FARU - 2021

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://192.248.9.226/handle/123/16791

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item: Conference-Full-text
Appraising indoor thermal perception of elderly in hot climates: An experimental investigation of free-running residential aged care homes in Colombo
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Rajapaksha, I; Sandamini, RGP
Rapid demographic transition with higher growth in ageing population demonstrate a major societal challenge in South Asia and Sri Lankans will age faster than other developing economies in the region. Climate shocks of people living in economically deprived countries will increase in future and elders are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of temperature extremes. The study experimentally investigated free-running residential care homes in hot climate of Colombo performing simultaneous personal monitoring and questionnaire surveys. Results explicitly prove overheated indoors with less air flow. Majority of elders confirmed thermally unacceptable interiors with warm thermal sensations and low air velocities of 0.1 to 0.29 m/s with predominant preference of more air movement proves inadequate passive airflow. A significant relationship between wind preference and presence of openings of their place of stay were evident. Staying away from a window or door instigated to practice a behavioural adaptation of moving towards transitional areas such as corridors, verandas, and outdoor spaces for more wind sensation. Since ageing is associated with physical inabilities and elders spend their life mostly in indoors, findings emphasize the importance of enhancing passive airflow and application of appropriate design strategies to ensure optimum air velocities and dispersion of airflow within interiors.
item: Conference-Full-text
An Assessment of user preference in artificial pathway lighting in urban parks; Cases from Greater Colombo region
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Wickremasinghe, LLS; Hettiarachchi, AA
Urban parks are critical in converting cities to liveable spaces, where artificial lighting directly affects the users’ night-time experience. This study explores the urban park users’ preferences in artificial pathway lighting, through their subjective responses towards Brightness, Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT), and luminaires of the existing lighting design, at four popular urban parks in Colombo. The reasons for the said preferences were investigated under three overarching themes: perceived safety, perceived quality of light, and restorative experience. A mixed methods approach was employed for data collection, where questionnaires were used together with measurements, in-situ observations, and photographic analysis for better understanding. The user preferences were found to be directly associated with their perception of the lit environment. The existing brightness levels are insufficient for majority of the users and has affected their perception of safety. The poor selection and placement of luminaires have negatively affected the lighting quality, while the positive effect on the users’ restorative experience has induced a higher preference towards the CCT of the light sources. The results revealed that the majority of the users opted for changes in the current lighting design, indicating that the user needs and requirements are not effectively addressed in this regard.
item: Conference-Full-text
Carbon footprint analysis of construction activities in Sri Lanka: an input-output table
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Gunathilake, S; Ramachandra, T; Madushika, UGD
The construction industry is one of the major contributors that emits carbon into the environment. When considering the carbon emission in the local context, even though there are Input-Output Tables (IOTs) that applies to all types of industries in Sri Lanka, there seems to be limited focuses on IOTs specifically relating to the construction activities which is vital for the need due to its outstanding contribution to the carbon footprint of Sri Lanka. Hence, this study aims to calculate the carbon footprint construction activities in Sri Lanka using IOT with a bottom-up approach. The required data were extracted from published documents of Survey of Construction Industry by Census and Statistics, and The Inventory of Carbon and Energy (ICE) database of UK. Carbon footprint of construction activities were calculated using IOT with a bottom-up approach. The analysis revealed that the road and railway sector have the highest contribution of 48% to the monetary value of the construction industry meanwhile it accounts for 44% of the highest carbon emission to the atmosphere in the year 2020. Subsequently, activities related to non-residential residential, and utilities contribute to 20%, 15%, and 12% of total carbon emission respectively. In terms of construction materials, cement-based activities (59%) were the highest contributor while rubble and metal-based (23%), and iron and steel-based activities (17%) were next level contributors to the carbon emission due to construction. The analysis concluded that the as the initiatives, public sector projects including road and railway sector and utilities should integrate more sustainable construction practices as they are responsible for more than 50% of carbon emission.
item: Conference-Full-text
Challenges on urban ageing in high density settlements: Relationship of built-environment attributes and lifestyle of elderly in Western province, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Jayaratne, NN; Rajapaksha, I
Urbanization and population aging are two key phenomena in the twenty-first century that concerns the elders living in cities, especially those in low- and middle-income countries like Sri Lanka. In such a setting, understanding the responsiveness of the built environment for active aging is crucial. However, even the few available studies are prioritized on health rather than the built environment attributes. Therefore, this study aims to assess the built environment attributes related to elders, for the first time, in developing countries like Sri Lanka. The assessment method composes of two case studies in Colombo, Sri Lanka with a questionnaire survey, an axial map, and a frequency analysis using the SPSS software. The case studies comprise of a middle-income and a low-income settlement both with high population density. The analysis results explicitly informed that, in comparison, the middle-income settlement is more adversely affected by the built environment response related to health and social relationships. This finding is further supported by the prominence in health-related issues of loneliness (ρ-value .042) and lack of freedom (ρ-value .014) in the middle-income settlement. The built environment attributes were ranked based on their significance in correlation with the Quality-of-Life measures and the individual age-related characteristics. This was further developed for an appraisal that assesses health-related aspects of built environment response for vulnerable age groups like elders. The findings and the appraisal could support the future decision-making process of the National health budget and future urban design interventions since Sri Lanka has the highest South Asian aging population.
item: Conference-Full-text
A Comparative study of critical success criteria on sustainable housing; a case of - low income housing, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit, 2021-12-03) Ramanayake, R.M.D.T.; Abeynayake, C.
Sustainable housing is a popular topic with regard to the SDG, sustainable communities and Sustainable cities. Although different researches have come up with regard to different CSC of specific contexts there are very limited studies on CSC on Sustainable low-income housing. This research aims to compare the CSC on Sustainable low-income Housing in designing stage in Sri Lankan Context. 18 CSC were derived from comprehensive literature review and re-examined through the 27 professionals and ranked from community on three locations. Relative Importance Index- RII, Min Max Normalization and Gap analyses were employed in the ranking process of Critical Success Criteria. The highest importance has been ranked with Efficiency use of water and energy, Users Satisfaction and Quality of Housing while least importance is ranked with Maintainability, Public Consultation and community participation and cater for Disables and by Literature, Experts and Community respectively. Anyway, Public Consultation and Community Participation, newly derived CSC which is highly ranked among community is to be concentrated among the professionals for the attention and applications in practices. The findings of the research would support to the designers, architectures, planners specialized in this field to ensure the successful delivery of sustainable housing.
item: Conference-Full-text
The Contribution of temporary assemblage towards sense of place: a study in Aluth Nuwara sacred area, Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Wijesekara, WWGMIU; Munasingh, EJN
‘Sense of place’ is a complex phenomenon emerging from the associations of the inhabitants, the values they attribute on the built environment, and the manner in which they behave in that place. Every built environment gets its form and character out of a composite of both the permanent structures and temporary assemblage. This is mostly evident in living sacred built environments where impermanent and ‘supposed to be non-lasting’ structures assembled for temporal benefits, amidst formally arranged permanent spaces, play a significant role in making them functional places. However, the existence of temporary physical assemblage has throughout been considered as ‘problematic’ in formal institutional planning, in spite of the utility, character and the sense of place that they add to day-to-day lived-in environments. In a context, where the available studies are limited, this paper discusses on these temporary interventions and their impact in experiencing of places, in-order to widen the awareness and in-depth understanding of planners, urban designers and the authorities, who are responsible for the making of sustainable built environments. The paper first presents a review of the existing literature in order to identify a suitable theoretical framework to study the impacts of temporal assemblage on sense of place. Second, employing the conceptual framework profound in ‘Bennett’s six triads’, it presents the study on the mutual transactive relationships between the activity spaces and the behavior patterns of the inhabitants, as observed by the authors, in Aluth Nuwara Devala sacred area in Sri Lanka. It emphasizes the manner in which the temporary assemblage, within the formal built environment, impacts the settings, values and the behaviors of the inhabitants and thereby form the sense of place. The study highlights that temporary assemblage adds sense to places not only by their presence but also by changing people’s behaviors.
item: Conference-Full-text
Daylight variability and human perception
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Pathirage, LY; Perera, NGR
Visual perception of a space is influenced by the composition and behaviour of light. Daylight as a natural element, creates different atmospheres in the same space by its variation of intensity, colour, and direction. It creates dynamic shadow patterns, fluctuating brightness and contrast levels. Although the capacity to create variation - therefore contrast, is an important characteristic of daylight - it is often neglected in research, where comfort and visual performance take prominence. This is a research initiative to emphasise the value of daylight variation on spatial quality and human perception. The research adopts a two-step process, where, digital images are first mapped to generate contrast diagrams, and secondly, the generated digital images form the basis for a survey utilising a seven-point semantic differential scale, to explore the relationship between daylight variability and human perception. The temporal variation of daylight is explored by diagramming the spatial images at selected times of the day and year. The scope of the study is limited to selected contemporary residential spaces and focus on the manner of integrating daylight into spaces. Results show that a direct relationship between daylight variability and human perception for side lit spaces is not evident, yet it is evident in top lit options.
item: Conference-Full-text
Emergence of informal learning space in university campus: a comparative scenario in the context of Khulna city
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Sourav, Z; Afroz, D
Ancient education system was developed from a semi-outdoor environment. While developing the learning spaces it developed into indoor environment to ensure controlled environment, focus, discipline and compactness. These properties lead to formal education and formal learning space which replaced the informal learning environment. Formal learning space usually drive students towards a single expertise or knowledge. The limitations and boredom of formal education often causes depression and annoy towards education that result in limited learning and one-sided education. This research indicates the role of “informal learning environment” which helps university students to achieve multi-disciplinary knowledge through a simple, contextual and informal way. To establish the emergence, we tried to do a quantitative analysis among the students studying different universities in Khulna city. We have tried to understand the perspective of the students whether they feel the importance of informal learning or not in their daily life. While working on this paper, we have experienced unique scenario for each university but by any means Khulna University and Khulna University of Engineering & Technology serves their student the environment where students can meet and share knowledge with their natural flow of gossiping with food or drinks while Northern University of Business & technology and North-Western University have shown different scenario.
item: Conference-Full-text
An Evaluation on level of publicness of urban public spaces by using core dimensions; specific reference to Galle fort (sea bath area), forest (beach) park area, Mahamodara marine walk and ocean pathway in Galle
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Sandaruwan, KLKTB; Hewawasam, C
In 1990s, the decrement of non-built-up areas due to urbanization directly cause a reduction in the quality of life of the people & the occurrence of social issues in Sri Lanka due to monotonous lifestyles. Therefore, to overcome these issues with a sustainable Sri Lankan vision by 2030 urban beautification projects like urban public spaces, parks concept was introduced to Sri Lanka especially in suburban areas. Recently, the urban recreational spaces concept came to urban fabric with common characteristics that were developed as social spaces for community gathering and interactions with a variety of physical activities. Although with the emerging public space concept, there is no such consideration on research regarding an evaluation on publicness of urban public spaces by using physical dimensions; Specific Reference to Galle Fort (sea bath area), Forest Park area, Mahamodara Marine walk and Ocean Pathway in Galle. Further, there is no proper regulatory framework in public space monitoring & evaluation to improve the infrastructure of public space. The research aim is to evaluate the level of publicness of urban public spaces based on physical dimensions which are owned by public administration in Sri Lanka. Also, it focused to identify what parameters, need to evaluate the level of publicness and understand satisfaction levels of urban public spaces and key indicators, to assess how contributing indicators, influence to achieve the effectiveness of public spaces among users and to provide recommendations based on the experts’ and users’ views for future improvements of urban public spaces to enhance the publicness level in Sri Lanka. This study was focused on four urban public spaces with the dissimilarity of the availability of design characteristics in Galle. The methodology of the research was comprised of onsite observations, questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, and photographic documentation. The data were quantitatively analysed by using the VIKOR model which is a democratic model to evaluate the publicness level, AHP analysis, and descriptive statistical analysis using SPSS and EXCEL. Qualitative analysis was based on content analysis and photographic documentation. According to the findings of the research, it proved that based on key physical dimensions, criteria, and indicators publicness level, effectiveness, and truly public or not in four case studies. The highest publicness level and satisfaction level occurred in Forest Park which proved the hypothesis of the study. Additionally, by providing more shady areas, proper waste management, proper sitting opportunities, provide proper security system and monitoring system for control spaces, provide diverse activities for all age categories are some of the comments based on respondents which need to be considered in planning & designing urban spaces for increase attraction levels which are benefited for urban planners and designer.
item: Conference-Full-text
Exploring green features that make building materials green
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Rathnayake, P; Soorige, D; Amarasinghe, SDIA; Dissanayake, P
The construction industry plays a significant role in the economic growth of a country. Nevertheless, the construction industry has created severe adverse environmental impacts. Therefore, green building technologies are implemented to alleviate the adverse effects of the construction industry. Using green materials instead of conventional building materials with high environmental impacts has been identified as one such implementation. However, there seems to be much confusion in defining green building materials. Hence, it is vital to explore the features of green building materials. Therefore, this article investigates green features that qualify the building materials as green building materials. A qualitative research approach was selected as the research methodology, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven green building experts. The data was analysed using content analysis. Findings revealed that recycled content, local availability of materials, embodied energy of materials, use of rapidly renewable material, usage of waste material for the production process, material wastage content in the production process and pollution prevention in the production process are the green features. The study results guide the identification of green building materials that can replace the materials with poor environmental sustainability.
item: Conference-Full-text
Factors affecting the perception of photogenic quality in public spaces; Insights from Arcade Independence Square, Colombo
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) De Silva, G.G.S.; Hettiarachchi, A.A
Photography having one less dimension than Architecture, is one of the main elements of modern-day public user. With the growth of social media, the influence of media on the daily tasks of the average user has increased exponentially in the last decade. This study analysed the perception of public spaces in this new context of photography and social media, in relation to the photogenic quality of a space. The identification of reasons behind the perception of photogenic quality in public places would help both the designers and the government administration to create better public spaces. The study was executed with reference to three selected spaces of the Arcade Independence Square in Colombo considering 3 user groups ( n=94 ) selected based on their knowledge base namely; architecture, photography and a neutral group from general public adopting an online questionnaire survey. The findings identified visual elements of the space/composition as the significant reason behind the perception of the photogenic quality of a space followed by cultural influence and social media.
item: Conference-Full-text
A Framework to enhance the practice of maintenance budgeting in commercial buildings in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Rukanya, S; Sridarran, P; Mahedrarajh, G
Inadequate budget control is one of the major challenges that adversely affect the maintenance of a building. The cost of plant asset maintenance of the commercial building is a larger proportion of the overall cost of operation. It is important to allocate financial resources appropriately so that, before serious damage occurs, maintenance measures can be taken. Accordingly, a well-defined maintenance budget (MB) makes it possible to recognise opportunities for creating continuous business performance improvements within the financial constraints of a company. Although required building maintenance can be carried out successfully with an adequate budget, the budget is not well defined in current industrial practice and Sri Lanka is most likely dealing with the same problem. Thus, this study aimed to develop a framework to enhance the practice of a well-defined MB for commercial buildings in Sri Lanka. The qualitative approach was adopted to address this study. A comprehensive literature review was done and five case studies were performed using ten semi-structured interviews to collect the primary data. The interviewees were selected based on their knowledge in the field of maintenance cost planning. Data were analysed through content analysis using both manual and NVivo 12 software. The research finding revealed that prime barriers of prepare an accurate MB are poor planning of maintenance work and resources, faulty maintenance, changes in country market condition, and poor financial support. The key strategies to overcome the barriers are to select the right budget method, arise awareness of top management about building maintenance and avoid faulty maintenance.
item: Conference-Full-text
Growing urban green movement: evaluate the reinforcement of community garden for renewal community
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit, 2021-12-03) Suvimali, E.A.S.S.; Herath, M.
As per the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) “Sustainable cities & Communities” is vital for the healthy planet by 2030. Because nontackle population growth at city level causing to deforestation and it is outstripping for unsustainable cities as such for better livability. Since, 1990s, the decrement of non-built-up areas due to rapid urbanization directly cause for interrupting socio- ecological interaction & social ties among community in Sri Lanka. Recently, there is an emerging tendency on continuing community based agricultural sites as a social space for community gathering and interacting with variety of active physical activities as well to increase the urban fabric. The aim of the research is to investigate reinforcement of community garden for renewal community by studying diverse social and physical factors, evaluating functioning community garden in Colombo. The methodology of the study was comprised with onsite observations and in-depth interview and the data were qualitatively analyzed by using NVvio software. Accordingly derived 15 different social and 9 different physical factors from the community perceptions. Particularly, respondents having a desire to create a village and sense of place within the urban setting as SDGs rely.
item: Conference-Full-text
A Hybrid solar-wind energy generation approach for Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Mendis, KSL; Waidyasekara, KGAS; Ginthotavidana, SSC
The escalation of global energy demand has enhanced the interest on renewable energy technologies worldwide. The reliance of a single energy source has become problematic, and hybrid renewable energy technology has been identified as a feasible solution. Producing energy to limitless increasing demand is a challenging issue faced by Sri Lanka nowadays. Although, there are some studies carried out for renewable energy systems, solar-wind based hybrid renewable systems is an understudied area in Sri Lankan context. Hence, this paper aims to explore the applicability of hybrid solar-wind renewable energy generation approach for Sri Lanka. The study follows a qualitative approach with semi structured interviews from eight industrial experts, and manual content analysis technique was used for data analysis. The paper discussed the current installation practices of solar and wind technologies, applicability of hybrid solar and wind renewable energy systems and national level contribution for hybrid systems. Finally, a validated model was proposed to implement hybrid renewable energy generation systems for Sri Lanka.
item: Conference-Full-text
Impact of colour on depression, anxiety and stress levels of physically disabled patients in health care facilities
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Hettiarachchi, A .A.; Perera, U.D.R.
Physically disabled community in Sri Lanka is not receiving sufficient attention with reference to the conduciveness of their living environments. The patients who are harrowed with mobility impairments should be supported to overcome challenges which hinder the smooth functioning of day today physical activities while maintaining their psychological health by incorporating disabled-friendly, optimum healing design interventions. In view of this, an attempt was made to determine the impact of interior colours to reduce depression, anxiety and stress levels of disabled individuals. The investigation was executed with reference to wall colour of patient’s (n=15) bedrooms of a selected rehabilitation centre, at Ragama. The impact of three selected hues (blue, yellow and green) were tested by installing colour panels on the sidewall of the beds, allowing the participants to be exposed to each colour for three consecutive days. Depression, anxiety and stress levels of participants were measured using DASS-21. Impact of green colour was found to be more favourable to reduce depression, anxiety and stress levels of participants over blue and yellow. It is recommended to extend this study further to test different hues, shades and intensities of green colour with long-term exposure, to enhance psychological health and well-being of disabled patients in health care facilities.
item: Conference-Full-text
Impact of the quality of space of learning environment on the quality of life of autistic children :
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Premathilake, KWHK; Hettiarachchi, AA
Children with Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD)are found to struggle with diverse challenges in achieving quality of life in their education environments. In view of this the current investigation looked in to the impact of the quality of space in their learning environments in enhancing the Quality of life of Autistic children. Two types of school environments that accommodate students with ASD were examined namely, a special education school (A) and two mainstream schools with special educational units (B & C) in Kandy, considering 10 participants from each school (n=30). Inclusive design parameters were examined by a photographic survey and observations by the investigator and recorded via a 5-point Likert scale based on their level of presence. Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedQL) was adopted to measure quality of life of participants. School A demonstrated the highest averages of for quality of space (65%) as well as quality of life ( 61.7%) while C ( 34%/48.3%) and B ( 30%/44.7%) showed lower averages respectively. Accordingly, the study observed a clear relationship between the Quality of Space and the Quality of Life of children with ASD, highlighting the potential of enhancing the quality of life of the students with ASD by improving the quality of space of local schools.
item: Conference-Full-text
Impact of utility works in road projects in Sri Lanka and proposed mitigation measurers
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Mohamed, J.M.; De Silva, M.L.; Waidyasekera, K.G.A.S.
Road projects are experiencing huge delays in Sri Lanka due to utility relocation, delays in releasing payments, design changes during construction phase, price escalation and land acquisition to accommodate utility relocation. In some instances, contract of utility projects was awarded when road works were nearing completion. There is no sound legislation that exists defining the powers, rights and obligations of Roads and Utility authorities. As a result, Roads Authorities in Sri Lanka are obliged to pay all costs associated with the above impacts, along with extension of time due to such delays from the allocated funds for road works. This has been causing burden to the project scope and impacting the economy of Sri Lanka. As such, it is important to identify suitable remedial measures to mitigate such impacts during the design and construction stages. Qualitative research method was adopted through the inductive process by selecting purposive samples of experts for semi structured in-depth interviews. In addition, more data was collected through documents review. This study revealed that the knowledge gap in the sector to identify and recommended remedial measures for impacts caused by utility works in road projects in Sri Lanka.
item: Conference-Full-text
Impacts of landscape architecture on outdoor insecurity in urban housing complexes
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Lakchan, AH; Udalamaththa, S
Housing is one of the most essential components of life, offering shelter, protection, and comfort, as well as a place to rest. When considering the Sri Lankan housing complexes Millennium city housing complex was highlighted mainly because of the crime incidents that happened inside the housing complex. This research is done to demonstrate and to investigate the application of landscape architecture for security on urban housing complexes based on Millennium city housing complex, using landscape character to reduce outdoor insecurity. Seven places in the millennium city housing complex premises were selected to apply the crime prevention through environmental design theory and to observe its effectiveness through structured interviews and by considering the police reports that were taken through Sri Lanka police Athurugiriya. Natural surveillance, Territorial reinforcement, Maintenance, Prospect, Refuge, and Escape factors are separately discussed in the analysis regarding the selected places. A sectional survey is done for further analysis. The outcome shows that the house settings and the landscape character affect the outdoor landscape safety of the residents. The study will be a source to better understand how landscape architecture can be applied for outdoor security in urban housing complexes.
item: Conference-Full-text
The Influence of street’s elements on walkability: a case of Colombo 07
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Ravindra, RKMP; Sooriyagoda, KG
The walking behaviour of pedestrians continuously depends on street design and its quality. In Asian countries, streets have evolved from traditional streets without interpreting the actual need and impact of street elements for walking behaviour. However, they act only as transportation links while limited to the name by itself. This research aimed to identify the street elements that influence walkability and to investigate the most influential factor for walkability in terms of “Link and Place” to promote walkability in the Sri Lankan context. This study was conducted using a mixed-method approach. The on-site observations were carried out through a photograph survey and rough sketches to observe the street elements. Later, findings were validated through the questionnaire survey regarding the seven principles of a walkable street. Then, data were analysed by using descriptive analysis and correlation analysis aided by SPSS software. The findings of the observation and questionnaire revealed that there are nine most common street elements of streets which influence walkability in the Sri Lankan context. Finally, the study agreed that both “Link and Place” functions are equally important for the walkability of pedestrians.
item: Conference-Full-text
Informality in formal spaces through self organization: a study of the people’s processes in Puttalam town in Sri Lanka
(Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Pathirana, H.P.W.P; Munasinghe, J
Informality is an inevitable ingredient in an urban environment. The ‘formally’ established urban built environments are informally shaped by people for the appropriation of spaces for their activities. Within dominant institutionalized urban planning processes, such informalities are often regarded as ‘nuisances’, ‘out-of-place’, and ‘misfits’ in urban spaces. Yet, informally organized spaces are as important as formal spaces for the vitality, equity, and sustainability of all types of urban environments. People's processes in the creation and operation of informal spaces, resisting, contesting, and negotiating the dominant formal networks, have been the subject of many scholarly works over the last few decades, but a lack of empirical work and informative case studies on the subject has distanced mainstream planners and urban designers from learning and integrating such informal space production into institutionalized urban development processes. In order to mend this gap and reorient the prevalent understanding among planning professionals, a people’s endeavor in Puttalam town in Sri Lanka to form and sustain informal spaces is presented in this paper. The paper elaborates on the ‘self-organizing’ behaviour of the small-scale retail vendors and the day-to-day users of the city to withstand interventions by the authorities on the public market space of the town.

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