Going Beyond the Conservation

‘Going Beyond the Conservation’ highlights the future conservation and regeneration efforts in Chinatown. It showcases initiatives to safeguard cultural heritage, restore historic buildings, and regenerate sustainable urban development that integrates the community for the next generation. The thought behind this was to create a place with new technology, art and tangible and intangible culture that incorporates the youth, older people, tourists, and traders under one roof and makes it a sustainable community.

As development is inevitable and cannot be stopped, diverging the direction to a good and progressive face is essential. Unfortunately, it was found that the development in Chinatown was going towards more gentrification and focusing on workerism rather than integrating the locals, youth, tourists, and shopkeepers. Insights were gained that different challenges are faced by other groups of people in the place and the surrounding. Therefore, it becomes more critical to developing and protecting strategies and revitalising the neighbourhood.

After interviewing different groups of people, three issues were concluded-

• Lack of Public and Cultural spaces

• Problems with Traffic and Parking

• Single Economic Mode

These issues were analysed, and new strategies with their design ideas were proposed. These ideas were given after analysing the current need of the people and how they will affect them in future. The presented strategies were focused on - Social conservation and regeneration, Outdoor spaces conservation and regeneration, and Ground floor conservation and regeneration.

A few strategies are as follows-

• Public spaces will be designed by creating a new square (the crossing of pagoda street and Trengganu Street) and creating barrier-free passages for social mixes.

• Traffic and parking can be reorganised to prioritise pedestrian safety, regulate traffic flow, accommodate commercial activities, and foster a walking culture. These initiatives will enhance the overall functionality and attractiveness of the area, ensuring a pleasant experience for residents and visitors alike.

• The single economic mode must be changed to ‘Mix economic mode’ by creating more green and open spaces for different activities on the ground floor, reducing the temporary shops outside the shophouse, and introducing new commercial activities

Another emphasis of the project is the promotion of sustainable development practices within Chinatown. It sheds light on initiatives to balance economic growth with heritage conservation and environmental sustainability. By advocating for responsible urban planning, the website inspires visitors to support initiatives that ensure a harmonious coexistence between tradition and progress.