172 8.4 The outcomes of the comparative analysis: Public survey and user perspective The research phase helped us understand the importance of the presence and utilisation of public spaces towards the branding of a city and its popularity amongst the people. Our previous analyses demonstrated the presence and underutilisation of the said public spaces which is scarce. Since it was possible to visit our primary case, Dubai and observe the users presence, it was necessary for us to conduct an online survey to collect similar user data for our secondary cases, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. In October 2021 we created an online form and circulated it through social media, friends and acquaintances to about 40-45 responses for each of the three cities. The responses included city residents as well as frequent flyers. The online form was structured in a simple and easy to answer format with multiple choices for the subjects to choose from. The first couple of questions determined the age and the city experienced by the subject and they were redirected to relevant questions about the selected city. The next part consisted of three sections, the first part focused questions on the public spaces mentioned in this research and their popularity among our subjects. The second part focused on the accessibility to these spaces and the mode of transportation used. The final part consisted of space for suggestions and improvements the subjects would like to see in the near future. This research was conducted to verify and analyse if the public had similar opinions as us. We found them to run almost parallel with our thoughts as an urban designer and planner. For example, the mode of transportation most utilised by our subjects in Dubai was private vehicles whereas in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur it was distinctly public transportation and slow mobility which was almost absent in Dubai.
*Find graphical representation of the results from the survey in annex
