TITLE:
Public Policies & Plans Study Regard to the Conservation of Shophouse Townscape in George Town, Pulau Pinang: Assessment, Limitations, and Current Issues
AUTHORS:
Loong Zhao, Zulkifli B. Hanafi, Hongwei Wong
KEYWORDS:
Shophouse, Townscape, Public Policies, George Town, World Heritage Site
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.6 No.10,
October
31,
2018
ABSTRACT: The conservation of townscape in George Town usually involves the enforcement
of public policies and plans, which facilitate the conservation work
in a sustainable and scientific way. In the recent decade, it has been increasingly
recognized that public policies and plans in heritage sites have the
significant impact on urban scenery, ethnic identity, and heritage sustainable
development. However, the enforcement of public policies and plans in
order to achieve successful townscape conservation is still insufficient in
George Town. This study aims to assess the public policies and plans in relation
to the townscape from the federal level to local level, and in turn,
showing the current issues which caused by the deficiency of public policies
and conservation plans. To ensure the objectives achieved, qualitative methods
will be applied, including several approaches such as site investigation,
cross-referencing, extrapolation and interpretation method. Empirical findings
suggest that townscape in George Town should be ensured by implementing
prudent public policy. Nevertheless, the current public policies and
plans are inefficiently run, and various problems arise in the townscape such
as de-contextualization, loss of authenticity and cultural integrity, Disneyfication,
and environmental deterioration etc.