Demystifying the Roles of Streets towards Improving Urban Quality of Life

Abstract

This conceptual paper aims to demystify how the quality of streets could facilitate the street culture and shaping greater urban qualities. Numerous scholars believed that certain streets had contributed an utmost factor in shaping man's civilisation. The development of modern cities has contributed to a great loss of streets significance as spaces for socialising and dwelling in the local peoples' needs. The outcome of this paper is hoping to guide the practitioners, policy makers and urban designers to incorporate the inclusive street design towards providing a better quality of urban life. IntroductionCities are a huge deal, they have become the residence for many and offer necessities to most world's population for ages. For that reason, city's design should be well thought in order to make them right. As traditional cities getting older, population getting rapidly immense, industrial and economic progression become the main focus for most Nation. More modern cities we built to accommodate these internal and external forces, which result in the loss of city's characteristic, lack of street vitality, poor social cohesion and finally leads to the decline in urban quality of life."Think of a city and what comes to mind? It is the street. If a city's streets look interesting the city looks interesting; if they look dull, the city looks dull" (Jacobs, 1961). What makes a great street? Is it possible to achieve great street? Hence, this paper intends to explore the characteristics and quality of urban streets that accommodate the street culture and shape the urban quality of life for its inhabitant. Related literature review will facilitate to a thorough content analysis in order to derive the significance and impact of urban street design on the physical, social and environmental aspect of the city's growth. MethodologyThe purpose of this paper is to explore the roles, characteristics and quality of streets in an urban environment to respond to local street culture and shaping greater urban qualities of life for city dwellers. This study reviewed several study and literature that has explored the past and current Quality of Life Policies of Malaysia in order to understand their relative impacts to urban streetscape. Furthermore, the implications of street's configuration and characteristic towards the people and its environment were explored through a conceptual review of several related literature and articles. A thorough content analysis was conducted to derive the significance and impact of urban street design on the physical, social and environmental aspect of the city's growth. The study also discussed the key elements of tangible and intangible urban street design, its configuration and unique characteristics that shall be the primary considerations when planning a city; where it could affect human experience and appreciation towards city's liveability.

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