ABSTRACT:
The street is one of the earliest components of the urban spaces known to man and the most prominent
“public open space” which plays an important role especially in Asian Cities, including Malaysia. It
determines the urban pattern of the cities by creating its ‘sense of place’. The street, apart from playing
the most important role as a channel for communication, also generates outdoor activities that are vital
for the visual introduction of the urban dwellers. Much can be learned about the culture of a society
from the way streets are used (Jacobs,1995) thus making conservation of ‘the life’ of traditional streets
an important endeavour in maintaining the sense of place of our cities. Sense of place is concerned with
the physical and cultural characteristics that evolve through time and evoking the ‘genius loci’ of each
town or city (Shuhana & A. Bashri, 2002).