Designer's job is no longer to produce unalterable solutions; the fact that there is a need to consult the end users in the design process has been discussed in various literatures. Previous works on public participation have given the depiction of very low public participation. This study is about establishing the obstacles of public participation in the design process of public parks as perceived by landscape architects. Six main factors that are detrimental to public participation were extracted and assessed by representatives from landscape consulting. Data was descriptively analyzed and the results have shed some light regarding the main obstacles.

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The development of the urban highway in and around the city has created vast quantities of left over spaces that seldom integrated into formal planning and design. Vague on purpose, the interstitial spaces formed from these concrete “rivers” are referred as lost spaces. This paper aims to explore the urban interstices and investigate its possible usage. Site observation and photographic recordings of a case study were employed. The site characteristics were recorded in which findings suggested that the interstitial spaces have the potential to be planned and designed to cater adjacent community needs and usage.Keywords: Elevated Highways; Interstitial Spaces; Lost Spaces; Possible Usage eISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v3i13.161

Traditional planning practices, wherein attention is directed at the provision of single functions or zoning, have led to the emergence of lost spaces in cities like Kuala Lumpur. Elevated highways are a prominent contributor to the formation of these lost spaces and are seen as a hurdle in achieving a sustainable compact city. Studies suggest that green infrastructure (GI) planning, which aims to promote multifunctionality in spatial planning, is a suitable approach to address this dilemma. To identify the benefits of the GI approach in mitigating lost spaces underneath elevated highways in Kuala Lumpur City, this study utilized two methods: site observation and expert interviews. The results suggest that GI planning can achieve benefits ranging from economic aspects, such as increasing property value, to social aspects, such as promoting a healthier urban lifestyle. However, such benefits may vary as these spaces have different typologies in terms of accessibility, size, location, and surrounding context. Nonetheless, the GI approach can be seen as the key to achieving a sustainable compact city, since it supports the ability of urban spaces to provide multiple benefits concurrently. Thus, the identification of its benefits could lead to the more sustainable planning, design, and management of lost spaces.

Kuala Lumpur has seen rapid development of mass amount of highway infrastructure. Although elevated urban highways in Greater Kuala Lumpur may have relieved the intercity and interstate traffic, the presence of this urban infrastructural landscape promotes the creation of lost spaces. The construction of the highways, primarily the elevated ones, often create spaces underneath the structure that are often neglected in mainstream planning and design. This paper aims at investigating typologies of interstitial spaces and its characteristics beneath elevated highway based on available literature as well as to explore the possibilities of usage for spaces below the elevated highway. This research employs qualitative method that involves primary and secondary data collection. The primary data were gathered through site observational study at two major elevated highways in the Greater Kuala Lumpur area -DUKE 1 Highway and AKLEH Highway. A review and content analysis of documents related to urbanization and planning transportation provide secondary data. Findings from this study suggest that [1] although the highways enhance connectivity and ease traffic movement, it also leads to abundance of wasted land and spaces [2] animproved understanding of the typologies and characteristics of these interstitial spaces shall aid in the improvement of their future usage.