Kaki Lima Stores: Life in the Five-Foot Ways of Downtown Kuala Lumpur is a collection of essays edited by Camelia Kusumo and Lee Sze Ee.
Five-foot ways, or 'kaki-lima,' are a prominent feature of historical urban centres in tropical Southeast Asian cities. In the hot and humid urban centre, these colonnades along the rows of commercial shophouses provide comfortable pedestrian walkways. It is frequently considered not only as a pathway but also as a space for transit activities in Malaysian urban settings. The book delves into the richness, diversity, and beauty of life along Kuala Lumpur's five-footway.
The book begins with Kaki Lima stories from Southeast Asia, particularly from the countries bordering the Malacca Strait. The book investigates the five-footway as the generator of the public realm by illustrating how the physical attributes of the 31 Kaki Lima sticky activities contribute to the liveability of downtown Kuala Lumpur after a brief review of the theoretical background of the importance of the Kaki Lima sticky activities for the city's liveliness. These activities may slow down traffic, but it is precisely this that draws pedestrians' attention to shop displays and makes public space so appealing.
Format: 248 pages, 13 x 20 cm, softcover
Publisher: Suburbia Projects (Malaysia)
Language: English
ISBN: 9789672585954
