Abstract

This article identifies how the relationship among objects, the diversity of activities, human senses, and space in traditional markets can influence—by constraining or enabling—users (e.g., traders and customers) via walkways in that space. The design of the market gives opportunities to the users to explore and use the existing space and shows how the occupations of the walkways change throughout the day. At the same time, the organization of the market space limits users’ flexibility, but it does not determine how users act toward space. The merchants and customers will decide how to use and access the space through how it is organized, their senses, and experiences. In the traditional market, walkways (walkway space) are commonly used in flexible ways with another purpose to circulate. This research carried out observations on the walkway spaces at Kemiri Muka (KM) and Sukatani (S) traditional markets in Depok City, West Java, Indonesia, to understand how people use such spaces. Theories about space, place and the relationship between design and the life of the street markets were analysed in the study. The results show that the traditional market management needs to better understand traders and customer’s behavior and interpretation toward their use of walkway space in the markets.