Project: Theorizing Architecture

Analysing “Through the eyes” of an architect/urban designer/

theoretician

Tutor: Pn. Nor Hayati

Name: Ch’ng Xing Yue

Student ID: 0310425

As a town originated from tin-mining and rubber estates in the 1960s,

Puchong is one of the fastest developing township in Klang Valley, starting from its

bloom in the 1990s, being developed mainly by IOI Properties Berhad Group and SP

Setia Berhad Group. This town is linked to major areas such as Kuala Lumpur,

Subang Jaya, Shah Alam and Putrajaya by highways, especially Damansara-

Puchong Highway (LDP) that cuts through Puchong.

Figure1: The selected area of Puchong as the site

The book chosen is “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” by urban

writer and activist Jane Jacobs (Project for Public Spaces, n.d.). In the book, Jane

Jacobs stressed on the importance of diversity for a thriving city economically and

socially, although for many city planners diversity is taken as a problem. The idea

focused in this analysis is the conditions for city diversity, where she proposed four

main conditions:

1. The need for mixed primary uses

2. The need for small blocks

3. The need for aged buildings

4. The need for concentration

These ideas of Jane Jacobs are chosen to study Puchong as a growing township

consisting of suburban residential, industrial, services and commercial, highly

populated by different age and income groups. In addition, to understand the failure

of parts of Puchong where shop lots are constantly vacant or going through vicious

cycles of closing down and re-opening of businesses through Jacob’s perspective.

Mixed primary uses is needed to insure the presence of people outdoor for

different purposes at different timings while being at common places. This ensures

that places in that city do not encounter problems such as mob-like scenes during

peak hours, then back to long hour of dullness when the tides of people are gone

(Jacobs, 1961). Besides, the continuity of movement of people throughout the day at

an area makes the street safer and encourages people to walk. As seen in Puchong,

most commercial buildings are eateries, banking, fashion retails and entertainment-

orientated. Services and facilities such as laundry shops, sport complex, library and

galleries etc should be provided to diversify the purpose of people to the area.

Figure 2: Different types of businesses seen in part of Bandar Puteri making it a lively place all day

Figure 3: Jacobs, J. [Images Explaining Small Blocks]. (1961).The Death and Life of Great American

Cities. NY: Vintage Books.

The need for small blocks can be defined as building blocks being short in

order to allow more turning opportunities (Jacobs, 1961). Referring to Figure 3, when

there are more turning points, there are more alternatives to arrive the desired

destination instead of the people being forced to take the same long path every time.

This enables more commerce too as people will be taking different routes and

passing by retails from different streets. This keeps more streets active, instead of

isolating them away.

Figure 4: More vacancies and less circulated

Figure 5: Highly circulated and full with businesses

Even with approximately the same block lengths, difference in street activities

intensity can be seen. The turning points in Figure 4 are more like alleys without

proper pedestrian path, thus reducing the desire of people to walk past it to the other

side of the block. Shop lots in Figure 5 have wider turning branches with shaded

walkways, creating desirable turning points.

Buildings varying in age and conditions are crucial due to its economic

possibilities and creating a sense of place for the area. Usually, aged buildings are

more affordable and this encourages new businesses to emerge (Jacobs, 1961). In

Puchong, a mixture of old and new spaces is present, allowing small and large

businesses to coexist, creating neighborhood of different incomes and uses (Allen,

2011).

Old low cost apartments

Newer middle income residential terrace houses

Lastly, high density of people is required in the city for a vibrant community to

exist, as people are the source of the vitality of place. Yet, high concentration of

people in a place should not be confused to overcrowding which means too many

people living within each dwellings (Jacobs, 1961). As seen in the zoning diagram,

the commercial area in Bandar Puteri is larger than the residential area. There more

residential housings vary in types and prices, should be available to increase the

human density in that area, enabling businesses to sustain themselves with more

people to be served.

Jacobs’s conditions for diversity cannot be considered as the sole factors for

the success and failure of Puchong, yet it can be a reference to improve the quality

of the area.

References

Allen, M. (2011, September 29). Jane Jacobs: Urban Ideas. Retrieved April 20,

2015, from http://urbanspacegallery.ca

Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American Cities. NY: Vintage Books.

Jacobs, J. [Images Explaining Small Blocks]. (1961). The Death and Life of Great

American Cities. NY: Vintage Books.

Project for Public Spaces. (n.d.). Jane Jacobs. Retrieved from http://www.pps.org