This paper aims to explore the concept and spread of the five-foot way (5FW) as an aspect of urban design peculiar to Southeast Asia. It locates the 5FW as an aspect of planning law and property law that has been adapted culturally to provide a unique space for public–private interaction. The paper also explores, in a related context, conflicts over the appropriate use of 5FWs and the issue of regulating such use.
The approach adopted is to look at the development of the 5FW over the entire colonial period of Singapore, starting in 1819 up to the present day. Comparisons are drawn from other urban settlements over a similar period.
The paper finds that the 5FW, with its related device of the shophouse, provided a uniquely efficacious space for protection of the public from the elements and for public–private interaction. It finds that regulation of 5FWs should be undertaken with due regard both to public right of way and to the cultural element of making private use of the space.
The originality of the article lies in the fact that the 5FW has not been considered as an artefact of legal culture in addition to being an artefact of urban design.
