School of Architecture, Building and Design

Theories of Architecture and Urbanism (ARC61303)

Project 1 Part 2: Comparative Analysis Essay

Pasar Baru, Jakarta

&
Jalan Stesen 1, Klang

Name: Tan Yin Yee

Student ID: 0329499
Tutor: Dr. Filzani Illia
Content

1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Brief Introduction of the Project 2
1.2 Jalan Pasar Baru (Case Study) 3
1.2.1 Historical Timeline of Jalan Pasar Baru 4
1.3 Jalan Stesen 1 (Analysis) 5
1.3.1 Morphology of South Klang 6

2.0 Comparative Essay 7

2.1.1 Contact Point (Pasar Baru) 8
2.1.2 Contact Point (Klang) 9
2.2 Five Foot Walkway 10 - 11
2.3 Alley 12 - 13
2.4 Junction 14 - 15

3.0 Conclusion 16 - 17

4.0 References 18 - 19
1.0 Introduction

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1.0 Introduction to Project / Site Study

1.1 Brief Introduction of the Project

Project 1 consists of two parts which are Part 1 (group) and Part 2 (individual). In this project,

Project 1 (Part 2), we are required to produce a 2000 words comparative essay with findings we
achieved during project 1 (Part 1) on an Asian street as well as our designated site for design studio (on
local street).

We need to compare analyse the similarities and differences of the both the Asian and local street based
on the pattern of social activities, types of ‘contact points’ and the varying degrees of contact intensity
between two streets. We are expected to conduct research for information in any forms to have a firm
support on the argument we provide in this comparative essay. Diagrams need to be used for a better
explanation for our points.

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1.0 Introduction to Project / Site Study

1.2 Jalan Pasar Baru (Case Study)

Figure 1 : Bridge and entrance of Jalan Pasar Baru ("Pasar Baru", 2019)

The assigned Asian street for my group is Jalan Pasar Baru in Jakarta. It is strategically located in the
heart of Jakarta's busiest place. Jalan Pasar Baru was originally known as Passer Baroe that carries the
meaning of “New Market”. The street is a formed along the stretch of the north-south axis and consist of
two entrances. A bridge and an entry gate were built at the southern entrance of Jalan Pasar Baru to
connects the people from the main street (Jalan Raya Pos) into Jalan Pasar Baru. Along Jalan Pasar
Baru, there are alleys cutting perpendicularly on the it that form connection between Jalan Pasar Baru
and the building around it. Pasar Baru street is a shopping street with wide variety of shop built along it.

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1.0 Introduction to Project / Site Study

1.2.1 Historical Timeline of Jalan Pasar Baru

18th Century
Gradual decrease of sugar price caused uprise of
Chinese-Indonesian. It led to a massacre and
resulted in opening of small shop of
Chinese-Indonesian.

19th Century
Pasar Baru was established by small shops to
distinguish it with old market (Pasar Senen and
Pasar Tanah Abang)

20th Century
Increasing crowd in Pasar Baru has made it
busiest shopping street in Jakarta. Businesses in
Pasar Baru are majority owned by Chinese and
Indian.

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1.0 Introduction to Project / Site Study

1.3 Jalan Stesen 1 (Analysis)

Figure 2 : Jalan Stesen 1, Klang (Segaren, 2019)

For design studio project, the site we were assigned to is Klang. The street that has been chosen in for
this comparative essay is Jalan Stesen 1, a street where our assigned site is located for design studio.
Klang or officially known as the Royal Town of Klang is a royal town and former capital of Selangor
before the emergence of Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam (current capital of Selangor). Klang is separated
into two parts which are the North Klang and South Klang by the Klang river. Jalan Stesen 1 is located in
South Klang, the old town of Klang. There are commercial activities happening along the street and all
the shophouses in that street are traditional shophouses.

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1.0 Introduction to Project / Site Study

1.3.1 Morphology of South Klang

1880
Klang was a tin mining site. Settlements were built
along the river due to the ease of getting food,
water and transportation.

1945
Trading activities started and linear orientation
urban block being built.

1951
Quite a number of buildings being demolished for
the building of new administrative offices.

2019
More and more commercial activities happening
on site resulting in tight grid urban form.

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2.0 Comparative Essay

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2.0 Comparative Essay

2.1.1 Contact Point (Pasar Baru)

1. Five-Foot Walkway in
front of shophouses
2. Alley between
shophouse
3. Junction opposite
South Entrance of
Pasar Baru

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Figure 3 : Pasar Baru Site Plan (Theories Project 1, 2019)

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2.0 Comparative Essay

2.1.2 Contact Point (Klang)

3
1
2

1. Five-Foot Walkway in
front Teck Teh Bak Kut
Teh
2. Alley beside Teck Teh
Bak Kut Teh (Cendol
Stall)
3. Junction in front of
Figure 4 : Klang Site Plan (Design Studio 5 Site Analysis, 2019) KTM Klang

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2.0 Comparative Essay

2.2 Five Foot Walkway

Of all the possible contact points available in both Jalan Stesen 1, Klang and Jalan Pasar Baru, Jakarta,
five foot walkway is the most significant contact point for the user in both these streets. This is because
both of the streets have shophouses along the sides of the streets.

2.2.1 Similarities
Five-foot walkway in both Jalan Stesen 1, Klang and Jalan Pasar Baru, Jakarta provide a better walking
experience for the users. It provides an interstitial space for the users to perform activities like walking,
standing, hearing, seeing and hearing. In short, five-foot walkway act as a contact point for users to
interact. According to what have been stated in Life Between Buildings by Jan Gehl, people tend to stay
along the facade of the building. Compared to an open plain site, people tend to stay in somewhere that
is shaded and the comfortable surrounding will increase the time of staying for the people around it.
Interstitial space is famous and frequently used among the users because it not only provides shade, it
also gives a good view of the exterior for the users. (Gehl, 2011)

Most of the five-foot walkway in Klang and Pasar Baru are used by the shop owners for their own
business purposes. For eateries in Jalan Stesen 1, they spill out their business by arranging tables and
chairs at the five-foot walkway to allow more customers using the space. Similar to Pasar Baru, shop
owners arranging their goods to the five-foot walkway. This has become one of the necessary activity for
the shop owners to attract customers at the same time increase the frequency of contact for the users.
The customers that being attracted by shops will function as a magnet and attracts others to the shop as
well. This portray how the theory of people attract people stated in “Life Between Building” really works.
(Gehl, 2011)

2.2.2 Differences
The five-foot walkway in both Jalan Stesen 1 and Jalan Pasar Baru is different in terms of the frequency
of usage. The frequency of users using the five-foot walkway in Klang is way higher than that in Pasar
Baru. This is because the five-foot walkway in Klang is directly next to the vehicular road. User would
feel safer using the five-foot walkway than walk directly beside the road and being exposed under hot
sun. In Pasar Baru, the whole street is equipped with sun shading. This makes the users would choose
to walk under the sun shading than using the five-foot walkway because the road is wider than the
five-foot walkway and still comfortable to walk under the shade.

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2.0 Comparative Essay

Figure 5 : Five Foot Walkway in Pasar Baru & Shaded road (Theories Project 1, 2019)

Figure 6 : Five Foot Walkway in Klang being occupied by customer of Teck Teh Bak
Kut Teh shop ("Best Bak Kut Teh in Klang - Teck Teh Bakuteh, Klang Traveller Reviews
- TripAdvisor", 2019)

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2.0 Comparative Essay

2.3 Alley
Other than five-foot walkway, alley is also one of the significant contact point for Pasar Baru and Klang.
Both of the mentioned sites are being connected by alleys to lead users to the other side of the streets.
The boom “Responsive environments” by Ian Bentley stated that permeability of a site depends on the
number of alternative routes provided for the user to access the place. The more alternative routes
provided, the more permeable the place would be. (Bentley, 2015) High permeability of a space can
directly increase the frequency of contact of users of the site.

2.3.1 Similarities
Both Pasar Baru and Klang has high frequency of usage for their alley. In Klang, there are alleys that
connects people to the other side of the trading area. Jalan Stesen 1 is located in the side where the
businesses are more dormant while the other side of it has more visitor due to the textile and fashion
trading operated by Indian community. This bring out a big contrast when bringing both side of the
trading area together. People from both sides need to use alleys to go to the other side resulting in high
usage of alley. In Pasar Baru, alleys are used for commercial activities and also the connection for the
utilities such as public toilet and car park. Users either see it as an connecting path or a functional space,
which is buying stuffs from the stall vendors.

2.3.2 Differences
Klang
In Klang, alleys are highly utilised by users to to access Jalan Stesen 1. There is a cendol stall at the
alley act as a node for locals and foreigners. People can get direct access to the site by using Jalan
Stesen 1, or they might be using the back alley to access the cendol stall. The contact intensity of the
cendol stall is considered as moderate, which allows passive to close contact. The intimate scale of the
alley allows more intimate contact between the users. The necessary activity that happened at the
cendol stall are vendor selling cendol and people eating cendol. It then leads to an optional activity of
taking photo of the cendol.

Pasar Baru
In contrary, the alley in Pasar Baru functions differently from the one in Klang. Alleys in Pasar Baru are in
an intimate scale. Vendor stalls are being placed at both sides of the alley, resulting in a limiting space
for the users to use the space. The limiting space gives the users a sense of pressure whenever they
use the space. It makes them want to leave the space as quick as possible to not blocking the way of
other users and also let themselves go to a place that is wider and free to use. Although the alley is in
tight scale, it still allows the necessary activity to happen which is the trading activity.

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2.0 Comparative Essay

Figure 7 : Vendors along both side of the alley, resulting in limited space to walk
across. (Theories Project 1, 2019)

Figure 8 : Cendol stall that become a contact point. (Yip, 2018)

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2.0 Comparative Essay

2.4 Junction
Furthermore, junction is also an efficient contact point. A junction is a point where two road join. It leads
people from two different road to meet and interact with each other. It gathers people from different place
to one point and increase the rate and possibilities for the users to interact. As mentioned in the book
“Urban Design Compendium”, Llewelyn Davies Yeang states that local context, the amount of pedestrian
and vehicle traffic one road is expected to carry will differ the arrangement of a junction. He also stated
that a tight corner with restricted sight lines will gives a major effect on traffic calming. (Yeang, 2000)
Junction can be either a T-junction or a cross road. A junction functions more towards gathering people
while a crossroad acts only as a transitional space for the vehicle or people to go to the other side of the
road.

2.4.1 Similarities
Pasar Baru and Klang share the similarities where they have their transportation hub at the junction of
the road. Pasar Baru owns a bus stop while Klang owns a KTM station. Both of this ease the access of
users to the site. By having the transportation hub at the junction significantly increase the amount of
users by gathering people from different place to the centre point. This has successfully turned the
junction into a node and the transportation hub as the landmark of the site. This makes sure that the
optional activities such as waiting for people happen effectively at both Pasar Baru and Klang.

2.4.2 Differences
Klang
The necessary activities in the junction of KTM station in Klang is students uses it to come to Klang to go
to school and the workers/office staffs come for work. This activity happens in the morning as well as
evening. People that uses the KTM come and go every day. The daily routine might both increase and
decrease the interaction of the users. The interaction might be increased because there will be the same
users who come to Klang to either go to school or go to work. Due to the high chance of meeting every
day in the same place, users tend to feel more familiar with each other, and start to communicate and
interact. The interaction also might be decrease as some people might just focus with their own thing like
go to the KTM station and go home. They do not bother interacting with the people around them.

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2.0 Comparative Essay

Pasar Baru
The necessary activities in the junction of bus stop in Pasar Baru are majority those shop owners going
there to open their store and people go to Pasar Baru to get textile and food. Different from Klang, Pasar
Baru has a connecting bridge that connects the bus stop to the other side of the road. This can ensure
highly ensure the safety of the user at the junction. The junction in Klang only has zebra crossing in front
of the KTM station which exposed the user in more danger situation. The only downside of the bus stop
in Pasar Baru is there is no seating provided. This will increase the pace of users leaving the place.

Figure 9 : Connecting bridge that connect bus stop straight to the front of the south
entrance (Google Map, 2018)

Figure 10 : People gather under the shades while waiting for their family or taxi driver.
(Google Map, 2018)

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3.0 Conclusion

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3.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, interstitial space (five-foot walkway) is an important element in order to gather people as
users always seek comfort when they use a space. If they are exposed burning hot sun. By providing
shades to the users, they will be more than willing to stay in that space longer. Thus, being the contact
point for the user. Moreover, permeability (alley) is another important factor in having a successful
contact point. Alleys connect places. A place with low permeability will have limited users using the space
as they do not know what is happening inside a space and it is very troublesome for them to access the
space with limited access (one / two entrance). Then, a junction (transportation hub) can also effectively
make a contact point as people will flow to the centre point of the junction. User interaction will be highly
increased by the human flow. Both Jalan Pasar Baru in Jakarta and Jalan Stesen 1 in Klang provide
good place for interaction for the users, at the same time enhance their user experience on site. Lastly,
contact point is being influence by many factors, therefore, those factors need to be consider during the
design stage to make a better place for human interaction.

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4.0 References

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4.0 References

Bentley, I. (2015). Responsive environments (p. pg 12). Abingdon, Oxfordshire: Architectural Press is an
imprint of Routledge.

Gehl, J. (2011). Life between buildings (pp. pg 149 - pg 152). Washington, DC: Island Press.

Yeang, L. (2000). Urban Design Compendium (p. pg 77). English Partnership.

Pasar Baru. (2019). Retrieved 20 November 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasar_Baru

WIRA, N. (2016). Explore these 5 spots in Pasar Baru, Jakarta's 'Little India'. Retrieved 20 November
2019, from
https://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2016/04/05/explore-these-5-spots-in-pasar-baru-jakartas-little-i
ndia.html

Segaren, S. (2019). Pic 5 (2) Jalan stesen 1. Retrieved 20 November 2019, from
https://www.expatgo.com/my/2018/07/09/6-unknown-yet-delightful-attractions-in-and-around-klang/pi
c-5-2-jalan-stesen-1/

Khoo, E. (2019). Streetscapes: Historical buildings and delectable eats in Jalan Stesen. Retrieved 20
November 2019, from
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/streetscapes-historical-buildings-and-delectable-eats-jalan-s
tesen

Walk, K. (1998). How to Write a Comparative Analysis. Retrieved 20 November 2019, from
http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/how-write-comparative-analysis

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