Does Permeability Promote Social Cohesion

Abstract

Understanding environmental conditions of neighbourhoods can play a critical role in maintaining social interactions among residents. This research is carried out to assess the effect of street permeability on the degree of social cohesion among residents in a residential neighbourhood in Penang, Malaysia. A total of 250 households participated in the study. The findings indicate that permeability can account for a significant proportion of the variance in residents’ social cohesion. Residents living in less permeable streets are more likely to have a high social cohesion with their neighbours. The results further support the defensible space concept which advocates closed streets.Keywords: Permeability; social cohesion; road type; residential neighbourhoodeISSN 2398-4295 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.