Comparative Behavioural Evidence of Youth Engagement in Adaptively Reused Heritage Buildings in Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

Adaptive reuse has become an important strategy for revitalising heritage environments while preserving their cultural significance and accommodating contemporary urban needs. However, existing research has largely emphasised perception-based evaluations, with limited comparative evidence of how young people engage with different adaptively reused heritage environments through observable behaviours. This study aimed to compare youth engagement patterns across two heritage adaptive reuse settings with distinct spatial organisations and functional programmes. A qualitative comparative multiple-case study was conducted at Central Market and REXKL in Kuala Lumpur, employing systematic behavioural observation and behavioural mapping during weekday and public holiday periods. The findings revealed seven recurring forms of youth behaviour across both sites, including strolling, resting, social interaction, consumption, cultural participation, digital engagement, and entrepreneurial-related activities. While these behaviours were commonly observed, their spatial distributions differed between the two cases. Central Market exhibited broader behavioural dispersion across indoor and outdoor commercial spaces, whereas REXKL showed greater concentration around multi-level creative, cultural, and communal areas. These findings demonstrate that similar forms of youth engagement can occur within different spatial and functional contexts. By providing cross-case behavioural evidence, this study contributes to a context-sensitive understanding of youth engagement in adaptive reuse and offers practical insights for developing more inclusive and youth-responsive heritage environments.