Macau - Main Streets

While most visitors to Macau would make a point to visit all the major historical sites, the more modern parts of the city are often overlooked, and it is easy to see why. Macau Peninsula has a few main streets, and they are populated by mostly nondescript buildings without much architectural character. Most of the buildings which try to make an architectural statement are overtly Classical and border on kitsch. There are also very few interesting precincts around to make a venture worthwhile for the tourist. For me though, it makes an interesting study on a different approach to urban design which emphasize on the monumental and superficial impression.


The mostly hard landscaping does little to engage the pedestrian, and a lack of interesting clusters of shops and activities fails to make the city streets interesting. Some efforts are now underway to create pockets of urban gardens and spaces in the middle of the main streets. These are still new and it takes time to gauge what impact these new insertions will have on the city.