DISPARATINGTHE MEANING OF PUBLIC PLACE OF A HISTORIC CITY

Nor Zalina Harun. Previous researches have made critical contributions to the understanding of the significance of place to people. This study aims to explore one spectrum of people’s place experience to reveal an understanding of place meaning as it is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon that comprises of people’s emotional relationships to place. Another concern of the study is to identify the importance of public space in historical cities. Firstly, the paper reviews the relevant literature on place and place meaning, while disparate and integrating concepts of it are encountered through semi-structured interviews with users of public space (n=40) in Melaka (a UNESCO world listed heritage city). The study folds the meaning of one long existed public space that had undergone a series of change, which is locally known as Dataran Pahlawan. Evolved from a seaside esplanade originally known as Padang Pahlawan, the space was gradually transformed in term of functions and physical appearance. The study provided evidence on people’s experience of the place. The changes and the loss of Padang Pahlawan as a memorable public place have not weakened the place identity of the city and its place meaning. To the residents, the Dataran Pahlawan and its surrounding still contributed a panoramic experience and urban enjoyment. There are indeed elements that are commonly recognized with pleasure and care by the users, in which the study shows that the physical changes in some way modified people’s will and awareness towards urban conservation. The study also corroborates additional benefits of Dataran Pahlawan, which are obtained through the very form and nature of the city. It is suggested that the area and it's surrounding convey various architectural meanings such as civic and ceremonial ground, a square, a district, a landmark and a node. It is a vision that results of mapping the meaning of the public space may determine its significance and values that contribute to the evocation of place identity in the Malaysian urban area.


Nor Zalina Harun.
Previous researches have made critical contributions to the understanding of the significance of place to people. This study aims to explore one spectrum of people's place experience to reveal an understanding of place meaning as it is a complex and multi-faceted phenomenon that comprises of people's emotional relationships to place. Another concern of the study is to identify the importance of public space in historical cities. Firstly, the paper reviews the relevant literature on place and place meaning, while disparate and integrating concepts of it are encountered through semi-structured interviews with users of public space (n=40) in Melaka (a UNESCO world listed heritage city). The study folds the meaning of one long existed public space that had undergone a series of change, which is locally known as Dataran Pahlawan. Evolved from a seaside esplanade originally known as Padang Pahlawan, the space was gradually transformed in term of functions and physical appearance. The study provided evidence on people's experience of the place. The changes and the loss of Padang Pahlawan as a memorable public place have not weakened the place identity of the city and its place meaning. To the residents, the Dataran Pahlawan and its surrounding still contributed a panoramic experience and urban enjoyment. There are indeed elements that are commonly recognized with pleasure and care by the users, in which the study shows that the physical changes in some way modified people's will and awareness towards urban conservation. The study also corroborates additional benefits of Dataran Pahlawan, which are obtained through the very form and nature of the city. It is suggested that the area and it's surrounding convey various architectural meanings such as civic and ceremonial ground, a square, a district, a landmark and a node. It is a vision that results of mapping the meaning of the public space may determine its significance and values that contribute to the evocation of place identity in the Malaysian urban area.

Introduction:-
Wide ranging changes and the decisive effect of large scale urban development which occurred during the decades of the 60s and 70s have resulted in an increased respect in regard to research relating to the individuality of places, their associated history, local pattern permanence and typology. Growing consciousness regarding globalization and its potential threats to identity at a local level and degree of regional diversity has also increased. Such consciousness has led to the implementation of a range of policies and agreements aimed at the preservation of historically important urban sites (Washington Charters;1991;Burra Charters, 1992) and an increasing number of research projects recognizing the scale of urban change and its long-term impact (Trancik, 1986;Steinberg, 1996;Newman and Kenworthy, 2000;ICOMOS, 2002ICOMOS, , 2007Ouf, 2008). Meanwhile, the fast pace of change applied to urban landscapes and the slow but sure disappearance of more and more open space within such urbanized landscapes has led to fresh and deeper understanding and an increase in related urban planning research (Freestone and Nichols, 2004;Warpole, 2007;Broussard et.al, 2008). The result of such research has been overwhelming  public interest and support for the preservation of many open space sites, as they become less common within  urbanized zones. In order for future preservation efforts to be successful and keep pace with the rate of urban  development, it is necessary to garner not only public support for such open space preservation projects, but also  count on the increased awareness and support on to what extend changes of new development on historical area  should be taking place and considered. The examination of public places and the interest it has generated, is not only limited to the above. Recently, the investigation and appraisal of places and their historic and cultural characteristics has been particularly keen interest. Scazzosi (2007) in particular identifies the importance of preservation with regard to social identity as being critical and essential in order to maintain and support its growth on both a local and national basis. As a result of such research, a focus has been developed on urban design studies becoming a leading vehicle for the development of places for people (Bentley et.al, 1985;Jacobs and Appleyard, 1987;Tibbalds, 1988;Gehl, 1996;Banerjee, 1998;Carmona et.al, 2003;Child, 2004;Carmona and Tiesdell, 2007). The aim of this particular research is to examine the importance of various factors related to place meaning, a fundamental element in the place-based studies. Place meaning is a product of a wide range of positive and negative personal emotions and experiences in relation to a place. This study emphasizes the necessity for an environment with greater democracy and enrichment. It suggests that all stakeholders in the field of urban development exhibit the modesty to use the lessons learned from the past in order to respect the context they are dealing with. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the key role of historic values in an urban environment by focusing on new meaning of a public space that undergone redevelopment process.

Literature Review:-
Concern over systematic depletion of public space in historic cities in Malaysia:-Malaysia has experienced the disappearance of many public spaces located in historic parts of its cities, as a result of increased demand for development and a lack of preservation focused on such urban heritage sites. This typically results in the knocking down and redevelopment of such historic sites. Initial studies carried out at ten public urbanbased historic sites located in Malaysia exposed the fact that constantly changes and the knocking down of sites occurred, which finally resulted in the disappearance of much of the historic character and unique qualities associated with them. As a result, this study will also investigate and evaluate how human behaviour is also affected by the physical surroundings and to propose that due consideration is given to historic places in general, not only buildings, in order to avoid the irreparable loss of such unique and special historical characteristics on a large scale over time.
In spite of increased awareness regarding the function of urban conservation and preservation, especially as a result of the emerging and popular 'cultural tourism' as identified by Idid (2002), the over enthusiastic attempts to encourage urban heritage have sadly been suppressed in favour of sensationally commercial sites which appeal to tourists. Existing legal and monitoring powers supposedly established in order to offer protection to such culturally historical places have been proven to be woefully inadequate and their implementation less than effective in various Malaysian cities (Foziah and Idid, 1993;A. Ghafar, 1998;Idid, 2004). Since 1976, when the Act on Antiquity was established, evidence shows that fewer than ten such historical areas have been announced according to the Museum andAntiquityDepartment (2014).It is clear, based on such evidence that priority is being given to commercial developers based on economic factors rather than prioritizing the preservation of important cultural and heritage sites (Steinberg, 1996;I did, 2002;Galway and McEldowney, 2006), which appears to be seen as something optional rather than essential in terms of urban development.
Such problems have been exacerbated by the failure to preserve and maintain many of the padang (an open playing field or an esplanade) which are often key places of cultural and historical importance in a lot of cities in Malaysia.
Such wide-open spaces located in the central zone of a city have become seen as extremely desirable for redevelopment focused on tourism and commercial purposes (Nor Zalina and Ismail, 2009). The local public spacealong with their physical characteristics and social significance are deeply rooted in the urban landscape and local society which surrounds them (Nor Zalina and Ismail, 2010). It is not only acts as a focus for recreation, but these expansive green areas typically located in the center of a city contribute to the overall ambience and the standard of living of many communities. They embody the characteristics and qualities which make an area appealing for people to live and work in, as well as visit.
Since the latter part of the 1990s, numbers of public space like padang in many cities across Malaysia has been victim to redevelopment in the name of cultural tourism. Various examples can be cited, among them the Padang Alor Setar in Alor Setar, Padang Merdeka in Kota Bharu and the Padang Maziah in Kuala Trengganu. This current focus on redeveloping and eliminating the padang in favour of more commercial endeavours is in stark contrast to their origins, many of these areas being established in the early part of the nineteenth century as a key element of royal town development. Then, they were considered a focal point and often accommodated administrative buildings and other public buildings on their outskirts. According to Nor Zalina and Ismail (2008); Nor Zalina et al., (2009), throughout the century they served as ceremonial areas and were utilized for military training. Later, following independence in 1957, they were often used by the public as places for recreation and leisure on the weekends.
The research aims to demonstrate that apart from resulting in a negative effect with regard to the identity of a particular place, the elimination and redevelopment of a public space in the historical town also have an impact on the local residents and their perceptions and feelings regarding it (Nursidah, 2007). In 2002, New Straits Times published an article entitled Leave the Ipoh Padang Alone, highlighting the plight of local Ipoh residents in the wake of proposed new developments and the effect it had had upon their feelings and daily living. A spokesperson for the local residents expressed their thanks for the presence of the local public space and referred to it as a place of local heritage and pride, expressing their strong opposition to any new proposed development of the site, preferring instead to preserve the site and the buildings located around it. In August of 2008, more evidence of such strong local feeling was apparent in an article published in the English section of Harakah entitled 'My heart cried at Bandar Hilir' in which the author expressed his profound grief over the loss of the Padang Pahlawan, a place which had played an important role during his childhood years and was also the site of the first proclamation of independence, truly a historically important place, which had been converted into a commercial area dedicated to entertainment and housing a new hypermarket. Such cases only serve to underline the impossibility of fully understanding the need for conservation and preservation for posterity, while still permitting new development, unless people's thoughts, feelings and experiences are taken into account as an integral part of the process of planning.
Place meaning:-Places play an important role in the lives of people and the impact of places for those people has been widely studied by environmental psychology experts. These studies have identified place-related meanings and the manner in which such meanings relate to a variety of different places. Within this context, 'meaning' is seen as the secondary aspect which follows people's emotional link to a certain physical place (Wright and Lyons, 1997; Casakin and Kreitler, 2008). Brown and Raymond (2007) referred to Williams and Patterson (1996) whose studies exposed that environmental problems occurring in a given location had a direct impact on the environmental meanings, including intrinsic (visual) meaning, influential (goal-oriented) meaning, cultural (emblematic) meaning and personal (communicative) meaning. Recently, Casakin and Kreitler (2008) recognized the dynamic nature of relationships between people and places, showing how place meaning can be developed through fundamental patterns of emotions, cognitive activities and subsequently 'meaning' in its own right, concluding that people relate various types and degrees of 'meaning' with a given place. Such meanings related to places might include danger, sacredness, peace, belonging, and harmony among them.
A comparable investigation dealing with the concept of 'the meaning of place' was carried out in New York (Manzo, 2005). In particular, the study examined the character of the emotional relationships between people and places, with the aim of understanding the different types of places which people consider as meaningful, the function such places have in people's lives, and the range of experiences which can affect the formation of such meaningful bonds for people.
The study highlighted a variety of methods which can be used to investigate both the variety of places which people come to develop emotional bonds with, and also the array of personal experiences which help form such meaningful bonds. The research clearly demonstrated the depth, variety and complexity of the emotional relationships people formed in relation to certain places, therefore suggesting place meaning is a product of a wide range of positive and negative personal emotions and experiences in relation to a place. In contrast to other research, which emphasises sentimental bonds of a positive nature only, this study also covers negative feelings and the absence of either positive or negative feelings, which people experience in relation to their environment (Table 1). It is apparent that people will avoid places which have a negative connotation for them, for whatever reason, and that people also prefer to avoid places in which they believe they cannot be themselves or feel comfortable. Overall, such studies frequently expose the importance of taking into account the extent of emotional and cognitive based connections displayed by people in relation to places, during any examination of related theories and concepts. Additionally, alternative interpretations of the terms place attachment, place meaning, place identity, etc.) will be examined with a view to creating new possible frames of reference. One-on-one interviews were selected as the most appropriate method to carry out this research based on the fact that research related to place meanings normally focuses on trying to understand the fundamental nature of places, as put forward by Relph (1976). According to Ryan (2009), this fundamental nature may be interpreted as the emotional characteristic or nature of place meaning, and such factors are best studied and analysed in the context of one-on-one interviews which enable a deeper understanding of the themes involved.
Interview:-Random one-to-one interviews were performed with a sample of forty participants aged between 20 and 84, and living within a range of 1km-40kms from Bandar Melaka.. Trost's (1986, 1993) recommendation regarding using a non representative sample was followed. The size of the research sample was deemed adequate based on previous research and the fact that qualitative and quantitative data are both used as a basis for the study, suggesting a sample of between twenty and forty subjects as being appropriate (Kumar, 1999;Nursidah, 2007). The primary objective of this study is to examine the data gathered through the interview process to establish factors and themes related to the understanding of place meaning upon new development of a public space. Analysis was based on the transcriptions of the audio recordings obtained during each interview, following a systematic process of manually organizing and classifying the data within the transcripts as well as additional information recorded in the field in note form, in a format which lends itself to interpretation and clear understanding of the results obtained from the interview process (Bogden and Biklen, 2003). Moreover, repeated study of the audio recordings of the interviews allowed further soft data based on participants' responses and manner to be extracted for analysis. Gustafson's (2001) framework for analysis was employed in the examination of the transcripts in relation to descriptions of expression, meaning, and the interpretation of meaning gathered.

Site selection criteria:-
This study selected one public space known as Dataran Pahlawan situated in Melaka the historic city. The city of Melaka is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2008) and is well known as being an integral part of the history and heritage of the area where they are located. Indeed, the city meets three of the possible six UNESCO criteria to be considered of Outstanding Universal Value: Dataran Pahlawan:-Originally referred to as Padang Bandar Hilir, based on the original name of the town where it was located (Bandar Hilir which subsequently became Bandar Melaka). Before its transformation into Dataran Pahlawan, it was a public space that was constructed on land which had been reclaimed from the Melaka Straits. The British used it for their military training in the period of their occupation, and it also served as an area for public recreation activities. The public spacewas the scene for various official functions and events during the period of British occupation, and various historically significant buildings were situated to its north. St. Paul Hill, located to the north of Padang Pahlawan was a key area at that time and had in fact been a significant and positive feature since the time of the Malay Sultanate. Apart from its somewhat complex colonial history, Padang Pahlawan is also considered an important place in terms of national cultural history and heritage due to the fact that it was the location of the declaration of independence by Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1956. It has remained as a public open space since that time, providing not only a base for local commerce, but also a site of historical interest and importance for local inhabitants. It is reported that people were frequently impressed by its openness and its lush green garden on arrival in Bandar Melaka due to its rather charming and old-fashioned aspect.  (Figure 6.2). The second change is considered as a significant detriment to the original layout and physical character of PP in which it has separated the padang with one of its significant property, the sea. The imposition of a new street system and the application of other innovation and modification to the urban structure and its architectural styles has further turned the historic area less authentic.
Finally, the major changes which have seen the replacement of PP with a modern square situated in gigantic commercial buildings commenced in 2004 has resulted to obliteration of the original place elevation. This further adds to the discontinuity of experiences and the disruption of the serene environment of PP as loss of open spaces in particular the original padang, cutting down trees, change of layout appeared to be the total demolition of PP. As a result, the new open space is far less visitors friendly and it is far more difficult to enjoy the aesthetic of the padang scene as most beautiful view were obtruded by the new levelling project which turned the padang situated on two storey higher from ground level. The change of PP into Dataran Pahlawan and the expansion of commercial activity, particularly into the old padang (PP) areas has adversely affected the original spatial arrangement of the padang with regard to accessibility and segregation of recreational and social uses. These changes nevertheless have suggested that the city and place where PP laid before have actually become more segregated and 'dysergy' an antonym to 'spatial synergy' where locality is no longer can be perceived and space segment no longer can be associated with the concept of imageability (Frick, 2007).
There have been further changes during the third wave of changes taken place in 2004 with commercial and development policies progressively gaining its peak, the fashion of development has started to spread farther with change of land uses and a new development resulting to the change of place character. From an open space located in an important historic district of Bandar Melaka, dominated by traditional, cultural, social and recreational activities, squashed in between naturalness and historic built properties, the new layout and appearance of PP today can be termed as another pseudo place (Sideris and Banerjee, 2007) produced by the modern and international commercial development. The design of modern building could not match the visual delight produced by the existing buildings. As a result, very little is left of padang's original morphological characteristics and building fabrics, though its surrounding architectural and several natural properties can still be discerned.

Findings and Discussions:-
The meaning and roles of DataranPahlawan:-The observation at the site revealed the function of Dataran Pahawan as a place for recreational interaction whereby crowds are found at every intersection engaged in various activities like relaxing, meeting friends and jogging. This is particularly due to its form, the openness and strategic location. In addition, supporting facilities such as public toilet, food stalls and ample seats in its surrounding area often fulfil the needs of users. Recreation and social events which are the predominant activities held in the city composed of multi ethnic residents are social interaction manifested from local influence. Evidently, it was from these activities distinctive public space was created. At the same time, the findings reveal that the public space roles and meanings are overlapped in which most often than not, it was perceived as a tourist attraction area, recreation and a landmark of the city. In addition, the study confirms three factors that affect the meaning of Dataran Pahlawan are the connection between sidewalks, the great influence of public transport as well as the level of comprehension and legible. The identification of these factors has further revealed roles played Dataran Pahlawan has made the city practically functional. The finding also reveals that changes and the loss of Padang Pahlawan as a memorable public place have not weakened the place identity of the city and its place meaning. To the residents, the Dataran Pahlawan and its surrounding still contributed a panoramic experience and urban enjoyment.

Dataran Pahlawan as a component of the physical-spatial organization of the city:-
The findings supported the study of Frick (2007) who found that particular importance of public space as a component of the physical-spatial organization of the city is due to its role in the relationship and communication between objects and places. The picture of emergence of good functional meaning of Dataran Pahlawan further supported Frick's finding in which, when the urban fabric has been adequately developed to the full; it connects every place with every other place and forms the definitive precondition for relation and communication.
A good environmental image presented throughout the interview to provide users an important sense of emotional security (Lynch, 1961) in which they can establish a harmonious relationship between himself and the outside world. This means that positive sense of place becomes stronger when the place is not only familiar but distinctive as well. Indeed, a distinctive and legible environment not only offers security, but also heightens the potential depth and intensity of human experience. These compositions have suggested the emergence of order as a prominent dimension in which all the composition reported is related to variables such as organization, coherence, congruity, legibility and clarity (Ulrich, 1983;Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989;Nassar, 1989a). In terms of urban design, being in a historic core zone, despite of its modern appearance, Dataran Pahlawan suggests a blending of defined open spaces with panoramas and of pleasant qualities to create a good urban form and enjoyable spatial variety in preserving the vitality of the city.

Transformation of form and functions:-
While still becoming one of the city's places of interest, it was found that the change of environment and physical characters was rated as a fairly important dimension with change of physical characters involving spatial and the loss of its original look received highest responses. At the same time, changes from Padang Pahlawan into a rooftop garden design were reported to be associated with low level of heritage preservation enforcement. This study proposes that these factors are linked fundamentally to the problems of knowledge, awareness, and appreciation on historical public place. The findings also indicated that many (n=32) responses concerned over the loss of greeneries and openly possessed by the old public space. The loss of many social cultural activities, levelling and staircase were seen as a nuisance. These findings therefore suggested that the social, cultural heritage became the central values for Bandar Melaka. Changes and several small developments in its surroundings have made them perceive the development as another major threat to the place.
The expansion and concentration of commercial development along the road that led to an increase in traffic flow has finally ended with heavy traffic congestion especially during weekend. The production of heavy traffic at the same time has led to the lowering of the environmental quality of the place and a decrease in its use for social activities. This environmental degradation was mainly created by noise and smokes from the mass vehicles. This problem undoubtedly has made the area less enjoyable and more hazardous as reported by many users. Even though the traditional traders have been relocated into the new buildings, apparently the place are ineffectively functioned as a thriving business area as there are frequent over spilling flood water at the basement area every time there was heavy rain. This mishap has further frustrated traditional traders and led to the perception that their long term business is at risk. The finding also found that the loud sound and large crowd during a concert on Dataran Pahlawan is often perceived as a risk to the traders and customers at the basement as they reported there is a strong vibration felt.
Public space as part of heritage and the need for its preservation:-There are indeed elements that are commonly recognized with pleasure and care by the users, in which the study shows that the physical changes in some way modified people's will and awareness towards urban conservation. The study also corroborates additional benefits of Dataran Pahlawan, which are obtained through the very form and nature of the city. It should be recognized that the traditional approach of conservation that concentrates on building and several natural features of a place will not safeguard the old district and secure the sense of place neither it can maintain the spatial synergy formed between spaces in Dataran Pahlawan. These piecemeal and selective approaches only succeed in preserving the individual monuments but are not able to protect the setting and the context in which these historical public places are located. The problem is further exacerbated by the presence of 'theme park' or 'circus' types of entertainment machineries and activities in the area like a water duck and electric viewing tower. Although the reason given for such entertainment was to draw more tourists to the place, the sense of 'historic' like traditional trishaw and bullock cart generated by the long existed of surrounding physical and natural properties are somehow sorely ignored by the relevant parties and authorities. The existence of the observation tower and gigantic merry go round machine in vicinity area are seen as another element which caused to the detriment of this historical place which act as another object of fascination in itself. In this case, it seems that for many people the purpose of travel is less to experience unique and authentic places than to travel for social ends (Relph, 1976). In short, this trend implies that the modern changes have dramatically decreased the distinctiveness and diversity of place and at the same time intensifies inauthenticity of place ( Figure 6.3).
Together with an increase in the city population, the commercial and production activities have also expanded. Many such commercial concerns have links with the main streets, generating often an almost continuous vehicles of visitors. As a result, streets in the new Dataran Pahlwan are overloaded with visitor's vehicles and vehicles carrying goods. Such scenes nevertheless have elevated the status of the place as the core for shopping place rather than a place where heritage of Melaka was assembled. Such inauthenticity has resulted into the disruption of urban character which made identity of Bandar Melaka as a historical city rather more obliterated. This study argues that such developments should be conceived through a proper appreciation of the special attributes and significant properties of PP. In addition, all new experiences offered through the commercialization and tourism development is expressed by Relph (1976) as casual, superficial and partial kind of place experience.

Conclusion:-
The study demonstrates on how discontinuity of physical character has not changed the roles of Dataran Pahlawan as an open space and recreational areas. People are able to conduct several types of recreational activitieswhich they used to conduct before like jogging and gathering with friends and family. The openness and greeneries are among the attributes made residents continue to cite Dataran Pahlawan as one of the city's landmarks. But deep in the hearts of the population, there was a stir of resentment. They deplored change Padang Pahlawan to Dataran Pahlawan. Apparently the change from a huge open field that has a strong continuity with almost of its physical and natural surroundings has increased their awareness and appreciation toward conservation. In order for future preservation efforts to be successful and keep pace with the rate of urban development, it is necessary to garner not only public support for such open space preservation projects, but also count on the increased awareness and support on to what extend changes of new development on historical area should be taking place and considered.