The Impact of Urban Furniture Design on User Behaviour in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Öz

Urban furniture, encompassing items like benches, streetlamps, trash bins, bus shelter, and public art installations, plays an essential role in urban areas by improving both the visual appeal and functionality of these spaces. These elements profoundly affect human behaviour by fostering social interactions, enhancing safety and comfort, and building community spirit. By recognizing how urban furniture impacts human behaviour, urban designers can develop more vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable urban environments. This research is designed to identify the importance of urban furniture design towards users in Klang Valley. This research utilizes quantitative methods to gather data from various people, including students, and adults. The results of the study showed that designed urban furniture enhanced public comfort, safety and engagement, promoting longer stay and increased social interactions in public areas. Additionally, the study highlights the importance of considering local cultural and environmental factors in the design process to ensure the urban furniture meets the specific needs and preferences of the community. The result of the necessity urban furniture for the public spaces in Klang Valley to prioritise user-centric design in urban furniture is to foster more vibrant, inclusive and sustainable cities.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Street Furniture
• Malaysia
• User behaviour
• Klang Valley

Etik Beyan

No ethical considerations involved.

Malezya Klang Vadisi'nde Sokak Mobilyası Tasarımının İnsanDavranışı Üzerindeki Etkisi

Öz

Sokak mobilyaları, banklar, sokak lambaları, çöp kutuları, otobüs durakları ve kamusal sanat eserleri gibi öğeleri kapsar ve bu alanların hem görsel çekiciliğini hem de işlevselliğini iyileştirerek kentsel alanlarda önemli bir rol oynar. Bu unsurlar, sosyal etkileşimleri teşvik ederek, güvenliği ve konforu artırarak ve topluluk ruhunu oluşturarak insan davranışını derinden etkiler. Bu araştırma, Klang Vadisi’ndeki kullanıcılar için sokak mobilyası tasarımının önemini belirlemek üzere tasarlanmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında, öğrenciler, gençler ve yetişkinler dahil olmak üzere halktan toplanan veriler kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonuçları iyi tasarlanmış sokak mobilyalarının kamusal konforu, güvenliği ve katılımı artırarak, kamusal alanlarda daha uzun süre kalmayı ve artan sosyal etkileşimleri teşvik ettiğini göstermiştir. Ayrıca, çalışma sokak mobilyalarının toplumun özel ihtiyaçlarını ve tercihlerini karşılamasını sağlamak için tasarım sürecinde yerel kültürel ve çevresel faktörlerin dikkate alınmasının önemini vurgulamakta ve Klang Vadisi’ndeki kentsel alanların, daha canlı, kapsayıcı ve sürdürülebilir kentsel ortamlar yaratmak için sokak mobilyalarında kullanıcı merkezli tasarıma öncelik vermesi gerekliliğinin altını çizmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Malezya
• Kullanıcı davranışı
• Sokak Mobilyası
• Klang Valley

Kaynakça

1. Allameh, E., & Heidari, M. (2020). Sustainable Street furniture. Periodica Polytechnica Architecture, 51(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.3311/PPar.12674
2. Amir A. R., Ayob Z., Shukur F.S.A., & Saari M.F. (2024). The influence of urban street furniture towards homeless in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Planning Malaysia:Journal of the Malaysian Institute of Planners, 22(6), 60–73. https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v22i34.1613
3. Arıcak, B., Cantürk, U., Koç, İ., Erdem, R., & Şevik, H. (2024). Shifts that may appear in climate classifications in Bursa due to global climate change. Forestist, 74(2), 129-137. https://doi.org/10.5152/forestist.2024.23074
4. Arnis, A., Osman Mohd T., & Mohammad Fakri F. J. (2012, March 3-5). Significance of sustainability Street furniture design in Malaysia. International Conference on Arts, Social Science & Technology, Penang, Malaysia.
5. Askari, A. H. & Soltani, S. (2022). The role of physical and visual elements in creating streetscapes: Cases in Kuala Lumpur City, Malaysia. Alam Cipta: International Journal on Sustainable Tropical Design Research & Practice, 15 (2).
6. Askarizad, R., & He, J. (2025). The role of urban furniture in promoting gender equality and static social activities in public spaces. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 16(2), 103250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asej.2024.103250
7. Bulut, Y., & Atabeyoğlu, Ö. (2006). Fountains as urban furniture in historical urban structure and usage culture: Erzurum city case. Building and Environment, 42(6), 2432-2438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.08.022
8. Cantürk, U., Koç, İ., Özel, H. B., & Şevik, H. (2024). Possible changes of Pinus nigra distribution regions in Türkiye with the impacts of global climate change. BioResources, 19(3), 6190-6214.

9. Cartiere, C., & Tan, L. (eds.) (2020). The Routledge Companion to Art in the Public Realm. Routledge. New York. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429450471
10. Cozens, P. M., Saville, G. & Hillier, D. (2005). Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED): a review and modern bibliography. Property Management, 23(5), 328-356. https://doi.org/10.1108/02637470510631483
11. Creswell, J. (2008). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. New Jersey: Pearson Education.
12. Ertaş, Ş. (2017). Tarihi çevre içinde kent mobilyaları tasarımına yönelik bir yöntem önerisi: Konya Sille. The Journal of Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences of Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, 8(1), 78–95.
13. Ertürk, N., Arıcak, B., Yiğit, N., & Sevik, H. (2024). Potentialchanges in the suitable distribution areas of Fagus orientalis Lipsky in Kastamonu Due to Global Climate Change. Forestist, 74(2), 159-165. https://doi.org/10.5152/forestist.2024.23024
14. Gehl, J. (2010). Cities for people. Washington, DC: IslandPress.https://books.google.com.my/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lB NJoNILqQcC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&ots=hHq7uXX8ho&sig=JnjQcmpSkHwEmdOaZzNDIrsua_s&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
15. Grabiec, A. M., Łacka, A., & Wiza, W. (2022). Material,functional, and aesthetic solutions for urban furniture in public spaces. Sustainability, 14(23), 16211.https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316211
16. Hanafiah, M. H., Md Zain, N. A., Azinuddin, M., & MiorShariffuddin, N. S. (2021). I'm afraid to travel!Investigating the effect of perceived health risk onMalaysian travellers' post-pandemic perception and future travel intention. Journal of Tourism Futures. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-10-2021-0235
17. Hishammuddin, U. A., & Alli, H. (2022). Investigation anddevelopment of raintree furniture from the waste of urban tree. International Journal of Social Science Research, 4(1), 34-45.
18. Isinkaralar, K., Isinkaralar, O., Özel, H. B., & Şevik, H. (2024).A comparative study about physical properties of copper oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles on Fagus orientalis L. as Bioindicator. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 235(11), 738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-024-07551-1
19. Jacobs, J. (1961). The uses of sidewalks: Safety. Death andLife of Great American Cities.
20. Kelly, A. M. (2024). Public toilets and their potential impacton an individual's health. British Journal of Nursing, 33(12), 538-544.https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2023.0217
21. Kłopotowska, A. (2020). Street architectural models.Research on improving readability, ergonomics andsafety of use. In IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 960(3), 032013.https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/960/3/032013
22. Koç, İ., Canturk, U., Isinkaralar, K., Ozel, H. B., & Sevik, H.(2024). Assessment of metals (Ni, Ba) deposition inplant types and their organs at Mersin City, Türkiye.Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 196(3),282. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12448-x
23. Kuzmina, N., Menshchikov, S., Mohnachev, P., Zavyalov, K.,Petrova, I., Ozel, H. B., ... & Sevik, H. (2023). Change ofaluminum concentrations in specific plants by species, organ, washing, and traffic density. BioResources, 18(1), 792-803.https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.18.1.792-803
24. Morris, K. I., Chan, A., Morris, K. J. K., Ooi, M. C., Oozeer,M.Y., Abakr, Y. A., ... & Mohammed, I. Y. (2017).Urbanisation and urban climate of a tropicalconurbation, Klang Valley, Malaysia. Urban Climate, 19, 54-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2016.12.002
25. Nizam, N. M. F. M., Ahmad, A. L., Rashid, K., Azman, M. A. A., Arip, M. S. M., & Rani, Y. A. (2024). Transitions of public space in city centers: perception and appearance in Sungai Segget, Johor Bahru. International Journal of Business and Technology Management, 6(S1), 551-561.https://doi.org/10.55057/ijbtm.2024.6.S1.49
26. Ozturk Pulatoglu, A., Koç, İ., Özel, H. B., Şevik, H., & Yıldız, Y.(2025). Using trees to monitor airborne Cr pollution:effects of compass direction and woody species on Cruptake during phytoremediation. BioResources, 20(1),121-139. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.20.1.121-139
27. Sevik, H., Ozel, H. U., Yildiz, Y., & Ozel, H. B. (2025). Effects of adding Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 nanoparticles to soil on germination and seedling characteristics of oriental beech. BioResources, 20(1), 70-82. https://doi.org/10.15376/biores.20.1.70-82
28. Rashid, Q., Zhang, A., & Mohd Nor, M. (2024). Pedestrian priorities: unraveling walkability challenges in Shah Alam’s neighborhoods. International Journal of Environment, Architecture, and Societies, 4(01), 37-49. https://doi.org/10.26418/ijeas.2024.4.01.37-49
29. Schraml, C., & Färber, M. (2024). Reviving public space through socially sustainable urban furniture. UXUC - User Experience and Urban Creativity, 6(1), 72-87. https://doi.org/10.48619/uxuc.v6i1.903
30. Siu, K. W. M. (2005). Pleasurable products: public space furniture with user fitness. Journal of Engineering Design, 16(6), 545-555. https://doi.org/10.1080/09544820500273383
31. Soffritti, C., Calzolari, L., Chicca, M., Neri, R. B., Neri, A., Bazzocchi, L., & Garagnani, G. L. (2020). Cast iron street furniture: A historical review. Endeavour, 44(3), 100721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2020.100721
32. Yaşar İsmail, T. S., İsmail, M. D., Çobanoğlu, H., Koç, İ., & Sevik, H. (2024). Monitoring arsenic concentrations in airborne particulates of selected landscape plants and their potential for pollution mitigation. Forestist, 75, 1-6.https://doi.org/10.5152/forestist.2024.24071
33. Yücel, G. F. (2013). Street furniture and amenities: Designing the user-oriented urban landscape. In Advances in landscape architecture. In Ozyavuz M. (ed.). Advances in Landscape Architecture. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/55770
34. Zavari, S., Utaberta, N. & Othuman, M. (2016). Sustainability of street furniture design in Malaysia. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 10(6), 119-121.