The intent of this paper is to discuss the survival of the shop houses in the historic city of Malacca based on the research on the perceptions of the users, site observation and available documents. The findings of the research suggested that the shop houses were the most visited places. The users had both positive and negative perceptions on the shop houses in terms of comfort, circulation and other aspects that relate to shopping activities. The information can be used as a guide to ensure the continuous use of the shop houses as the setting for current and future activities
