No Boundaries Make No Sense In Malaysia

Local architects in Malaysia have proposed the "no fence" concept for the new housing suburbs of Putrajaya, but many of the residents in the city feel that this idea will never work and have sought to actively oppose these plans.

This concept for not incorporating fences to separate residents' properties was originally intended to "foster a friendly neighbourhood spirit and encourage interracial socialising." This is not shared by everyone else who seem to feel that this is being done simply to emulate modern Western housing areas as well as the traditional Malay kampung where there was nary a fence in sight.

Still, there are a few key issues that are being overlooked here by these planners and architects that should underscore just why this will not work. Firstly, the traditional kampung were built at times when accessible roads where not strewn with fast moving vehicles. Indeed, roads that passed by homes where nothing more than paths for animal drawn vehicles. So there was not the concern of children playing in the street and getting run over by cars.

Also, in the days of the old kampung, most of the residents did not own dogs. This ensured that there was never a situation where children were bitten by a neighbor's dog or where one had to complain about some one's dog pooping in their yard. But most importantly, the culture in this part of the world is a very private one. People tend to like to have their own space.

I have been trying to find out specifically who these architects are because I can't understand why all these things did not occur to them before they decided to make such ludicrous concepts public. Are they even Malaysian? Architects should be sure to design for the people and take into consideration, how the intended users will interact with the design and each other. If they want to foster social interaction, then they should try to incorporate a community center or some kind of communal park where residents can go and spend time with their children and neighbors.



Image obtained from: www.thestar.com