SOCIO-SPATIAL INTEGRATION OF LANDSCAPE BACK LANE OF HOUSING AT BANDAR BARU NILAI: PRIVACY AND COMMUNITY

Abstract

Urban informal spaces in the form of back lane tend to promote socio-spatial integration between neighbourhood communities. The Back Lane Planning Design Guidelines issued in 2014 by Town and Country Planning Department of Malaysia identified back lane as such a place to encourage communal lifestyle whereas an area of owns residents privacy. In reality, back lane portrays as the wasted unfavourable paths thus several social concerns of safety, security, health issues as well as invading privacy and sense of deficiency community bonding issues arise. This study quantitatively analyses dwellers perception focusing to level of visual privacy and level of spiritual neighbourhood interaction towards effectiveness of newly landscape back lane (LBL) in contemporary urban dwellings. Comparison of socio-spatial integration between two types of back lane design in grid-linear housing scheme ; the pleasing greenery landscape back lane (LBL) and the plain empty bare paved back lane (PBL) in residential area of Kota Seriemas, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan . Structured questionnaire distributed to 115 respondents to assess on privacy and comfort level, neighbourhood activities and communal lifestyle, back -lane usage, resident’s perception and expectation.The study proved the landscape design back lane (LBL) is ensuring own right privacy lacking in promoting community interaction among the residents due to contemporary urban lifestyles.

Keywords

• Social-Spatial integration
• Back lane design
• Urban planning
• Privacy
• Community
• Housing