Street Typography Survey / Tolak RT 2035

Street Typography Survey is an ongoing artistic investigation into public signage, urban identity and people's attachment to the places they call home. The project began in Ampang Jaya, Malaysia, where Zelin Seah documented the deterioration of large neighbourhood entrance signs installed across residential areas under the jurisdiction of the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ).

Unlike conventional street-name plates, these prominent structures were designed to identify individual neighbourhoods and contribute to their public image. Over time, however, some fell into disrepair, with broken or missing letters left unattended for years before newer signs were introduced. Their recurring deterioration and replacement prompted Seah to question the relationship between public expenditure, urban beautification and long-term maintenance.

The damaged signs also presented a contradiction. Originally intended to establish a recognisable identity for each neighbourhood, they could eventually become visible reminders of neglect. Seah began to consider how such structures influence residents' perceptions of their surroundings. What happens when a sign intended to represent a community's identity becomes a symbol of its deterioration? How does this affect people's sense of pride and belonging?

Rather than preserving the damaged signs as static records, Seah collected fragments of their lettering and reconstructed them into a custom digital typeface. By transforming the remnants of official signage into a tool for public expression, he invited participants to write comments, recall place names and reflect on their relationships with the neighbourhoods they call home.

The survey was first introduced as part of Tolak RT 2035, a grassroots campaign responding to the proposed Ampang Jaya Local Plan 2035. As a member of AJ Rimba, a community collective advocating for environmental protection and meaningful public participation in land-use planning, Seah contributed to the campaign through a series of visual and participatory interventions.

These included designing campaign posters, developing an interactive map highlighting neighbourhood land-use conditions and areas vulnerable to environmental hazards, and conducting the typography survey to collect residents' concerns and reflections. Together, these activities sought to make urban planning issues more accessible while encouraging residents to participate in discussions about the future of their neighbourhoods.

The project subsequently expanded beyond Ampang Jaya into other urban environments, including Berlin. Through the continued documentation and reconstruction of fragmented public lettering, Seah explores how signage reflects changing urban identities, histories of development and the ways people relate to particular places.

By bringing together typography, mapping and community participation, Street Typography Survey examines the relationship between official representations of place and the experiences of those who inhabit it. The project asks who defines a neighbourhood's identity, how that identity is maintained, and what happens when the physical structures intended to represent a place begin to disappear.

The ongoing survey and participants' contributions are shared through @wheredoyoulive2025.

Keywords: #StreetTypography #PublicSignage #UrbanIdentity #PlaceAttachment #PublicSpace #UrbanMaintenance #CommunityMapping #ParticipatoryArt #LandUse #MakingAndUnmaking

Documentation of broken street signs and fragmented lettering collected during the Street Typography Survey, alongside participants' responses reflecting their memories, concerns and personal attachments to the places they call home.

- Links - 

Surveys -  @wheredoyoulive2025

Tolak RT2035 campaign -https://www.instagram.com/tolakrt2035/