Norsidah Ujang

UPM - Universiti Putra Malaysia, Landscape Architecture, Faculty Member

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Dr. Norsidah Ujang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at Universiti Putra Malaysia. Her research focuses on place identity, place attachment and livability, urban regeneration, urban image-ability and sustainable pedestrian environments. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Miami, a Master in Urban Design from Oxford Brookes University and a PhD in Planning and Urban Design Studies from Universiti Putra Malaysia. She serves as a Board Member for the Association of Malaysian Environment-Behavior Researchers and as Group Leader of the Urban Design Research Group in Design and Architecture at UPM. She was engaged as a Visiting Scholar at MIT (Department of Urban Studies and Planning) under the MIT-UTM Malaysia Sustainable Cities Program cohort 2015-2016.
Supervisors: Professor Larry Susskind, Department of Urban Studies and Planning , MIT and Professor Hamdan Ahmad, ISI UTM Malaysia

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Foroogh Ali

UPM - Universiti Putra Malaysia

foroogh alikomak

anju ahirwal

Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi

sara biscaya

University of Salford

Edwin H W Chan

Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Malik Asghar

MAREK KOZLOWSKI / FRSB

University Putra Malaysia, UPM

Abimbola Omolabi

Errol Haarhoff

Muhammad Hafiz Zainal

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Papers by Norsidah Ujang

.Ali Komak et al

by Foroogh Ali and Norsidah Ujang

The impact of public infrastructure on neighbourhood liveability: A study of residents’ perceptions and satisfaction, 2024

Urban areas face obstacles hindering services and sustainable development, reducing neig... more Urban areas face obstacles hindering services and sustainable development, reducing neighbourhood contentment, and resulting in a lack of dynamism and efficiency. This paper discusses the potential impact of “neighbourhood quality design in terms of public infrastructure provision” on residents’ satisfaction and neighbourhood liveability in Cyberjaya, the smart city of Malaysia. This study aims to investigate the relationship between neighbourhood liveability, public infrastructure provision, and residents’ satisfaction. Data was collected through a public survey and reviewing government reports, and the latest blueprint (Sustainable Smart City Action Plan)of Cyberjaya. The findings shed light on the importance of quality neighbourhood characteristics and its public infrastructure availability in enhancing liveability and resident satisfaction with the neighbourhood as their living area. The findings suggest that despite the availability of basic amenities, residents may experience lower levels of satisfaction and emotional response due to a lack of variations in social infrastructure that foster a sense of community and liveability.

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Understanding Travel Behavior and Sustainability of Current Transportation System for Older Adults in Malaysia: A Scoping Review

The rapid development of transportation infrastructure in Malaysia had changed the mobility lands... more The rapid development of transportation infrastructure in Malaysia had changed the mobility landscape of the country. While it would be a welcome advancement for many, older adults might find it difficult to keep up with their transportation uses and remain active. This study reviewed published articles on the travel behavior of older adults and its associated transportation determinants to explore how sustainable the transportation system is for this vulnerable cohort. Four databases were searched: PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and EBSCOhost. Inclusion criteria were older respondents, living in a community in Malaysia, addressing any travel behavior characteristics and written in English language. Review paper, letters, book citations, comments, editorials, and experimental and animal studies were excluded from this study. All in all, this review included seven studies extending from the year 2007 to 2020. The result showed that transportation use of older adults had shifted from relyi...

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Exploring the sense of place of traditional shopping streets through Instagram’s visual images and narratives

Open House International

Purpose This study aims to capture a sense of place by analysing the physical attributes of the t... more Purpose This study aims to capture a sense of place by analysing the physical attributes of the traditional shopping streets located in Indonesia and Malaysia through Instagram posts.Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a direct content analysis using visual images of 400 posts of Indonesian and Malaysian respondents. The Instagram Application Programming Interface (API) was used to extract data from Instagram posts. It is then followed by the quantitative analysis to determine the frequencies of visual and narrative representations of physical attributes defining the sense of place.Findings Five visual and narrative categories, namely architectural style, store design, special focal points, and the varieties of products and services that represent the physical attributes of shopping streets, were investigated. The findings would benefit the urban preservation initiatives so that the sense of place as authentic tourism destinations can be secured.Social implications The aw...

Influence of Interpersonal Barrier and Fear of Crime on Walking Behavior

Walking is a popular form of leisure activity and a convenient option to prevent diseases through... more Walking is a popular form of leisure activity and a convenient option to prevent diseases through a personal control of physical activities. However, little is discussed on walking pattern and its association with social, personal, and physical factors in less developed nations as compared to the developed ones. Previous studies have identified that the most basic factor that influences the individual behavior has been found to occur at the intrapersonal level. In practice the intrapersonal factors influence the people’s behaviors and attributes of their surroundings; while the fear of crime was found to have the most association with walking behavior. On the other hand, the findings for decision and frequency of walking are still ambiguous. This paper elaborates on the influence of the fear of crime and interpersonal factor on the residents’ decisions and regularity of walking leisurely around the neighborhood. A questionnaire survey was used to collect the data. The questionnaire ...

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Legibility of Safaieh neighborhood in the city of Yazd, Iran

Cities are developed to support human activities and well-being. Facilitating human activities de... more Cities are developed to support human activities and well-being. Facilitating human activities depends on the structures and characteristics of the physical elements of cities. In Iranian cities, it is observed that in new urban areas such as Safaieh neighborhood, most residents are facing challenges to find their way around. This is because the physical elements are unable to conjugate the psychological aspects to enhance legibility of the environment. In this respect, scholars and researchers of environmental design and environmental psychology fields argued that there is a strong relationship between arrangement of the physical elements and legibility of the city. To enhance legibility of Safaieh neighborhood, this study aims to identify physical elements and psychological aspects of the urban environment to enrich people’s wayfinding and orientation. The elements can be classified into landmarks, paths, nodes, edges and districts. The study examines the effects of such physical ...

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Engaging in social interaction: relationships between the accessibility of path structure and intensity of passive social interaction in urban parks

by FAEZEH MOHAMMADI and Norsidah Ujang

Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 2021

Purpose-Functioning as space connectors, path structures in urban parks may rarely present social... more Purpose-Functioning as space connectors, path structures in urban parks may rarely present social interaction opportunities, although centralized activity spaces are available. This paper investigated the interrelationships between the visual and physical accessibility attributes of path structure and their impacts on passive social interaction intensity across urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. Design/methodology/approach-The concept of social interaction has been studied elsewhere in social cohesion, social affiliation and sense of communication. Still, it has not been studied in the context of urban park design. This study employed mixed methods using an adaptive and unique combination of qualitative and quantitative data collections to analyze urban parks with a bit of visual vegetation barrier. The experiential landscape method was applied to determine visual accessibility by interpreting experiential landscape maps. The space syntax method based on quantitative analysis is considered to measure physical accessibilities and vigorous activities along the designated paths by conducting integration analysis and gate observation. The data were crossed-analyzed using a Geographic Information System (GIS) classification technique, correlation analysis and Microsoft combo-charts to generate the relationship between patterns of activities and their accessibilities. Findings-The results suggested that designated paths with higher accessibility attributes, impressively more elevated than other tracks, could influence the intensity of passive social interactions. The findings supported the understanding that activity nodes and active areas adjoining designated routes could make accessibility attribute areas more critical. These findings verify that visually enriching the spaces along the path structure toward activities is a pivotal contributor to urban planners and designers to enhance the paths' local integration (LI) and visual accessibility to predict more passive eye contact among park visitors. Research limitations/implications-The proposed interrelationship among variables in this study has limitations because of not considering other qualitative methods and techniques like cognitive maps and interview simultaneously. These techniques could discover why some paths generate more passive eye contact among park users (Mohammadi Tahroodi, 2018). Practical implications-Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 emphasizes Kuala Lumpur's unique image as a tropical garden city via preserving and developing the iconic historical urban parks in the city center (CHKL, 2004, pp. 3-3). The latest Draft Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040 has outlined the strategy to achieve a conducive, good-quality neighborhood that encourages social interaction. The findings could assist urban planners and designers better public parks by considering accessibility and permeability aspects of design. This research endorses the appropriateness of interrelationship between accessibility attributes of path structure and social interaction in urban design research, which local urban designers have not fully considered until now. Evaluating the visual convenience of designated paths and assessing LI of the axial lines constructing each designated route of urban parks during the primary stage could enable urban designers to estimate to what extent the paths are accessible and respond to passive social interaction. Then they could enrich with salient landmarks, views and activity nodes to make them attractive. The considerable number of designated paths connections, specifically while they shape the sides of activity nodes, could increase the connectivity and integration of spaces within the parks. These patterns of positioning the activity nodes make the designated routes more legible and provide ease of movement. As a result, it will give urban park users more information about the activities. Allowing people to use the paths will increase people's presence and, subsequently, passive social interaction. One way is to locate accessible lands that provide social activities at direct visual access paths within urban parks for legibility. Social implications-The socially responsive urban design enhances the quality of life and provides life satisfaction, happiness and society's overall health. Being in urban social parks in any passive and active

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Adaptation of Social Attributes of Place in Creative Placemaking towards Social Sustainability

Asian Journal of Quality of Life, Apr 10, 2020

Creative placemaking emerges as an evolving field of practice that leverages the power of arts, c... more Creative placemaking emerges as an evolving field of practice that leverages the power of arts, culture, and creativity to serve the community's interests. Scholars have conveyed the values and benefits of creative placemaking in dealing with social issues and formulating agenda for urban transformation. An extensive review of the literature was conducted to understand the significance of social attributes of place in supporting creative placemaking strategies. A systematic search process yielded 14 articles from 121 documents that have been analyzed systematically. The review found that the social attributes of place generate social opportunities and community-led creative placemaking as catalysts for sustainable urban regeneration.

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Insight into the issue of underutilised parks: what triggers the process of place attachment

International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 2012

Public spaces that include neighbourhood parks have a significant function in supporting and enha... more Public spaces that include neighbourhood parks have a significant function in supporting and enhancing social life. These public spaces facilitate the interaction between people and their environment, thus improving social connectedness and promoting residents’ well-being. However, there were raising concerns on the under-utilisation of parks over the years where it has become a crucial part of the global urban agenda. To this end, comprehending place attachment is crucial to enhance the meaning, functions, and attraction of places. This qualitative study attempts to provide thorough contextual insights on the attachment process from park users’ perspective. A sample of twenty-eight park users was selected purposively within the neighbourhood of Precinct 9, Putrajaya, Malaysia. In-depth semi-structured interviews were performed face to face and later transcribed verbatim, then analysed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. Two themes and five sub-themes emerged ...

Place Attachment and Future Regeration of Tourist Attraction Areas in Kuala Lumpur City Centre

Asian Journal of Environment-Behaviour Studies

This paper discusses visitors' attachment to historic tourism places in Kuala Lumpur city in ... more This paper discusses visitors' attachment to historic tourism places in Kuala Lumpur city in the context of urban regeneration. The study found that despite having a short duration of visits, the visitors' functional and emotional attachment to attractions was fairly strong. Future place regeneration has been linked to the physical improvement and preservation of historic places. The visitors have identified strongly with the cultural image and the need to experience the places with comfort. Sustainable urban regeneration requires an understanding of place attachment reflected in the relationship between people and the destinations that goes beyond the attractive image of tourism places. Keywords: urban regeneration; urban tourism; place attachment eISSN 2514-751X © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER, ABRA & cE-Bs by E-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)....

Place Attachment and Future Regeration of Tourist Attraction Areas in Kuala Lumpur City Centre

by Amine Moulay and Norsidah Ujang

Asian Journal of Environment-Behaviour Studies

Geometri dan peranannya dalam reka bentuk bandar Islamik

Malaysian Journal of Society and Space

Investigating the use and constraints associated with green outdoor environment at workplaces: What do the office employees in Kuala Lumpur say?

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

Interrelation Between Legibility Attributes and Park Utilization as Determinants for Responsive Neighborhood Parks

International Journal of Architectural Research: ArchNet-IJAR

The rising need for social interaction is evident particularly in urban areas due to a stressful ... more The rising need for social interaction is evident particularly in urban areas due to a stressful urban life and social isolation. In residential areas, neighborhood parks have an important function in supporting social integration and social bonding. Nevertheless, studies have indicated that these parks are not fully utilized for the benefits of residents which could be due to the lack of parks’ legibility. This paper investigates the interrelationship between park utilization and legibility of three neighborhood parks within new residential developments in Malaysia. The research findings are based on field observations and a questionnaire survey conducted with 387 residents of the areas. Results indicate a significant correlation between park utilization and park legibility, implying the potential for social interactions among residents within a legible park setting. The level of the park visual obstruction and the clarity of its structure were found to be strongly linked with park...

Influence of Demographic Factors on the Preference of Future Kuala Lumpur Riverfront

International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP)

Place Attachment as Indicator for Place Significance and Value

Asian Journal of Behavioural Studies

Place attachment is a form of connection between a person and the environmental setting. In the p... more Place attachment is a form of connection between a person and the environmental setting. In the production of urban places, planners and designers mainly focus on the quality of the physical components. However, the aspects of meanings and attachment are not adequately considered in the planning and decision-making process. This study utilizes semi-structured interview method to examine place attachment dimensions in understanding the values of a place in the life of the users. Sample cases include examining attachment to streets in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was evident that users’ roles and ethnic backgrounds influenced their responses. Attachment to the places was economically, socially and culturally oriented and prevalent in their daily experience of the places, and the place memories recalled. Keywords: Place attachment; meaning; value; userseISSN 2398-4295 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This...

Park Characteristics in Relation to Exercise and Recreational Walking

Environmental Justice

Application of Complex Networks Theory in Urban Traffic Network Researches

Networks and Spatial Economics

Visitors’ Attachment to Historic Tourism Places in Kuala Lumpur City Centre towards Sustainable Urban Regeneration

Environment-Behaviour Proceedings Journal

This paper discusses visitors' attachment to historic tourism places in the city of Kuala Lum... more This paper discusses visitors' attachment to historic tourism places in the city of Kuala Lumpur in the context of urban regeneration. The study found that despite having a short duration of visits, the visitors' functional and emotional attachment to attractions was fairly strong. Future regeneration of the places has been linked to improvement of the physical setting and preservation of historic places. The visitors identified strongly with the cultural image and the need to experience the places with comfort. Sustainable urban regeneration within the tourism context demands a good understanding of place attachment reflected in the relationship between people and the destinations that go beyond the attractive image of tourism places.

Measures in curbing poor compliance to building control regulation among renovated terrace houses

International Journal of Law in the Built Environment

Heuristic urban transportation network design method, a multilayer coevolution approach

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2017

.Ali Komak et al

by Foroogh Ali and Norsidah Ujang

The impact of public infrastructure on neighbourhood liveability: A study of residents’ perceptions and satisfaction, 2024

Download

Understanding Travel Behavior and Sustainability of Current Transportation System for Older Adults in Malaysia: A Scoping Review

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Exploring the sense of place of traditional shopping streets through Instagram’s visual images and narratives

Open House International