Five foot way

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Five foot ways are pedestrian walkways indented into the ground floor of a building from the road, so that the overhanging upper floors can provide a cover to shield pedestrians from the sun and rain. This feature can be found in many shophouses all over the world, and also in some office buildings (e.g. those along Shenton Way in Singapore). As the ground floor of most buildings are shops or eating places, the five foot ways can also function as a corridor for people to window-shop or stop by for some refreshments.

In Singapore, they date back to the time of the Colonial Government. Sir Stamford Raffles included this and other details in his Town Plan of 1822.