Flat layout and children outdoor activities
Abstract
In Malaysia’s urban peripheries, where residential development still has room to expand, walk up flats
have become a popular form of low cost housing because of their relatively low construction and
maintenance costs to match the required demand of the increasing urban poor. In this housing type,
standardization and spatial efficiency results in minimum dwelling space, causing life to spill to the
outdoors which then become vital social space for children. Appropriations of the space are an integral
part of children’s growing up and social experiences. The paper explores the differences in children
outdoor activities near the homes in relation to the different low cost flat layouts through a comparative
observational study. Different flat configurations were found to offer different spatial affordances for
children’s social experiences which could inform design decisions.