CURRENT STATE

In current pagoda street, the original function of the shophouse as living above store has gone because of gentrification, which also creates some problems. These problems can be divided into tangible and intangible dimensions. （1）In the tangible aspect, commercial expansion and the lack of demand for residential space create problems of bad spatial planning. ①There is no demand for residential lanes, leading to congestion in the middle of the road. ②The shop’s extensive cubes are organized rigidly, the space is confined and lacks organicity. ③This is evident in the two objects, the obstruction and the rubbish bin. Shop tables, chairs and miscellaneous items take up space on the fivefootway and even block the stairway entrance, making it uncomfortable to walk around. Also, some of the heritage display boards set up are obscured by pillars, which are not conducive to reading. As for the rubbish bins, there are large green bins in front of the shops, in the gap between the two extensive cubes, which not only occupies part of the aisle space but is not aesthetically pleasing. At the same time, the back alley is covered with rubbish and rubbish bins, and the establishment of multiple rubbish bins brings a cluttered look and feel. ④Gentrification has also led to a reduction in space utilization on the second and third floors of the shophouses, as many businesses rent the whole building and the upper floors are left unused. Some businesses have transformed the space, for example by re-planning the interior divisions and staircase settings, leading to a further increase in the commercial nature of their space. ⑤And as a commercial street, there are omissions in its serviceable and functional spaces. For example, there is no place for pedestrians to smoke resulting in ashes falling to the ground, and the lack of a sheltered lower shelf outside the Sri Mariamman Temple causes worshippers' shoes to fill with rainwater. （2）On the intangible side, gentrification constructs a Disneyland, a neighborhood model of business hours revelry and closing hours empty silence that is too commercial and does not show the life of the local people. ① This is not a 24-hour block. It loses its link with the surrounding community. ② At the same time, the neighborhood has lost its uniqueness, the commercialized activities do not reflect the local culture and history well and do have a threat to its historic and cultural significance.