Abstract:
Penang is a rapidly urbanizing city in Malaysia. Neo liberal urban
development in Penang challenges the vernacular built environment of the
city. The Urban fabric of Penang is rich with different traits of architecture
from the West and the East. With the population density and the land
values are going up, much of the local urban spaces are getting replaced by
the “modern” high rises and other land uses. While the colonial legacy of
Penang built environment has been recognized by the heritage discourse to
be conserved, self-built and local spaces are being mostly ignored. Both
urbanization and historic conservation impacts the transformation of
Penang. Clan Jetties of Penang as a self-built settlement which was
produced and transformed by ordinary people over the last century is facing
the challenges of both urbanization and historic conservation. This paper
elaborates how Clan Jetty residents negotiate the spaces in the context of
urbanization in order to survive and maintain their sense of belongings to
their neighborhood. UNESCO incorporated Clan Jetties to the Georgetown
World Heritage site in 2008. Although this new designation of world
Heritage saved Clan jetties from getting replaced, it also stopped the
natural transformation process of the settlement. However, the
modernization desire by people, and their agency in transforming their
neighborhood despite the heritage guidelines imposed upon them. Clan
Jetty residents who rejected the conversion of their neighborhood to a
“modern” neighborhood as defined and designed by the Government are in
the process of following their own instincts in making small changes in their
neighborhood. This paper discusses this continuous process of production of
spaces by ordinary people by analyzing and contexutualizing their stories.
