Street Space and Informality: towards an inclusive community

by: Jimly Al Farabycontact: al.faraby@ugm.ac.id

Presented at The 3rd International Conference on Indonesian Architecture and Planning (ICIAP), Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, IndonesiaAugust 11-12, 2016

What is in common?

Why Streets?

“Think of a city and what comes to mind? Its streets. If a city’s streets look interesting, the city looks interesting; if they look dull, the city looks dull” (Jacobs, 1961)”.

Problems:

o Despite its significant role, potentiality of street has just gained little attention in urban planning and design, especially in developing countries.

o Spatial plan and policies are often focused on designing street as a physical structure, which in turns lead to the destruction of social life on the street.

1) Lack of understanding on how street works to promotes social life;

2) Failure to integrate planning and design concept into local context in developing countries;

What did I do?

++Literature review

(theories, concepts, previous studies)

Personal experiences (observation,

memory, pictures)

?

Analysis, Synthesis, and reflection

Selected Cases

Copenhagen, Denmark

Dar es Salaam,Tanzania

Stone Town,Zanzibar

Thailand

Melbourne,Australia

RESULTS

1902

1933

1960

1961

1971

1980

1981

1995

2010

2013

Evolution of Views about Streets in Urban Planning and Design

La charted'Athènes

Garden Cities of To-morrow

The Death and Life of Great

American Cities

Image of the City

The Social Life of Small Urban

Spaces

Life between Building

Great Streets

Livable Streets

Cities for People

Street as Public Spaces and Drivers for Urban

Prosperity

Traditional Cities

Breaking the traditional cities

Street to human

dimension

Developing concepts, street as public space

Global Policy

Case 1: Strøget, Copenhagen, Denmark

Source: Author, 2013

• In 1962, motor vehicles were restricted to enter a one kilometer long Stroget pedestrian street. The sales in Strøget were increased by 30 percent, and different kinds of social interactions took place (Kwok, 2002 from Robertson, 1994).

• Expansion of the area was followed by the increasing number of people using it as public place (Bosselmann, 1998; Bates, 2013 from Gehl & Gemzøe, 1996 & 2001)

• People visiting Strøget did more than just walking. They also did standing, sitting, lingering, and people-watching during their time in Strøget (Gehl, 1968)

• The types of activities observed in Strøget are also varied, such as talking (while sitting down and standing), people-watching, playing, and art performance (e.g. street musicians and artists).

Case 2: Melbourne, Australia

• In 1994, Melbourne’s Center Activities District (CAD) – the Bourke Street Mall, Swanston Walk and Southbank Promenade – was transformed into pedestrian area which provided opportunities for people to play.

• Between 1994 and 2004, the number of pedestrians on weekday grew by 70 percent and 25 percent in respective pedestrian streets.

• The number of people passing on these streets outside of work hours also shows clearly the shift of street activity from work to play (Stevens, 2007).

• Improvements in street condition, including greening along the streets, constructing new bluestone sidewalk, and creating fine grain networks, has stimulated street cafes to mushroom, leading to the realization of lively streets (Gehl Architects, 2014).

Source: www.flickr.com Source: www.youtube.com

Case 3: Pedestrian Streets in Thailand

• Based on a study from Oranratmanee and Sachakul (2014) in four pedestrian streets in different parts of Thailand.

• By simply turning the street into pedestrian street (street market), the street has been transformed from an empty space to a lively public space.

• Setting and arrangement of space which allow street users to use the space in informal manner, such as preference of Thai people to sit on the ground rather than on chairs (Oranratmanee & Sachakul, 2014).

Source: Oranratmanee and Sachakul, 2014

Case 4: Stone Town, Zanzibar

• Stone Town’s architecture and physical structure have created a distinctive features.

• One of the most prominent features is its maze of narrow alleys lined by houses, souvenir and art shops, bazaars, and mosques. • Can only be passed through by bicycles and motorcycles with low speed• Pedestrians and cyclists, either the locals or tourists, can have a very close social

contact and interaction.

• Jaws Corner It is a kind of courtyard located in an intersection that creates a small gathering space. A small television is put in that open space, and some tables and benches are just arranged in the middle of that space, creating a convenient place

Source: Author, 2014

Case 5: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

• Based on observation in Dar es Salaam City Center (uhindini)

• During the construction of DART (Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit) lane along MorogoroRoad, the street was closed from vehicular traffic.

• Surprisingly, it was then used unusually by the children living nearby as their playing ground, their parents sat down and watched them from the side of the street.

• Many people were also observed talking to their friends, taking pictures, and other forms of social activities during the construction phase of DART.

• A careful observation on outdoor activities in India Street, revealed that social activities, mostly take place around informal traders along the street (Faraby, 2014)

Source: Author, 2014

DISCUSSION

• Social activities can be promoted when the street space is devoted for people, either:– Through formal policy (Copenhagen and Melbourne);– Not resulted from a planned intervention (Dar es Salaam and Stone Town);– Mixed (Thailand).

Once people are in the same space, social activity will take place (Gehl, 1987).

• Informality seems to be one of key factors to bring social interaction in street space, especially in developing countries. – Informal economic activities;– Informal utilization of street space;

“marketplace as social place”. The role of traders as central to provide “social glue” for social interaction. (Watson, 2009)

“triangulation”, meaning “process by which some external stimulus provides a linkage between people and prompts strangers to talk to each other as though they were not” (Whyte, 1980)

Conclusion

• Global trend calling for stakeholders to reclaim streets as public space is getting more prominent;

• To ensure that street can function as an inclusive public space, street space need to be designed and managed to prioritize and accommodate people rather than motor vehicles;

• Eviction of informal sector entirely from public area, such as street, probably is not a good measure, neither about over regulation for the use of street space.

“First life, then spaces, then buildings.” –Jan Gehl

"If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places." -Fred Kent