Book
Retrofitting Back Lanes: A Study on Malaysian Terrace Row Housing Estates
(2015)
Abstract
Terrace Row Housing Estate is the major typology of housing in urban Malaysia. The model is heavily car prioritized with little or no concern on pedestrian activity. While tropical climate can be blamed for people’s lack of interest in the pedestrian activity, it is already a proven phenomenon in many other parts of the world that pedestrian activity is not only good for health, but it can also generate community bonding. A strong community can ensure security inside neighborhoods as a by-product. In the current model of terrace row housing estates, back lanes remain as an essential part. However, recent studies showed that the relevance of back lanes are not so significant anymore. The underused back lanes in thousands of older terrace houses give a negative image of the estates. This study took the opportunity to combine these two issues, and proposed retrofitting back lanes into pedestrian zones. In fact, this trend is getting popularized in some parts of the country as gradually people are understanding the benefits. Through a survey of residents, this study came up with an ideological concept of how to retrofit back lanes which can also be economically feasible. However, it went one step beyond and proposed to connect all the back lanes in the neighborhoods in order to create a traffic-free pedestrian network. That not only can create a lively environment with children and elderlies moving freely inside the neighborhood but also can improve the image of the neighborhood, as back lanes will not be considered as a black spot. That can also contribute to the property market as prices can go up due to this concept of retrofitting.
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall September 1, 2015
ISBN
978-3-659-67141-8
Citation Information
Tareef Khan. Retrofitting Back Lanes: A Study on Malaysian Terrace Row Housing Estates. (2015) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/tareef-khan/3/