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To manage heritage cities for locals' needs, a contextualized indicator to measure the sustainability of urban heritage is needed because it is often neglected. This study aims to identify the stakeholders’ perceptions on sustainability indicators of urban heritage sites in Kuala Lumpur and George Town, Malaysia.

This study applied a qualitative method by interviewing stakeholders (governmental, experts and communities) who are involved in urban heritage sites. A thematic analysis is used to group the data patterns into themes.

The existing site management and attention to heritage conservation are varied for both sites. The discussions of the stakeholders on the practicality of indicators, challenges in using indicators and suggestions to improve indicators monitoring provided a richness of concerns for monitoring the sustainability of urban heritage sites in the future. Thus, it is concluded that indicators cannot be generalized and require adaptation to diverse cultural contexts.

Perceptions from local stakeholders can raise concerns when developing indicators in the future. However, this study is only related to two locations with a limited sample size. Deeper conversations or surveys are necessary to identify the criteria for sustaining heritage sites.

This paper reveals the importance of communities’ inclusiveness and their voices for a good urban heritage management policy. Subsequently, it supports the fulfillment towards Sustainable Development Goal 11.4 that highlights the protection of cultural and natural heritage.

Five-footways are an important feature in historical urban centres of tropical South East Asian cities. These colonnades along the rows of commercial shop houses provide comfortable pedestrian walkways. In spite of the decline of the liveability in many historical urban centres, the “kaki-lima” or five-footways in Klang Valley Malaysia are bustling and alive. Many studies have been done on kaki-lima, however it focuses mostly on historical and cultural context. There is lack of understanding on how the physical attributes of kaki-lima facilitate the liveliness of urban life. The paper aims to investigate the five-footway as the generator of public realm and to analyse the physical attributes of the five-footways that contribute to the “stickiness” of the public space.

The study utilized behaviour mapping to identify the sticky activity, then subsequently used Roger Barker's theory of Behaviour Settings to observe different stationary activities along the five-footways of the historical centres of Kuala Lumpur and Klang.

The findings show that all the identified behaviour settings along the five-footways are strongly characterised by tropical climate and local diverse culture. Additionally, the small architectural detail provides an important physical setting for informal activities to take a place in the five-footways.

The study is limited only to two urban heritage districts in Malaysia, namely Kuala Lumpur and Klang.

The findings have the implication for the public space policy of the local municipalities, specifically for urban design policy of the five-footways. Firstly, the inclusion of five-footways should be encouraged in any new shophouse development and secondly, the policy maker should consider to retain certain physical features of the five-footways that support not only the informal economy activities but also the creation of third places in the neighbourhoods.

This study will contribute to the discourse of urbanism, especially in understanding the public realm in South East Asian cities. Additionally, the outcomes will assist the local municipality in developing urban design policy of the five-footways.

The revitalisation of tangible and intangible urban heritage can foster social cohesion and drive creativity and innovation in a changing global environment. Recognising its potential for economic development, many local municipalities are putting forward efforts to revitalise these areas. However, this has caused these sites to face new pressures, such as gentrification, demographic shifts and commercial exploitation. Therefore, a sustainable redevelopment of urban heritage sites that strikes a balance between the economic, environmental and social dimensions is needed. To plan and manage this balance, a strong and clear indicator to measure the sustainability of urban heritage is required. The study systematically reviewed through Scopus indexed journals the dimensions to develop sustainable indicators of urban heritage sites and highlighted the gaps for future research. It identified the existing studies and explored publications, research methods, challenges and suggestions to develop the indicators.

The study applied Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 Statement. The Boolean search was in Scopus indexed journals for papers related to indicators in sustainable urban heritage sites.

Most of the literature highlighted the interconnected relationships between the indicators for the sustainability of urban heritage sites: social, economic and environmental dimensions. It further revealed that for a more robust management of sustainable monitoring tools, it is crucial to include governance dimensions. Plus, technology is the intertwined aspect for the four dimensions, with culture identified as the centre for sustainability of urban heritage sites.

The paper only focused on secondary data using literature review papers that recommend gaps for future research. Possible future research includes alternative, niche literature reviews and the implementation of indicators in regional urban heritage sites.

It created a new insight into the dimensions recommended to develop sustainable indicators for urban heritage sites.

There is an urgent need to develop a systematic tool for urban design in the cities of the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) proposes ideas to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. This paper approaches this goal through land use, integrated into an effective connectivity network. It offers a scientific and systematic approach. The research employs Space Syntax of the University College London as a tool for urban analysis and the principles of Sustainable Street Networks developed by the Congress of New Urbanism to respond to connectivity issues.

The paper employs empirical research through case studies. A systematic literature review is conducted on the diversified applications of the Space Syntax correlations, which steered the fundamental analysis of the elements of deconstruction to structure and land use. Space Syntax and Sustainable Street Network characteristics were the essential research methods. It is important to note that these data a new finding on the Syntactic Maps of the two case study cities.

The paper summarises a set of results on (1) international comparison of spatial intelligence, (2) patterns from the Eastern cases and (3) theoretical guidelines for spatial intelligence through the Syntax by offering key characteristics of the New Urbanism principles, which could be considered, while revitalising the cities in the Klang Valley, Malaysia.

The findings are specific and applicable to the oriental contexts. However, such results have been further compared to the Western context.

The study develops a toolkit for urban planners and designers and architects in Klang Valley, Malaysia.

The research has focused and will add value for SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Theoretically, the paper offers insights to urban design readers.

It is important to note that the data itself is a new finding on Syntactic Maps of the two case study cities. The investigated setting is unique, and the first attempt in generating a Space Syntax map to the cities of Klang Valley, and the findings, therefore, offer a new set of knowledge-base to the city planners, urban designers, researchers and architects.

Existing tourism studies focusing on Southeast Asia often emphasize the culture, history and heritage of the region or its natural beauty and cuisine, most of which are often viewed as exotic through a Western lens. By contrast, this interdisciplinary study looks at the untapped potential for modern architectural tourism in Singapore as a fascinating and increasingly authentic way of understanding how the next generation of Singaporean residents will live in their land-scarce city-state. This study aims to highlight the importance of modern architecture as a tourism product in a globalized Asian city.

It engages with visiting architects and their local facilitator to examine the touristic potential energy of cutting-edge residential buildings in Singapore from an intra-Asian viewpoint. By also identifying practical design solutions to promote modern architectural tourism that will have a positive impact on city branding, this study opens the door for future research regarding Southeast Asia’s rapidly changing modern architecture and urban landscape, and how these can be made attractive for its important tourism industry.

The findings suggest that just as Singapore’s cultural diversity has long been viewed as a touristic asset, its authentic, escapist, exotic and spectacular contemporary residential architecture, if well managed, presented and designed, can provide a unique place for sustainable community interactions between locals and visitors, which will help Singapore develop a unique city brand attractive to architectural tourists and even repeat visitors, through a new concept for authenticity in a global city.

This cross-disciplinary study linking tourism and architecture explores modern architectural tourism in Singapore, specifically in relation to residential buildings where locals and visitors can interact.

Aligned with the United Nations 2030 agenda of leaving no one behind, a project called The Nest was initiated to create an in-house intentional learning space at two public housings in Klang Valley. In a small unit of public housing, most children in these houses sit on the floor in the living room to do their schoolwork or study with the TV switched on. Poor indoor environmental quality and lack of personal space are among the main reasons that lead to children not being able to study at home comfortably.

The research employed a quasi-experimental approach as the research field setting was not randomly assigned. Observation on the change in the quality of space and post-evaluation interviews with beneficiaries were conducted.

The findings show that besides the tangible space that the Nest project has created, it also has created in-tangible space. It has shown that even small spatial changes to existing spaces could improve children's active learning and the participation of parents in their children's learning.

This study focuses on the home learning experience and parental involvement in their children's learning, so perhaps future research can be done to measure the impact of home learning space on academic achievement.

The research outcomes show that a good quality of learning space influences the children's learning experience at home and the parents' involvement. It will also contribute to the development of the building regulation for high-rise affordable housing in Malaysia. Particularly in improving the optimum requirement to achieve better comfort quality for the learning space at the residential unit.

The Nest project will contribute to raising the awareness among all residents of public housing on the importance of in-house learning space and encourage them to build their own learning spaces through the Do-It-Yourself Guidelines.

The research outcomes show that both parental involvement and the quality of learning space influence the children's learning experience at home. It will contribute to the development of the building regulation for high-rise affordable housing in Malaysia. Particularly in improving the optimum requirement to achieve better comfort quality for the learning space at the residential unit.

This paper has aimed to systematically review the existing literature regarding the role of fantasy in heritage conservation, establishing a research gap and investigating the different facets of fantasy that contribute to a conservation undertaking.

This systematic literature review adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) model with literature from the SCOPUS-indexing database.

This review has indicated a lack of input from Eastern scholarship, the absence of quantitative research, the lack of discussion concerning fantasy within the architecture discipline and the lack of attention towards fantasy's role in architectural heritage conservation.

A better understanding of the role of fantasy within architectural heritage studies would improve conservation practice, specifically the existing cultural significance value evaluation framework and the management of stakeholders' expectations.

The present paper serves as a preliminary insight into the value of fantasy within the architecture discipline, allowing for more empirical-based research and knowledge to be added in this domain in the future.

The objective of this article is to articulate a research agenda in architecture and urbanism by reviewing the contributions to Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research from 2022 to 2024. The article aims to develop a robust classification into established, evolving and emerging knowledge spaces. Such a classification seeks to offer insights into the role Archnet-IJAR plays in shaping current and future global research trends in architecture and urbanism.

A combination of bibliometric and textual analysis was employed, utilising tools such as VosViewer and Infranodus to map thematic structures and research trends. The examined articles were categorised into established, evolving and emerging knowledge spaces to assess how the journal dynamically adapts to and reflects global shifts in architectural and urban discourse. This classification offers a strategic lens into the influence of Archnet-IJAR on research trajectories and shaping the future landscape of scholarship in architecture and urbanism.

The study identifies three primary areas of discourse: sustainability and resilience, technology and innovation, and community-centred design. Key trends include the rise of AI and smart technologies, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on design strategies, and the integration of SDGs into architectural education and practice. Established knowledge spaces such as urban morphology and cultural heritage remain foundational while evolving spaces such as sustainability and resilience are gaining prominence. Emerging spaces such as smart technologies and bioclimatic architecture appear to be the future trajectory of research in the field.

The study focuses on three years (2022–2024) of analysing Archnet-IJAR content within an overarching contextualisation over the past decade. However, this may not capture longer-term trends.

The study presents a critical classification of architectural and urban discourse, highlighting the evolving nature of the field in response to global challenges. The notion of the knowledge spaces as a unique conceptualisation that integrates various thematic areas is emphasised.