Transitory Urban Interventions for Effective Place making in Shopping Streets: Case of Pettah in Sri Lanka

Asian cities possess a unique heterogeneity of social and cultural backgrounds, which have significant informal sectors with open temporary and mobile activities that are flexible, quick, light and low-cost. Today, the mobile, temporary and bazaar type informal activities command an increasing demand as an alternative to the high urban rental land and goods. The study explores the temporary urban interventions such as activity-based intentions, structural interventions and sensory interventions in urban shopping streets as place making elements. This stimulates the city to be a unique place for people and transforms it into a place of enjoyment. It can be remarkably effective in remaking an urban public place such as Pettah in Colombo city. Permanent physical components are resources to improve shopping streets rather than temporary components. That is because city development processes assume that improvements in temporary urban interventions cause uncertain risks in the city. Therefore, temporary components in streetscapes receive less attention and care. Resources are committed for permanent physical improvements of shopping streets by replacing or removing the temporary installations. This is despite the great interest people show for these places and the benefits gained from them. The research confirms that the temporary urban interventions in shopping streets are the key aspects that make the urban places active. The hierarchy and continuity in the arrangement of layers creates urban order, which may not be understood by an outsider of that spatial culture. Using unique patterns to enhance city identity and image is also a strategy of economic and community development in the city. Place-making brings positive results in empowering community capacity. It also reveals elements for the affordable places given by the community.