Making Places People Will Love

From Ramadan bazaars at Dataran Merdeka to green rooftops, revived back alleys and street art or festivals with traditional arts and entertainment, placemaking is not new to Malaysian cities.

One of the best ways to describe placemaking is perhaps to cite a bare philosophy upheld by renowned urbanist, Jane Jacobs, who believed in the power of ‘observations and common sense to show why certain places work, and what can be done to improve those that do not.’

Simply put, placemaking is the process of managing and designing or adapting public spaces to be used in ways that can benefit the community’s well-being and happiness. It can also promote cultural identity, community bonding, population diversity, inclusiveness, health and commercial activities.

On August 9, 2019, at the Placemaker Week ASEAN event (a regional gathering of placemaking experts, activists and city makers), Hamdan Abdul Majeed, Managing Director of Think City Sdn Bhd said, “Placemaking is increasingly recognised as a cooperative process to improve public spaces, buildings, streets and cities.”

“It should be driven by dynamic groups within communities, or other stakeholders, to ensure liveable places for all, with sustainable outcomes. It is also seen as a critical component in addressing some of the challenges of massive urbanisation happening throughout Southeast Asia,” he adds.