Senior Planners Conference

Abstrak: SUSUNATUR

KEJIRANAN

UNTUK

BANDAR SELAMAT Mazlin Ghazali, Michael J. Durack, Tessellar Sdn Bhd Mohd Peter Davis, UPM. E-mail : [email protected] Tesis kertas ini adalah bahawa kawasan perumahan melalui

selamat

kaedah

boleh

ditingkatkan

perancangan

yang

memberi keutamaan semangat kejiranan.

Jubin Sehalaman Dalam perumahan cantum-adu, kejiranan halaman yang hanya ada 5-14 kediaman, bercantum menjadi komuniti jalan gelung yang tidak melebihi 42 rumah. Komuniti tersebut

saling

bergabung

membentuk

kejiran taman yang mengandungi sehingga 300

rumah. Susunan fisikal sebegini

memberangsangkan interaksi social kerana saiz dan bentuk kejiranan halaman itu lebih sesuai. Dalam kumpulan yang kecil lebih senang untuk mengenal jiran, membentuk kumpulan dan mengambil inisiatif bersama. Suasana

kekampungan

ini

boleh

mengurangkan gejala dan punca jenayah.

Jubin Jalan Gelung

1

Konsep Defensible Space dimana diadakan

Rangkaian jalan dalam perumahan cantum-

ruang persendirian, separa persendirian,

adu dikandungi jalan jalan gelung yang

separa awam, dan awam, merupakan idea

bengkang

yang mula-mula diketengahkan lebih 30

memperlahankan

tahun dulu yang kini diterima umum.Tatatur

menjadikannya lebih selamat untuk pejalan

cantum-adu boleh dilihat sebagai teknik

kaki.

merekabentuk perumahan di mana setiap rumah berada dalam halaman terkawal yang diakses melalui jalan gelung atau “looping cul-de-sac”.

Honeycomb layout at Sungai Lunchoo Johor Bahru

2

bengkok.

Corak

kenderaan,

ini justeru

NEIGHBOURHOOD LAYOUT FOR SAFE

However, the main thesis of this paper is

CITIES

that a sense of community is of prime

The issue of public security in residential

importance. In good neighbourhoods, with

areas is a hot current topic. In a national

strong community spirit, the people don’t

survey conducted in July 2004 by Merdeka

just complain about crime and safety

Centre and Ikmas (2), 42% of Malaysians surveyed said crime was their biggest worry. Day in and day out, the pages of our newspapers

are

full

of

stories

about

burglaries, robberies and snatch thefts that make us feel unsafe in our own homes. The

issues. They organize night watch groups along the principles of rukun tetangga. They look after the amenities that make their environment pleasant and add value to their homes. Vandalism would not be tolerated.

public areas and playgrounds often seem

The streets are safe for children. Car drivers

constantly vandalized. The streets are

are mindful of pedestrians and share the

unsafe for our children; not only from

road with them.

criminals but from vehicles that speed. We coop up our children, ferrying them about

Burglars and robbers are discouraged by

to school, to the mall and to visit friends.

strong

We grill up our windows and doors. The

strangers in their territory that politely asks

front entrance door has long been kept

strangers: “Can I help you”.

communities

that

permanently shut. We put up 6 foot high fences to secure our homes. The wealthy among

us

live

in

exclusive

gated

communities to insulate themselves from the

dangers

suffers

but

outside. that

Neighbourliness

is

a

secondary

consideration.

Safe Streets Fotress Home

3

recognize

Indeed, If all houses barricade themselves behind six feet high brick walls around them,

how

ugly

neighbourhood

and

becomes.

unfriendly These

the walls

inhibit social interaction and discourage the forming of a sense of community, but encourage vandalism, other forms of petty crime and paradoxically, can make the neighbourhood, outside of the six feet high walls, unsafe. The typical terrace house layout

does not

promote a sense of neighborhood. The occupants at one end of a street have his own idea of who his neighbours are. The occupant at the end of the same block has

Typical terrace house scheme

a different idea of who his neighbours are. There is no

sub-community below that

of being a resident of a particular housing estate.

A diffuse sense of neighbourhood. Mr. A’s neighbours are not the same as Mr. B’s.

4

But a housing estate or residential precinct

strengthens natural surveillance, helps the

contains too many houses, maybe 200

inhabitants know which people “belong”,

houses of more, for the ordinary resident to

and improves the possibility of making

relate to. Studies suggest that a small

group

housing group of 15 – 30 household groups

problems.

decisions

concerning

shared

work better encouraging social networking (3). The straight roads in the terrace house layout encourage high traffic speeds and make them unfriendly for pedestrians and unsuitable for children. Pedestrians interact with their neighbours much better than drivers in their cars. Children make friends with their neighbours much faster than their parents, and they are unparticular about the social, racial religion background of their friends. Friendship between children is an

Hierarchically organized housing with private, semi-private, semi-public and public areas, from Oscar Newman Defensible Space 1972

important component of the sense of community in any neighbourhood. The roads and public spaces in a terrace house neighbourhood become no man’s land. They are public areas for which no individual

household

or

resident

feels

obligated to help maintain or defend against vandalism. Everyone to his own castle.

Residents

complain

the

local

authorities neglect the maintenance of the padang lament

and the

playgrounds. residents

consciousness.

Oscar

lack

Authorities of

Norman

Defensible Neighbourhoods

civic in

/

“Defensible Space” 1972 introduced the idea of “hierarchically” organized housing with private, semi-private, semi public and public

areas.

The

clear

structure

5

In contrast, the terrace housing estate can be described as having a diffuse spatial structure. There is no sense of hierarchy. Play is an important arena of learning for children. Hence the provision of green areas suitable for children’s play is an important feature of any housing. Charles Mercer in his book (Living in Cities (4) cited studies by John and Elizabeth Newson (5)

Closely Supervised

to make a particular emphasis on the importance

of

providing

the

child,

especially at pre-school age, with the opportunity to play further and further away from the confines of the house and the close supervision of the parent. It is suggested that this opportunity is best presented in small discreet steps to allow the child to explore the world and become more independent at his own pace.

Letting go ………..

…….little by little

From Lat “Then and Now” 1993

6

Thus, a defect of row housing with unsafe

purpose: defense.

streets just outside the gate is that the preschool child’s development stops there.

This fortress at Palmanova, Italy was

When he is finally old enough to be allowed

actually built and is still standing today. It

to go outside on his own, he lacks the

served its purpose well.

intermediate steps available to children who

never breached: they were demolished

live in safe neighbourhoods with play areas

when they became obsolete. I believe that it

just outside the house. These studies note

is possible to design housing that helps to

how children who lack the social skills that

foster social life and a sense of community,

come from play that gradually become less

and the existence of a strong community

and

spirit reduces the incidence and source of

less

supervised

would

be

more

susceptible to peer pressure.

Its walls were

crime.

If badly designed housing is not conducive to the creation of good neighbourhoods, can good design foster it? Social and human factors play the major role in the creation of strong communities but can housing design too play a role?

Palmanova Plan

From Spiro Kostof “The City Shaped” 1991

This diagram shows the plan for a medieval fortress

by

military

engineers.

It

was

designed for an overwhelming functional

7

Palmanova Today

From Spiro Kostof “The City Shaped” 1991

We all want better houses and safe

Developers

neighbourhoods with plentiful and

brochures

well-

recognize

this

and

the

advertisements present their

kept green areas; children’s playgrounds

ideal vision, albeit with the disclaimer in

well

small print: “artist impression only”.

maintained

amenities,

wide

uncongested roads and plentiful green.

Artist Impression Only

From Gamudu Taman Botanic Advertisement 2003

8

They also know that the promise of security can be a major selling point. Therefore, we see the proliferation of gated or guarded housing schemes. However, these schemes are affordable only for the rich and will tend to segregate society in such a way as to perhaps fuel the source of crime. We believe that it is possible to design affordable houses for all that can better meet the social need for a sense of

Cluster House in rows

community, and by meeting that need, make our homes a safer place. The

more

innovative

developers

have

introduced to the market what they call cluster house. This is a block which contains four units of houses linked on one side and at the back. Unlike the terrace house which has the front garden and backyard, here we have the front garden and side yard.

Cluster House

From Bukit Mahkota Development 2002

4 units in one block Cluster House

9

Our honeycomb houses are similar but we

space designed to naturally reduce crime.

don’t lay them out in rows; we arrange

The short winding roads reduce traffic

them around a courtyard. In the illustration

speed so that urban areas become safe

we lay out 14 units all facing a central

and pleasant for children and pedestrians,

garden, like friends sitting together around

encouraging outdoor social interaction and

a table.

the development of a community. The green area is not a few streets away but

Communal space is created in the middle,

where it is most wanted - in front of each

surrounded by the houses. The road

house. The houses face towards each other

accesses the individual units internally and

but with a central garden in between. This

creates an extremely efficient circulation

design allows for privacy.

system. Through design we have created a spatial boundary, a central area that can become the communal focus, and a sense of entry into this place. The design is such that there is a clear, common perception of the neighbourhood.

Cul-de-sac neighbourhood Honeycomb housed arranged around a courtyard like friends around a table

The communal garden, easily accessible to all, acts as a social focus for a small, friendly neighbourhood and is a defensible

10

Designing bigger neighbourhoods When the community neighbourhood tile is

The result of joining many neighbourhood

repeated in a process called tessellation,

tiles on a real site is simple and efficient. It

the roads are linked to create larger

creates

neighbourhoods without loss of efficiency.

improved relationship between people to

Opportunities to link dwelling

people, people to cars, and people to their

multi-unit

units

into

blocks exist along the tile

more

environment.

boundaries.

11

livable

spaces

with

an

Cars versus pedestrians Planners have long realized the negative effect

of

fast

moving

traffic

to

neighbourhoods. Radburn in New Jersey, built over 70 years ago in the US, is the prototype for the separation of pedestrians from traffic. Delft in the Netherlands, built in the 1960’s, is one of the first examples where the roads are designed with trafficcalming features to slow down vehicles (3). In Honeycomb Housing the network of roads comprise looping cul-de-sacs and short

connecting

roads

leading

to

Terrace Houses

distributor roads. This road pattern slows down traffic naturally rendering it safe for pedestrians. The short connecting road with no access to houses provides space for visitors’ parking.

Honeycomb neighbourhood

12

Defensible Space

Creating Communities

The concept of Defensible Space with

The outdoor space between buildings is an

hierarchy of private space, semi-private

important arena for social interaction. Social

space and public space, first proposed 30

contact and spontaneous interaction are

years ago by Oscar Newman (1), is now

important building blocks towards creating

widely

be

a sense of community. The creation of a

allowed to exercise influence over the

safe, pleasant and shady area of suitable

environment just outside their homes:

size, just outside the home, is a basic

visitors should know when they are entering

feature of Honeycomb housing. The central

a

courtyard becomes the social focus of the

accepted.

semi-private

Residents

domain.

must

Environmental

design can assist in providing natural

neighbourhood.

surveillance of the external spaces. The

accessible to all to enjoy, the very young,

Honeycomb layout can be seen as a

the old and the disabled. Sociologists find

technique to design townships where every

that individuals relate better to small groups

house lies in a cul-de-sac which naturally

rather than large. In Honeycomb housing

produces defensible spaces. Furthermore it

the neighbourhood contains only 5 to 40

completely

from

units defined clearly by the single access

Malaysia

road and the communal courtyards. It is

originate, according to UiTM researchers

easier to recognize each other, to get

(8).

acquainted, to form informal social groups

where

35%

eliminates of

back-lanes

break-ins

in

In

this

location

and to initiate collective action.

Honeycomb Courtyard

13

it

is

Looking further at our example, the size of

the

the courtyard is 34m(112 ft) across, which

radically

Jan Gehl (3) thinks is of a scale suitable for

conventional terrace. We believe that one

human interaction. Within 30m the eye can

day honeycomb housing may be accepted

discern facial features of people we meet

as one of the patterns of choice for the town

infrequently and within 20 – 25m most

planning of residential areas.

distribution

of

different

green from

spaces that

of

are the

people can perceive relatively clearly the feeling and moods of others.

References 1.

Oscar Newman “Defensible Space” 1972

suitably recognized as a semi-public area.

2.

New Straits Times 23rd Sept 2004

Friends will be greeted, strangers queried.

3.

Jan Gehl “Life Between Buildings” 1971

4.

Charles Mercer “Living in Cities” 1975

5.

John and Elizabeth Newson “4 years old in the City” 1968

6.

Lat “Then and Now” 1991

7.

Spiro Kostof “The City Shaped” 1991

8.

M.Y. Abas and Sugianto “Break-ins Malaysia” 2004

The size of the courtyard then makes it

This will discourage petty criminals. Residents doing their normal routines in the front yard have ample opportunities for social interaction with their neighbours. The green area at the center of the courtyard is about 2000 square feet. It is large enough for a set of children’s playground equipment. The priority is to provide

play

facilities

for

the

smaller

children below ten who lack independent mobility. Older children can perhaps go to the central “padang” that caters for the housing estate or take advantage of the school sports facilities. Old people and the disabled in the courtyard neighbourhood who also lack mobility can also access the public green in front of their homes, and is thus not excluded from social life. We are now vigorously promoting this vision of a new form of housing in which the layout of houses, the system of roads and

14

Duplex

Detached

Triplex 15

Quadruplex

Sextuplex

16