Vitality of Flats Outdoor Space

Minimum internal dwelling space of low-cost walk-up flats forces life to spill outdoor involving daily mundane activities affecting neighborhood social vitality. In design, this affordance of such ‘marginal’ outdoor spaces has been neglected. Using data derived from systematic observations in various low cost walk up flats, this paper explores the use of these outdoor near home spaces and found that they support various domestic, social and retreat activities generating liveliness in the otherwise barren low cost environment. Potentials for social encounters and casual surveillance were significantly affected by the flats layouts.