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PLACE ATTACHMENT, FAMILIARITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF URBAN PLACE

IDENTITY

DR. NORSIDAH UJANG
Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Design and Architecture
Universiti Putra Malaysia,, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia



Abstract : The weakening of place identity in contemporary cities can be associated with the diminishing of place
attachment held by its inhabitants. This can be resulted from the losing of buildings and spaces of traditional and cultural values and
the vanishing of the traditional streets as major public spaces function as locus for social and cultural interactions. A structured
questionnaire survey and in-depth interview were conducted with the key users of the main shopping streets of Kuala Lumpur city
centre to examine the influence of place attachment and familiarity on the users perception of the citys identity. The findings
demonstrate that place attachment is strongly associated with familiarity and length of engagement. There is a strong identification of
familiar streets and activity nodes as locus for economic activities, identifiable buildings as popular shopping destinations and well-
known historical landmarks. This paper contributes in identification of place attachment indicators and characteristics of the places
found to be meaningful and legible to the users. Continuing attachment and familiarity supports the sustainability of the city identity,
socio-cultural and economic activities.

Keywords : Place attachment, familiarity, identity, Kuala Lumpur


1. Introduction

The weakening of the sense of place is facilitated by economic globalisation, standardized products and generic urban
environment with little authentic connection to local landscapes, ecosystem, history, culture and community (Wheeler,
2004). As a result, current urban developments tend to diminish attachment to place and weaken the depth of place
meaning. The loss of identity can be resulted from placelessness, a term defined as a place with no significant meanings
or disintegrated place meanings and attachment (Relph, 1976, Arefi, 2003). Inability to secure unique place qualities
will have a damaging affect on the existing physical image and spatial harmony as well as the sense of identity
embedded in the peoples experience of the place.

One of the urban design issues of Kuala Lumpur is the weakening of place identity (JBPD, 2006; DBKL, 2004;
Shuhana et.al., 2004). Local and traditional urban environment is constantly replaced by modern structures and
standardised images.The influx of external influence had created more cities with a global character (JBPD, 2006)
which is inappropriate to the local cultural expression, tradition and way of life. With the presence of multi-storeys
corporate offices and large-scale shopping complexes in the city centre, many smaller and independent shophouses has
disappeared. This has given an impact on the inherent local place identity. In addition to that, the diversity of street
activities has been diminishing due to the attraction towards one stop commercial centre for shopping and leisure
activities (Shuhana et. al., 2004). These transformations have influenced the way users experience, perceive and feel
about places within the city centre.

Place identity is an integral part of human-place experience therefore it influences place attachment. In this regards,
Arefi (1999) argued that the weakening of place identity could result in the loss of meaning and disrupts emotional
attachment to place. Therefore it is important to view a setting as a place constructed by the physical, social and
psychological components rather than collection of buildings of merely functional purposes. Since the awareness of the
importance to preserve local character and identity has been growing in the recent years, this paper addresses the
significance of attachment and familiarity in securing the values defining the unique qualities of Kuala Lumpur based
on the users perception and experience of places within the city centre.



2. Place attachment dimensions


Place attachment is defined as the development of affective bond or link between people or individuals and specific
places (Hidalgo and Hernandez, 2001; Moore and Graefe, 1994). It is expressed through interplay of affects and
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emotions, knowledge and beliefs, and behaviours and actions (Altman and Low, 1992). Attachment is also reflected in
the functional bonding between people and places described as place dependence (Stokols and Shumaker, 1981). Here,
attachment is developed when a place is well-identified and felt significant by the users and able to provide condition to
fulfil their functional needs and supports their behavioural goals better than a known alternative (Williams, Patterson,
Roggenbuck and Watson, 1992). In the most basic form, Hidalgo and Hernandez (2001) affirmed that the main
characteristic of place attachment is the desire to maintain closeness to the object of attachment which generates special
feeling towards a particular place. Gieryn (2000) argued that place attachment results from many factors: accumulated
biographical experiences, the socially and culturally shared activities and the geography and the architecture of the
place. Gieryn (2000) argued that the loss of place and its meaning(s) have negative implications for individuals and
collective identity, memory and history together with the psychological well-being.

One of the main attributes associated with place attachment is place identity. Place identity is defined as the way in
which a place informs the identity of a person or people (Proshansky et al., 1995) and the composites of its
characteristic features (Relph, 1996). It contributes to individual, groups and cultural self-definition and integrity
(Altman and Low, 1992). In urban design context, place identity is reflected in the attributes of physical forms and
activity that have an effect on the users perception of place. Those include the characteristics of being distinctive,
different, unique, dominant, easily recognisable, memorable and identifiable by the people (Lynch,1960; Shuhana and
Ahmad Bashri, 2002). Experientially, personal or group engagement with space gives it meaning as place to the extent
of differentiating it from other places (Relph, 1976). Since place identity is transformed with the changing living
patterns and technological advancement, the experience of place influence the cultural values and emotion attached to it.

Familiarity is closely linked with place attachment. It can be divided into four main dimensions (Hassanuddin, 2003
from Minardi et al., 1990). First is relating to locational knowledge, i.e. to know where a place is. The second
dimension is visual recognition that relates to the ability to recognise a place. The third is place name-recognition and
finally interaction with the place. According to the authors, the most familiar places are those who are frequently used
or visited. There are two different levels of familiarity that are termed acquaintance familiarity and functional
familiarity (Ibid.). The former refers to repeated exposure to a place without having a specific aim. The later refers to
being in contact with a place and integrating with the facilities through some activities happening within it. The
definitions suggest the importance of familiarity in making meaningful places because changing forms and actions if
not sensitively implemented, will disassociate the attached users from familiar objects within places.



3. The context of the study

The context of the study is the shopping district in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The district is defined by the main
streets namely Jalan Masjid India (JMI), Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (JTAR) and Jalan Petaling (JP). JMI and JTAR
have been synonymous to Indian Muslim, Indian and Malay population. Known as Chinatown Jalan Petaling (JP) is
one of the early urban streets inhabiting the Chinese trading community. The streets represent the character of Kuala
Lumpur city centre and share the following characteristics : (a) located within mixed used commercial/shopping district
(b) identifiable as the main traditional streets, popular and receive highest concentration of pedestrian, shoppers and
tourists (c) located within an inherent socio-cultural stronghold (a) dedicated for urban revitalisation initiatives (DBKL,
2004).



(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 1 The visual character of Jalan Masjid India (JMI), Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (JTAR) and Jalan
Petaling (JP)
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4. The methods
The study is employing place-based approach and concepts in examining perception of urban places. Therefore streets
are approached and understood as a place represented by a total human experience : the physical elements and activities
mixed with the socio-cultural and psychological components. It is to pay more attention to those who live in place-to
the actual human experience as well as the perceptual and affective aspect of the city. The results are based on the field
surveys conducted with 220 respondents using clustered sampling method. In conjunction with the surveys, 24
purposely composed samples representative of the key user groups were participated in the face to face interviews. The
samples are drawn from varied roles, economic status and socio-cultural characteristics. The respondents are those who
are familiar with the streets. Based on the functional roles, the respondents can be broadly clustered into two distinct
groups : (a) those who have constant (daily) engagement with the streets due to dependency for
income/occupation/education/residence (shopowners, shopkeepers, vendors, office workers, residents, students) and (b)
those who are not dependent on the place for income/ occupation/ education/ residence and being there as the moving
entities (shoppers, tourists and visitors). The respondents represent the main ethnic population occupying the streets :
Malays, Indian Muslims, Chinese and Indian. The analysis is supported by field observations to record the actual scenes
of the places.


4.1 The respondents

The respondents who participated in the questionnaire survey are predominantly young to middle age group with low to
medium monthly income. They have between 10 to 30 years length of engagement, familiar with the places (streets)
and being there mainly for trading, shopping, working and visiting. The respondents who participated in the interviews
are aged between 27 to 69 years old. Majority of them are aged between 40-55 years old with fair distribution of male
and female. They work in the streets and make a living on a daily basis for a period between 5 to 50 years therefore very
familiar with the streets.


5. Place attachment and influencing factors

Results from the study indicate that place attachment is influenced by length of engagement, level of familiarity, degree
of dependency, degree of satisfaction and sense of psychological and physical comfort. Dependency for regular income,
business opportunities and participation during festive events are some of the factors determining continued attachment.
Majority of the respondents expressed satisfaction in terms of availability and diversity of goods, public facilities,
streetscape improvement and intensity of shoppers and visitors. The physical and environmental comfort is reflected in
degree of convenience in accessibility, public facilities and protection from weathering condition.

The emotional attachment is strongly expressed by the users who economically dependent on the streets. Sentiment and
feeling of dissatisfaction towards arising issues are expressed. Those include the contestation of street vendor area by
the illegal intruders and conflicting of interests as a result of the physical intervention. The respondents share not only
their knowledge of the streets but also emotion, pride, loyalty and topophilia (love) of the places. Their commitment is
strongly associated with the roles of the place in developing the sense of ownership and territoriality that has been
reflected in the self and group socio-cultural identity. Responses from the interviews suggest that the positive emotion is
strongly associated with the general atmosphere of the streets, the liveliness, the character and the enhancement of
image and the existing physical structures. The feeling of pride reflects the users attachment to the streets due to the
ability of the places to provide choices of goods with wider range of prices.

Emotional attachment is developed as a result of the meaning(s) and significance of the streets to the users. The places
are meaningful that they personally identified with the streets and strongly influenced by high degree of familiarity and
long period of engagement. At this point, the identity of the place is established through users identification, sense of
belonging, care and concern about the streets. This is reflected in the ability of the streets to fulfil the psychological
needs of the users that evokes their emotion. Those who expressed strong emotional reactions are the shopowners and
the street vendors who are constantly active in the trading activities and community activities.

The functional significance of the shopping streets can be linked to the importance of the places in satisfying
individuals goals and needs as well as providing conditions that support the desired activities. Shoppers expressed the
feeling of enjoyment with the distinct atmosphere of the streets which is strongly manifested in the shopping and
trading activities. The narrow streets and multilayered uses influence the concentration of activities along the streets.
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This is strongly evident in the case of JP whereby the pedestrianised streets allow shoppers to interact more
conveniently with the street vendors and shopkeepers. Majority of the users perceived that the streets are the best choice
in supporting their activities and very important for economic sustenance and personal needs. Even though the
attachment goes beyond fulfilling basic needs, the attachment functions as platform that binds the people and places in
shared activities.

The findings have brought to attention that the feelings (affective aspects of perception) and the behaviour reflect the
meaning and significance of places to the attached users. The bonding with the setting is formed based on knowledge,
belonging, identity, personality, uniqueness and shared goals. There is a strong sense of self identification associated
with the settings and the feeling of being in a recognisable place and identifiable elements. The traditional streets reflect
stronger self and community identity generated by the ethnic characteristics and established social bonding. Table 1
indicates summary of responses gathered from the interviews.

Table 1 Summary of place attachment indicators for JMI-TAR and JP
Components Indicators for Attachment

EMOTIONAL
ATTACHMENT

(Positive impression,
sentiment-care,
loyalty,pride, love)


Sense of pride due to popularity and distinctiveness
Positive about the ambiance of the place
Resistance on relocating of street vendors
Unwilling to move to other place due to being accustomed with the place
Feel happy working/business in the area
Feel threaten with the decrease in visitors-reduced income
Sentiment over changes in the physical aspects
Long for ambiance of the place
Love of the street
Contested space


FUNCTIONAL
ATTACHMENT

(Engagement,
familiarity,
dependence,
satisfaction,
comfort)


Constant engagement from morning to evening
Defensive about own territory
Feel upset if they are relocated to other less familiar location
Able to describe the area very well, highly imageable
Able to describe changes of the physical settings in specific details
Positive about creating better image
Constant attachment to the mosque as symbols of community and belief
Positive about the suitability of the place to sustain life and daily needs
Economic dependency - source of income
Satisfy with variety of things offered at lower price
Satisfy with the economic potential of the place
Feel comfortable due to suitability of the place to personal and cultural background



6. Place attachment and activities

Users varied roles and intention of being in the streets create diverse ways of relating themselves to others and
influence the attributes of the place that they are strongly attached to. Results indicate that activity has been regarded as
a significant element in supporting continuous engagement and attraction. The ability of the streets to sustain its vibrant
atmosphere through people and activities indicates high level of functional attachment between the users and the
settings. In this respect, the condition can be linked to Gehls (1987) notion that human behaviour and activity influence
and shape the environment. The best streets are those that are physically, economically and socially diverse, the likely
effects of which are longer period of activity and liveliness, contributing to a more vital and safer public realm (Jacobs,
1999). With regards to the streets, it was observed that the weekly night market (JMI-TAR) has been constantly
drawing users into the area indicating interest towards traditional manner of transaction. This influences the feeling of
enthusiasm and security supporting functional and social attachment to place. More passive activities such as observing
and browsing goods also contributed to the streets vitality despite lacking of pocket parks and public open spaces
comfortable enough to encourage gathering and meeting of people. The urban streets are places where various place
components are dynamically intertwined in a publicly oriented environment. People and activity are the key
components of a living place that generates the sense of belonging and spirit of the people and local communities
whereby constant involvement in the activities developed familiarity, ownership, dependency and socio-cultural
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attachment.

Diverse and inherent socio-cultural characteristics of the place established from the early days sustain the personality of
the places. Despite the increased attraction towards centralized shopping activities (all in a single building) due to the
comfort and convenience, the traditional streets are perceived as unique and offered satisfying experience. The streets
are regarded as the most vibrant spot in Kuala Lumpur, people friendly and a meeting place for users from different cultures.
The significance of the traditional streets is strongly associated with the ability to sustain its function as shopping
attraction to the ethnic group that are historically attached to the places.

Despite the continuous physical intervention within the area, the traditional streets are successful in sustaining its
popularity to the target users thus contributes to the continuity of the streets image and character. The high intensity of
pedestrian movement encourages greater potential for buying and selling activities. It has enabled the streets to sustain its
vitality even though the shops are closed before midnight. In this regards, ongoing activities contribute to feelings of
attachment to places. Therefore the traditional pattern of transaction (business) and diversity of economic activity
particularly the attraction towards the goods (well known to the area) should be preserved in order to sustain the
character of the places.



(a) (b) (c)

Fig. 2 The essence of JMI (a), JTAR (b),JP (c) is driven by the economic transaction, sequences of events, the
people and local culture, streetscape elements, place markers, nodes and distinct atmosphere.


7. Legible elements

Results from the interviews indicate respondents identification of recognisable nodes and place markers that give them
the sense of direction and place familiarity. The mixture of old and new buildings and the traditional shophouses
characterise the traditional streets of JMI-TAR and JP. Some of the identifiable elements include buildings, open
spaces, nodes and landmarks. Popular buildings, historic buildings, new roof structure, street vendors, transport nodes,
pedestrian walk, public facilities, high-rise buildings, shopping malls and restaurants. Some of the most usable spaces
outside buildings allowing for interaction and communication to take place include building corridors, building
entrances, pocket spaces, transport nodes, street vendor area and spaces in between buildings. But these spaces mainly
serve as pedestrian linkages rather than spaces to sit, communicate and observe. It is evident that the streets
intersections are the most identifiable nodes supporting constant and high pedestrian movement and crossing
particularly at peak hours. Small open spaces around the corner of the intersection provide spaces for meeting points
and waiting areas. The ongoing flow of pedestrian across the intersection further stimulates the vitality of the area.

Even though the users identified the elements as supportive to their knowledge of the streets and providing sense of
direction, continued attachment is mainly associated with high level of accessibility to familiar activities and legibility
of the locations that the users able to participate and fulfil their purposes of engagement. Familiarity to objects such as
buildings and activities provide higher degree of comfort and ease of use. It is evident that JMI-TAR and JP are lacking
in terms of attractive visual qualities that users can easily identified with. This can be influenced by the unclear signage
and direction and poor quality of the public open spaces. Further improvement of the physical elements such as the
treatment of the pedestrian path should contribute to enhancing the legibility and imageability of the streets.
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(a1) (a2) (b1)




(b2) (c1) (c2)

Fig. 3 Old and new buildings defining the legibility of JMI (a1, a2), JTAR (b1, b2)
and JP (c1, c2)


The influence of shopping complexes is evident in users choice to shop, however the popularity of street vendors,
department stores and typical low-rise shophouses in JP and JMI-TAR attracts users from related ethnic groups to shop
in the areas. The role of the diverse economic transactions is very important in supporting attachment to the shopping
streets while the socio-cultural interaction help developing the sense of belonging to the trading community and people
from similar ethnic background. The traditional streets are successful in sustaining its popularity to the target users thus
contributes to the continuity of the streets image and character. Users identified the cultural images in a form of
products and people as the distinct qualities of the streets that make them different from other places. Some of the
common elements associated with the image of the streets are local food and eateries/specialties, old buildings facade,
overall atmosphere and special cultural festivals and celebration. The significance of the shopping streets to the frequent
shoppers is associated strongly with availability of products appropriate to the wants and needs of the shoppers and suit
to their cultural particularities.


7
37.3
20.9
18.2
23.6
29.1
1.8
10.9
57.3
0.9
0
20
40
60
80
100
Shopping
complex
Dept. stores Shophouses Street
vendors
Others
P
e
r
c
e
n
t
a
g
e

JMITAR JP
FREQUENTLY VISITED TYPES OF SHOPS

Fig. 4 Frequently visited types of shops in JMI-TAR and JP


7. Place attachment and familiarity

Attachment to the shopping streets is more prevalent to the users who are economically dependent on the area and mark
their presence through constant interaction and long-term association. The findings reveal that constant engagement
develop a strong sense of familiarity. This has contributed to stronger sense of belonging and evokes emotional and
social attachment. It is evident that respondents who have been engaging with the shopping streets for longer period of
time identified strongly with the street as being the best for what they would like to do, feeling comfortable and
regarded the places as important. The shoppers associated familiarity with the locations of shopping attraction and their
particular needs found in the area. The findings suggest that the users know very well about the streets, attracted to the
atmosphere and at ease with the place due to familiarity and frequent visits from their childhood.

Familiarity is closely reflected in the users ability to identify locations and elements associated with the streets. This
relates to locational knowledge - knowing where the place is, visual recognition - recognising the elements within the
streets and constant interaction with streets. The most familiar places are locations that are frequently used or visited
whereby the users are integrating with the spaces and facilities through daily activities and occasional events. Results
from the surveys shown in Table 2 indicate high level of familiarity with the streets and directly associated with the
attachment (Attached : agreement based on a statement I am attached to this place). This is supported by users who
engaged with the streets on daily basis and thus having close interactions with other users who work or frequently
visited the streets.



Table 2 Comparison between familiarity and emotional attachment

FAMILIARITY (N=330)
Attachment Very familiar Familiar Total
Attached JMI-TAR 90.0% 56.7% 71.8%
JP 82.1% 60.0% 67.9%



A strong connection to familiar places contributes to the development of sense of belonging. Through time, the users
developed the atmosphere of place which is manifested in its diverse economic and socio-cultural activities. Interaction
and transaction promote familiarity among the users and encourage engagement with the streets. This is in line with
Lynchs (1984) theory that intense familiarity will create sense of place. It can be inferred that time is an important
factor in the construction of the sense of place that makes a place familiar and meaningful to the users.

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Results shown in Figure 5 indicate that the respondents engage with the streets for five years and above have higher
degree of emotional attachment as compared to those who were there less than five years. The groups identified
strongly with the feelings associated with the streets: attached, meaningful, positive, satisfying, enjoyable and
preference. However, less positive feelings are noted on safety, security and being able to forget problem while being
there. This affirms that the length of engagement influence place attachment and familiarity.


1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
A
t
t
a
c
h
e
d
M
e
a
n
i
n
g
f
u
l
P
o
s
i
t
i
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e
S
a
t
i
s
f
y
i
n
g
E
n
j
o
y
S
e
c
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r
e
F
o
r
g
e
t

p
r
P
r
e
f
e
r
A
t
t
a
c
h
m
e
n
t
JMI-TAR less than 5 years JMI-TAR 5 years and above
JP less than 5 years JP 5 years and above

Fig. 5 Degree of emotional attachment according to length of engagement



Results on the comparison between comfort and familiarity shown in Table 3 suggest that the functional attachment has
a strong association with respondents who are very familiar with the streets. Familiarity with the streets contributes to
the physical and psychological comfort not only due to the image and perception established about the places but also
due to the functional reasons. For instance, the streets improvement and beautification effort is positively perceived by
the users due to the protection provided by the roof shelter to the street vendors from all weathering conditions thus
encouraging longer trading duration. For traditional streets, despite lacking in terms of physical comfort, the importance
of the streets as locus for trading and buying activities specializing in products suitable and demanded by the specific
types of users (e.g. specific ethnic groups) strongly influenced the attachment. With greater intensity of shopping
activities and increase in income, the street vendors expressed the sense of security which generating the feeling of
comfort of being in the streets.


Table 3 Comparison between comfort and familiarity

Place Familiarity COMFORT

Comfortable to sit
and relax
Convenient for
shopping Facility Environment Well maintained
Feel
comfortable
JMI-TAR Very Familiar 38.5% 61.5% 25.6% 25.6% 28.2% 82.0%
Familiar 33.8 62.0 39.4 23.9 42.3 51.7
JP Very Familiar 57.4 61.5 25.6 25.6 28.2 71.8
Familiar 67.7 62.0 39.4 23.9 42.3 35.2
Note : The percentage indicates the degree of agreement only









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8. Place meaning and significance

The meaning(s) identified with the streets determine the reasons for attachment and related to the functional roles of the
streets as a setting for personal and group experience. The attachment to the streets is associated with varied meanings
and levels of significance. In this case, the attachment is driven by the economic transaction, sequences of events, the
people and local culture, memory of past experience, history of place, streetscape elements, place markers, nodes and
distinct atmosphere. However, it is inferred that the meaning associated with the shopping streets are more strongly
reflected in the activities and the distinct atmosphere compared to the physical appearance of building forms and
architectural images. However, the physical form and activities are significant in the users familiarity and imageability
(e.g. recognisable buildings and public open spaces). The social and cultural relationship, memory and personal
meanings contribute to emotional attachment and belonging to the places that play an important role in shaping place
identity.

The identity of the traditional streets has been imbued in the identity of the dominant cultural (ethnic) community in
their ways of life and belief. The spirit of place rooted from the past makes up the essence of the place despite the
continuous changes its physical appearance and pattern of activities. The users stressed the importance of the physical
elements in supporting activities as well as the significance of historic buildings (e.g. The Indian Mosque and traditional
shophouses) as symbolic cultural symbols that are regarded as the pride of the community. It is evident that the spirit of
place involves particular significance deriving from past events and present situations. However, in modern urban
development, the distinctiveness of place generated by the sense and spirit often reduced into appearance and image as
well as economic function that it is disassociated with the past historical, social and cultural significances. It can be
understood that despite the influence of physical elements in the construction of meanings, human experience and
intention, social relationships, emotions and thoughts are important aspects influence how meaning is developed.

In addition to meeting the basic needs of users, there are other factors that have the potential to affect the development
of place attachment. The finding suggests that repeated direct experience of a place is necessary for persons or groups to
build attachment and meanings. Continued use promotes a sense of ownership and an extension of personal identity. As
a result, place identity is formed. It is evident that meanings of the places are associated with self and group socio-
cultural identity. The Malay, Chinese and Indian Muslims and their ways of life and interaction form the distinct
character of the places rooted from the early days. In the case of pluralistic society the cultural principles play an
important role in defining group identity hence influence the identity of the place they inhibited. Applicable to the
context, a strong sense of place is often associated with racial and ethnic identity.

The level of attachment to the traditional street of JMI-TAR and JP is strong based on the fact that majority of the users
are able to identify and recognize the goals of the place and are in conformity with them together with the emotional
attachment and significant meanings attached to it. It means that there is devotion, allegiance, and loyalty to a place due
the long-term engagement, established group identity and continuous dependency on economic activities. The meanings
associated with JMI-TAR and JP can be summarised as follows :

(a) A place of economic dependency
(b) A place as a symbol of self and group identity
(c) A place as a symbol of cultural identity and diversity
(d) A place of diversity and choice of goods
(e) A place of continuity of family rootedness
(f) A place of socio-cultural interaction
(g) A place of childhood memory


9. Conclusion

The study suggests that the psychological sense of place has an important contribution in sustaining place identity.
Place attachment and familiarity provide emotional and functional indicators of place significance. Understanding of the
meanings held by the people in relation to their environment and the dominant function of the place perceived to be
important is components that should be considered in securing place identity. Places with a strong sense of identity must
be maintained, enhanced and upgraded to provide stronger sense of place. Here, the qualities that shape the distinct
character of places (eg. the streets) can be identified from qualities that the users familiar with and attached to. It is
recommended that in order to fully understand the content of identity, place attachment dimensions should be integrated
in the framework of urban design intervention process, particularly within the historical context.
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Author :

A lecturer in the Department of Landscape Architecture, Faculty of Design and Architecture, Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Granted Bachelor of Architecture from University of Miami, USA in 1989. Graduated from University of Oxford
Brookes with Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture in 1996 and Masters in Urban Design in 1998. Granted PHD in
Urban Design from Universiti Putra Malaysia in February, 2008.