There is a common geographical vocabulary in the straits settlements between Penang, Singapore and Melaka; Kuala Lumpur too shares the architectural grammar with the three cities. The Chinatown in Calcutta too was a part of the same entrepôt grid, as was Rangoon.

Migration is not an exception but a way of life in these cities. The digital nomads and labour migrants today are no different along a socioeconomic and passport spectrum.