activities between

diners and low contact intensity between people observing each other from the restaurant and the street. At

night, once the sun has gone down and the weather is cool, food vendors along Petaling Street (Figure 17

and 18) lay out tables on the busy streets creating a lively public environment. Furthermore, Madras Lane

(Figure 19 and 20) is both a food paradise and wet market filled with the sight and sounds of food both raw

and cooked being prepared for a day of selling.

Figure 15: Location of Kim Lian Kee restaurant Source: Google maps

Figure 16: Kim Lian Kee restaurant

Source: ("Kim Lian Kee Original, 2016)

Figure 17: Location of night time food vendor

Source: Google maps

Figure 18: Night time food vendor Source: Author

Figure 19: Location of Madras Lane

Source: Google maps

Figure 20: Madras Lane Source: ("Madras Lane/Penjaja Gallery, 2016)

Moreover, there are a variety of low contact intensity activities occurring at the intersection of Walnut Street

and 18th Street (Figure 21 and 22). On the side walk, we can observe the low intensity contact of people

carrying out necessary activities as they move along the street in a business like fashion. Similarly, low

contact intensity activities also include people using the zebra crossing where people merely pass by one

another other as they hurry to their respective destinations. Also, at the bus stops, there is low contact

intensity in the mild interactions between people waiting for the bus while at the food carts the same thing is

repeated for those people queuing to buy food.

On the other hand, when comparing the street intersections at Petaling Street (Figure 23 and 24) to that of

Rittenhouse Square it can be seen that street intersections in Philadelphia cater much more to the

walkability of the city as the intersections are not only a place for people to cross the road but are also

provided with bus stops, bicycle parking and zebra crossings at almost every intersection. Conversely, in

Petaling Street, zebra crossings are only provided at the most active road intersections for the safety of

pedestrians and the same can be said in the case of bus stops as well. Also, bicycle parking is not provided

as the roads are not designed for cyclist and it would clearly be dangerous for anyone to travel through

Kuala Lumpur on bicycle. Furthermore, there is an absence of food carts on the Petaling Street

intersections as unlike in Philadelphia people do not linger on the streets especially as the most favoured

mode of transport is by car.

Figure 18: Location of

Petaling Street intersection Source: Google maps

Figure 19: Petaling Street Intersection Source: Google maps

Figure 21: Location Walnut and 18th Street intersection

Source: Google maps

Figure 22: Walnut and 18th Street intersection Source: Google maps

To conclude, in the final paragraph of the first chapter in Life Between Buildings, Gehl mentions that

“people and human activity are the greatest object of attention and interest” and to Gehl life between

buildings is much more essential and more relevant than the spaces and buildings themselves. Gehl

believes in the design of cities for people and in this sense Philadelphia could be viewed as a much more

people friendly city when compared to Kuala Lumpur as it was designed in such a way that importance was

not only placed on how people would move from one place to another but also on the quality of spaces that

people would be able to experience as they moved through the city. Green spaces such as Rittenhouse

Park are cleverly incorporated into Philadelphia’s city grid plan while roads are designed not only for

vehicles but also bicycles and cyclist thus promoting walkability and more sustainable modes of transport.

Subsequently, when Petaling Street is analysed under the same light it comes out sorely lacking as roads

are designed for vehicles first and people second. In fact, vehicular traffic has become such a big issue in

Malaysia that the government is now seeking for a solution to this problem by introducing more public

transport in Malaysia through the implementation of the Mass Rapid Transit railway system. However, as a

Malaysian myself, I feel the need to defend the appeal of Kuala Lumpur as a city and Petaling Street is a

very good example of the character that many areas in Malaysia still uphold despite the ever rapid

development and urbanisation. It is amazing that such a historically and culturally rich site such as Petaling

Street is able to exist at the heart of Kuala Lumpur and although it may be easily taken for granted, it is in

fact a point of attraction for locals and tourists alike.

References

1. 10 Places To See Holiday Lights In Center City. (2016). Uwishunu - Philadelphia Blog About Things to

Do, Events, Restaurants, Food, Nightlife and More. Retrieved 27 November 2016, from

http://www.uwishunu.com/2015/12/10-places-to-see-holiday-lights-in-center-

city/#sm.0001o6uh07k08crnvyp2nafj30h4t

2. Gehl, J. (2011). Life between buildings (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Island Press.Kim Lian Kee Original KL

Hokkien Mee Noodles Petaling Street 金莲记福建面 JK1470. (2016). Johorkaki.blogspot.com.

Retrieved 27 November 2016, from http://johorkaki.blogspot.com/2016/04/kim-lian-kee-original-kl-

hokkien-mee.html

3. Madras Lane/Penjaja Gallery (中华巷/李霖泰菜市场) @ Jalan Tun H.S.Lee. (2016). Sumptuous®.

Retrieved 27 November 2016, from https://sumptuousblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/15/madras-

lanepenjaja-gallery-

%E4%B8%AD%E5%8D%8E%E5%B7%B7%E6%9D%8E%E9%9C%96%E6%B3%B0%E8%8F%9

C%E5%B8%82%E5%9C%BA-jalan-tun-h-s-lee/

4. Petaling Street Market | Chinatown | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia Travel, Vacation and Tourism. (2016).

Holidaysinmalaysia.org. Retrieved 27 November 2016, from http://holidaysinmalaysia.org/kuala-

lumpur/petaling-street-market/

5. Philly, T. (2016). Focus on Philadelphia Famers’ Markets : TBT Philly. Timbeverlinteam.com. Retrieved

27 November 2016, from http://www.timbeverlinteam.com/2011/08/17/focus-on-philadelphia-

famers-markets/

6. Rigney , S. Philadelphia: Neighborhood Travel Guide by 10Best (n.d.). Things to do in Rittenhouse

Square. Retrieved from http://www.10best.com/destinations/pennsylvania/philadelphia/rittenhouse-

square/