In most cases, these century-old buildings sport peeling paint and a major portion of the frontage partially covered by large garish signboards proclaiming the names of traders and businesses there.
Welcome to Little India in George Town which is always filled with loud music and the busy hustle bustle of traffic, shoppers and tourists gawking at the wares displayed at many a shop front.
This vibrant little section of the George Town world heritage zone was picked as a pilot project by Think City, for its all-in-one urban regeneration programme that encompasses giving the physical heritage a facelift while still keeping the living heritage – the artisans and the businesses in the area – thriving and a source of pride for the community.
What's more important in such a project is the engagement of the community as they are the ones who will keep the place alive and maintain it for the years to come, ensuring its sustainability, said Think City programme manager Daniel Lim.
The project is probably one of Think City's longest-standing one; it will probably never end as it is a "live" programme that grows and continues going, continues improving and changing through the community's involvements.
Back in 2010, Think City wanted the Little India community to have a sense of pride and to take ownership in order to turn the decay in the enclave around.
So "placemaking" was introduced through a collaboration between Think City and Project for Public Spaces (PPS).
Placemaking is the planning and managing of public spaces to strengthen the connection of the existing community and culture with the spaces they share.
It is a concept that is designed to inspire the local community to participate in improving their shared spaces where in this case, Little India is the focus.
Think City first introduced community-based cultural events such as the Tagore in Penang to celebrate Nobel Prize winner for literature Rabindranath Tagore's 150th anniversary in 2011.
The project brought together the community in Little India. The Muslim League, Khariah Masjid Kapitan Keling, Indian Chamber of Commerce, the Nattukottai Chettiar Temples, the Arulmigu Maha Mariamman Queen Street Temple and Sri Kunj Bihari Temple, all of whom partnered with Think City to make it a success.
From the Tagore in Penang Project, a special action plan for Little India was formulated.
The action plan included Think City's breath-taking Neighbourhood Courtyards project, regular gotong-royong, the setting up of an Indian Cultural Centre, façade treatment for the many decaying shophouses and the introduction of a pilot sustainable housing project within the enclave.
"It is no longer about giving grants for physical improvements but an overall rejuvenation that ropes in the community so that they take charge of their shared spaces and be responsible for it to keep improving it," Lim said.
Think City is a special purpose vehicle set up by Khazanah Nasional Berhad to implement and manage the George Town Grants Programme (GTGP).
After the funding for GTGP ended, Think City continued to organise urban regeneration programmes but this time, focusing more on community involvement and getting the stakeholders to take charge.
The first part of the action plan – Neighbourhood Courtyards – is almost completed. This is where spacious dingy back lanes are transformed into gorgeous, clean courtyards for the community.
"This is a project that showed the positive side of urban regeneration where a public space was upgraded and improved without changing its purpose for the community, where residents can continue to use it to dry their laundry, some use it to place their potted plants, shrines and sometimes, we even see the mee goreng seller sitting in the alleyway peeling potatoes," Lim said.
There are four Neighbourhood Courtyards hidden behind the narrow criss-cross of King Street, Queen Street, Market Street, China Street and Penang Street that make up Little India.
These are back lanes transformed into clean, landscaped open spaces behind the pre-war houses which the residents can maintain by starting their own community garden or small parks within the spaces.
The last of the courtyards are expected to be completed by November.
As for the pilot sustainable housing project, Lim said it is an initiative to turn the pre-war houses into starter homes for the community through collaboration between tenants and house owners.
"It is one of the ways to keep the community living here so that the intangible heritage of the city is well preserved to continue to keep George Town alive," he said.
The work on Little India is still ongoing and does not look like it will ever be fully completed as Lim aptly says, a living city will continue to change and it is now up to the community to take charge of the shared space and make it work while maintaining its Outstanding Universal Value.
Think City is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah and it is now taking on more urban regeneration programmes and projects throughout the nation with plans to rejuvenate Butterworth and even Kuala Lumpur.
Source : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/features/article/little-india-in-george-town-think-city-halting-urban-decay-one-space-at-a-t
