#8. The Convincing Case of Landmark Planning

More so than most would have assumed, symbols, semiotics and landmarks loom large in our daily lives. As highly perceptive individuals, humans are inherently drawn to unusual symbols, semiotics and landmarks to understand social clues, to navigate the world around them and to make sound judgement. How do we know symbols, semiotics and landmarks matter to the human society? Every Muslim will look for Halal certification when they shop for food and other consumer products. Big companies spend up to billions of dollars to make their brands more alluring to customers. Another poignant example to all of us is that we tend to meet our friends in places like city square, urban parks, cafés, transit stops or at a famous shopping street. These are the, so called, city landmarks. Once we associate ourselves as part of a larger 'place', whether physically or metaphorically, it is hard for us to give up this unique bond we have created with the 'locale' which our minds are harboured onto. This aptly captures why people would spend huge amount of money just to pay for the brand or symbol they claim they have 'fallen in love' with.

How convincing is it for politicians and planners to pay close attention to city landmarks and semiotics in any new development or redevelopment projects? Very. One could travel to Singapore to understand the intricate link between political hegemony and landmark planning. Singapore is arguably the best planned city state in the world. Every year, millions of tourists would flock to Singapore to enjoy landmarks such as Merlion, Sentosa Palawan Beach and Gardens by the Bay. However, the undertone of these iconic projects are often political. These development projects are often used by the ruling party to justify their status quo and effectiveness as a governing body. Not only the landmarks they constructed have created countless collective memories and imagined social spaces in unifying the multi-ethnic Singaporeans, but also enacting reasons for bright minds to immigrate and stay in Singapore. For a city state which lacks the depth of history, creating landmarks to add meanings to the monotonous city life justifies the exorbitant but strategic investment decision. Meanwhile, it creates reasons for visitors to stay longer, thus contributing to the national economy. These factors perpetuate the political hegemony of the ruling party. It might sound negative but this is not necessarily a bad thing if done righteously, as reflected in Singapore. In fact, landmark planning has contributed to Singapore's national image immensely in the global arena while nurturing the imagination of the locals in a highly competitive society.

The Merlion of Singapore, inaugurated by Lee Kuan Yew in 1972.

George Town, the capital of Penang is undergoing a socio-economic renaissance in northern Malaysia, thanks to its booming tourism, medical and education sectors. Penang's tourism industry thrives on its rich and diverse cultural legacies and a dizzying plethora of architectural gems. The island of Penang carries an air of cosmopolitanism, exemplified by its soulful streets, heart warming murals and a juggernaut of architectural styles. To many, it is synonymous to the 'Garden of the Orient'. It is an island where different civilisations wonderfully collide together. It is a place where cultural boundaries become fluid. It is also a place where the stereotypical understanding of civilisation goes hay-wired. Penang's cosmopolitanism is simply surreal. I have been told by various Australian and European friends who have visited Penang that it is a place that is both breathtakingly beautiful and otherworldly, with Cheong Fatt Tze mansion, Armenian Street, Acheen Mosque and Hai Kee Chan being described as 'dreamy' and 'refreshing'. All these have evidenced that landmarks (i) add meanings to our lives; (ii) help us to interpret and re-interpret our identity globally; and (iii) contribute to our quality of life or well-being.

Archeen Mosque in the Arab-Acheh quarter of George Town, Penang.

While landmark planning has always been a feature in the old quarters of Southeast Asian cities, newer neighbourhoods often lack similar aesthetic qualities. Virtually all neighbourhoods constructed post-1960s in this region lack major landmarks which are worthy of attention. These suburbs and exurbs are often built in a style which has been replicated countless times in many other places, most notable America. The result is the characterless suburbs that we see today, served by major arterial roads, lined with street trees and devoid of interesting urban landmarks which once are synonymous with human progress and urban aesthetics. One emerging trend to rectify this issue is the adoption of Transit Oriented Development (TOD). One has to understand that the main function of landmark planning is to improve urban aesthetics and to transform a monotonous site into a more interesting and walkable precinct. In recent years, public arts, landmarks and ideas to improve walkability as well as public transport ridership have been fervently discussed among the academia and policy-makers in this region. In recent years, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Iskandar Johor, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Bandung have been seriously adopting these ideas to bring back landmark planning and walkability to their respective cities. These cities are currently doing their very best to re-brand their cities, to increase their economic competitiveness and to improve the well-beings of their citizens.

It's impossible to disconnect landmark planning from semiotics and transport planning, as signified by this city navigation board in Bandung, Indonesia. Notice that important landmarks are simplified into recognisable semiotics to develop an effective wayfinding system.

One must not disconnect landmark planning from the faculty of semiotics and the faculty of transport planning as the success of each element hinge upon the successful implementation of the others. As indicated in the city navigation board in Bandung, to improve walkability and accessibility of the city, many pedestrian paths have been designed around the city centre. However, the effort to improve walkability would be futile without designing a good wayfinding system. The navigation board serves the function of guiding pedestrians to the intended destination with reference to identifiable city landmarks. Not only the navigation board encourages more people to use the newly designed pedestrian paths, but it also opens up possibilities for the identified urban landmarks. Potentially, urban landmarks could be upgraded into well known city icons for tourism besides improving the sense of pride of the civilians in their cities. The crucial link between landmark planning, semiotics and transport planning must be recognised. If done correctly, Southeast Asian cities can be as liveable, or even surpass cities in developed nations. Imagine 10 years from now, one could go meet their friends and colleagues at a beautiful city square, urban park, world class shopping strip, unique food and beverage district, hilltop theme park and beach resort, all within 45 minutes. This dream has already been partially realised in Kuala Lumpur. With more money allocated for landmark planning, transport planning and the wayfinding system, Kuala Lumpur will soon become a great metropolis of Southeast Asia.

Mass Rapid Transit I (MRT1) of Kuala Lumpur opens on 17/07/2017. It combines transport planning with semiotics (map symbols used in wayfinding system) and landmark planning (public arts and architecture). Obviously, there is a shift in paradigm in how Southeast Asian city is planned today.

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