SREETHERAN A/L MARUTHAVEERAN / FRSB (original) (raw)

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Papers by SREETHERAN A/L MARUTHAVEERAN / FRSB

Unasylva, 2006

... AGROVOC English terms, Trees; Planting; Amenity planting; Urban forestry; Urban areas; Qualit... more ... AGROVOC English terms, Trees; Planting; Amenity planting; Urban forestry; Urban areas; Quality of life; Species; Street trees; Public gardens; Development plans. ... v. 57(= no.223) p. 28-33. Coverage AGROVOC, Malaysia. AGRIS 2010 - FAO of the United Nations. Loading... ...

European Journal of Public Health

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

The understanding of cross-cultural upon park usage is vital to be enhanced among public since fi... more The understanding of cross-cultural upon park usage is vital to be enhanced among public since findings that been discovered in the Western context are not own any similarities with the Asian context. In fact, it has been in a long run for the Western nations to primarily contextualized and conceptualized much on the literature of park usage. This study aims to look at how the people use and perceive urban parks in their daily life in the Malaysian cultural context, and also highlights the constraints faced by Malaysians while using the urban parks in the city of Kuala Lumpur. A survey consisted of 669 urban park users as the sample of the study (365 men, 304 females) aged between 18 and 73 years (M = 34.85, SD = 11.46) were conducted in five urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. Respondents were recruited based on a random sampling method, which composed of three main ethnic groups in Malaysia. Malaysians wanted to use the urban parks for multiple purposes including active activities and others. Most of them would visit the parks and spend their time in a group consisting of family members or friends rather than alone. The percentage of respondent with 74.7% stated their reason of visiting the urban park in order "to get fresh air", followed by the factor of reducing stress and relaxing with 69.7%; and the latter reason would be "to exercise, play games or keep in shape" with 61.4%. More than 80% of the respondents claimed the parks in Kuala Lumpur are safe to be visited. This is because, majority of the respondents tend to visit the parks in group of family or friends rather than alone. In addition, most of the respondents would run their activities in parks during the weekends, which simultaneously make them to enjoy their day in such comfortable and secure way. The findings of this survey would contribute to a better understanding of the present park usage of Kuala Lumpur residents. With a better understanding of current park-visiting habits, various constraints faced by the residents related to public security and safety, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall have been suggested to develop more comprehensive strategy in order to provide engagement and urban parks stimulation for its residents. In addition, this study is also fruitful for Kuala Lumpur future parks in terms of its development, design and management.

Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 2010

In the excitement of transforming Malaysia as Garden Nation through planting trees and establishi... more In the excitement of transforming Malaysia as Garden Nation through planting trees and establishing public parks around the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, special attention should be given particularly in providing a safe urban environment. This is in line with the National Urbanisation Policy and Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020. However, this can not be implemented without setting measurable standards of quality. Therefore, a survey was conducted to develop performance indicators from the safety aspect for the urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 420 park users from three urban parks of Kuala Lumpur were randomly interviewed based on a detailed questionnaire designed. Fifteen indicators were developed and these were further grouped into three strategies according to the "Safe City Programme": public awareness, physical planning and design and target hardening.

Journal of Forestry Washington, Sep 30, 2010

Trees have been playing important roles in our lives for centuries; however, too often, city coun... more Trees have been playing important roles in our lives for centuries; however, too often, city councils in Malaysia are unaware about the consequences of a tree failure such as property damage and personal injury. Identifying hazardous trees and taking appropriate corrective actions can protect property and save lives. A study was conducted to identify the criteria and indicators needed to identify hazardous street trees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Delphi method was used in this study to solicit the opinion from the experts through a series of questionnaires. This study generated and identified 6 criteria and 38 indicators that arborist need to evaluate to identify hazardous street trees in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully the generated criteria and indicators will be an initial step for Malaysian park managers as they implement their hazard tree management programs.

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 2015

This study was conducted to determine the attributes which evoke 'fear of crime' ... more This study was conducted to determine the attributes which evoke 'fear of crime' and to determine the defensive behaviour among the urban park users. Findings are based on qualitative studies undertaken in the city of Kuala Lumpur among the park and non-park users (N = 19) by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interview consists of respondents from various age, gender and race. The results revealed universal similarities to other cultures on fear of crime in urban green spaces. This study has highlighted eight themes on the attributes which evoke fear among the residents of Kuala Lumpur in their urban parks; concealment (vegetation), being alone, signs of physical disorder, presence of social incivilities, familiarity, prior information about crime and previous crime experience. This study also found that among the residents of Kuala Lumpur there is some form of defensive behaviour towards crime in urban parks but this was only observed among the women. This paper has also highlighted the implications on park planning and management from the comments given by the respondents. Though the aspect of fear towards crime in urban green spaces is not a major focus in Malaysia, this study illustrates the need to initiatives related to urban parks management to ensure a better sense of security among users.

Journal of Arboriculture

Tree planting programs in Malaysia have progressed as planned. However, the subsequent management... more Tree planting programs in Malaysia have progressed as planned. However, the subsequent management of the street trees, particularly at Kuala Lumpur City Hall, is not well undertaken due to inadequate information for management and maintenance purposes. There has never been a systematic tree survey conducted to inventory street trees in Kuala Lumpur. With this, a survey was conducted to collect comprehensive information on tree structure, species composition, species diversity, and tree defects and disorders. A total 2,191 street trees were surveyed.

Urban Ecosystems, 2014

There is growing recognition of urban areas as hosts for innovative ways to conserve and promote ... more There is growing recognition of urban areas as hosts for innovative ways to conserve and promote biodiversity. Parks, as one specific type of urban green space, constitute particularly important biodiversity hotspots in the cityscape. We reviewed empirical findings on the species richness in urban parks across all species groups that have been studied. The aim was to assess and discuss the overall species richness of urban parks, its community attributes and drivers. Search and subsequent selection process resulted in 62 papers from 25 different countries. For all examined species groups, the findings consistently show that parks are among the most species rich types of urban green spaces, but also that exotics constitute large shares, especially of plant species. Key ecological theories like the gradient approach and the island habitat ecological theory, and fundamental ecological relationships such as the species-area relationship are valid despite the manipulated 'nature' of parks and the surrounding urban matrix. Most studies surveyed large number of parks and applied 'multi-scale' approaches in tests of confounding variables, providing methodological strength. While matrix effects are consistently found to affect species richness negatively, the diversity of habitats and microhabitat heterogeneity contained in urban parks appears as the most decisive factor for the overall species richness. However, a constraint of research to date is the limitation of individual studies to one or a few species groups, rarely bridging between flora and fauna. Adopting 'multi-species group' approaches in future research is needed to further advance the understanding of the overall biodiversity of urban parks, and its drivers.

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

Studies have pointed at the negative side of urban green spaces in terms of evoking fear of crime... more Studies have pointed at the negative side of urban green spaces in terms of evoking fear of crime. Howeverresearch on fear-provoking attributes suggests that there usually is no single attribute that influencesfear but that rather a combination of attributes prevails. The aim of the paper is to systematically reviewthose attributes that evoke fear of crime in urban green spaces and to highlight their complex interactionby adopting a social-ecological framework. Results include an overview of the reviewed literature withregard to authorship, journal, geographical distribution of the studies, types of urban green spaces stud-ies, types of landscape stimulus used, applied methods, types of respondents involved and main studyfindings. Forty-eight studies met the authors’ inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies highlightedthat individual factors (such as gender and past experience) were more influential than social and phys-ical factors in evoking fear of crime. A proposed socio-...

Unasylva, 2006

... AGROVOC English terms, Trees; Planting; Amenity planting; Urban forestry; Urban areas; Qualit... more ... AGROVOC English terms, Trees; Planting; Amenity planting; Urban forestry; Urban areas; Quality of life; Species; Street trees; Public gardens; Development plans. ... v. 57(= no.223) p. 28-33. Coverage AGROVOC, Malaysia. AGRIS 2010 - FAO of the United Nations. Loading... ...

European Journal of Public Health

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

The understanding of cross-cultural upon park usage is vital to be enhanced among public since fi... more The understanding of cross-cultural upon park usage is vital to be enhanced among public since findings that been discovered in the Western context are not own any similarities with the Asian context. In fact, it has been in a long run for the Western nations to primarily contextualized and conceptualized much on the literature of park usage. This study aims to look at how the people use and perceive urban parks in their daily life in the Malaysian cultural context, and also highlights the constraints faced by Malaysians while using the urban parks in the city of Kuala Lumpur. A survey consisted of 669 urban park users as the sample of the study (365 men, 304 females) aged between 18 and 73 years (M = 34.85, SD = 11.46) were conducted in five urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. Respondents were recruited based on a random sampling method, which composed of three main ethnic groups in Malaysia. Malaysians wanted to use the urban parks for multiple purposes including active activities and others. Most of them would visit the parks and spend their time in a group consisting of family members or friends rather than alone. The percentage of respondent with 74.7% stated their reason of visiting the urban park in order "to get fresh air", followed by the factor of reducing stress and relaxing with 69.7%; and the latter reason would be "to exercise, play games or keep in shape" with 61.4%. More than 80% of the respondents claimed the parks in Kuala Lumpur are safe to be visited. This is because, majority of the respondents tend to visit the parks in group of family or friends rather than alone. In addition, most of the respondents would run their activities in parks during the weekends, which simultaneously make them to enjoy their day in such comfortable and secure way. The findings of this survey would contribute to a better understanding of the present park usage of Kuala Lumpur residents. With a better understanding of current park-visiting habits, various constraints faced by the residents related to public security and safety, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall have been suggested to develop more comprehensive strategy in order to provide engagement and urban parks stimulation for its residents. In addition, this study is also fruitful for Kuala Lumpur future parks in terms of its development, design and management.

Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 2010

In the excitement of transforming Malaysia as Garden Nation through planting trees and establishi... more In the excitement of transforming Malaysia as Garden Nation through planting trees and establishing public parks around the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, special attention should be given particularly in providing a safe urban environment. This is in line with the National Urbanisation Policy and Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020. However, this can not be implemented without setting measurable standards of quality. Therefore, a survey was conducted to develop performance indicators from the safety aspect for the urban parks in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 420 park users from three urban parks of Kuala Lumpur were randomly interviewed based on a detailed questionnaire designed. Fifteen indicators were developed and these were further grouped into three strategies according to the "Safe City Programme": public awareness, physical planning and design and target hardening.

Journal of Forestry Washington, Sep 30, 2010

Trees have been playing important roles in our lives for centuries; however, too often, city coun... more Trees have been playing important roles in our lives for centuries; however, too often, city councils in Malaysia are unaware about the consequences of a tree failure such as property damage and personal injury. Identifying hazardous trees and taking appropriate corrective actions can protect property and save lives. A study was conducted to identify the criteria and indicators needed to identify hazardous street trees in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Delphi method was used in this study to solicit the opinion from the experts through a series of questionnaires. This study generated and identified 6 criteria and 38 indicators that arborist need to evaluate to identify hazardous street trees in Kuala Lumpur. Hopefully the generated criteria and indicators will be an initial step for Malaysian park managers as they implement their hazard tree management programs.

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 2015

This study was conducted to determine the attributes which evoke 'fear of crime' ... more This study was conducted to determine the attributes which evoke 'fear of crime' and to determine the defensive behaviour among the urban park users. Findings are based on qualitative studies undertaken in the city of Kuala Lumpur among the park and non-park users (N = 19) by means of semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interview consists of respondents from various age, gender and race. The results revealed universal similarities to other cultures on fear of crime in urban green spaces. This study has highlighted eight themes on the attributes which evoke fear among the residents of Kuala Lumpur in their urban parks; concealment (vegetation), being alone, signs of physical disorder, presence of social incivilities, familiarity, prior information about crime and previous crime experience. This study also found that among the residents of Kuala Lumpur there is some form of defensive behaviour towards crime in urban parks but this was only observed among the women. This paper has also highlighted the implications on park planning and management from the comments given by the respondents. Though the aspect of fear towards crime in urban green spaces is not a major focus in Malaysia, this study illustrates the need to initiatives related to urban parks management to ensure a better sense of security among users.

Journal of Arboriculture

Tree planting programs in Malaysia have progressed as planned. However, the subsequent management... more Tree planting programs in Malaysia have progressed as planned. However, the subsequent management of the street trees, particularly at Kuala Lumpur City Hall, is not well undertaken due to inadequate information for management and maintenance purposes. There has never been a systematic tree survey conducted to inventory street trees in Kuala Lumpur. With this, a survey was conducted to collect comprehensive information on tree structure, species composition, species diversity, and tree defects and disorders. A total 2,191 street trees were surveyed.

Urban Ecosystems, 2014

There is growing recognition of urban areas as hosts for innovative ways to conserve and promote ... more There is growing recognition of urban areas as hosts for innovative ways to conserve and promote biodiversity. Parks, as one specific type of urban green space, constitute particularly important biodiversity hotspots in the cityscape. We reviewed empirical findings on the species richness in urban parks across all species groups that have been studied. The aim was to assess and discuss the overall species richness of urban parks, its community attributes and drivers. Search and subsequent selection process resulted in 62 papers from 25 different countries. For all examined species groups, the findings consistently show that parks are among the most species rich types of urban green spaces, but also that exotics constitute large shares, especially of plant species. Key ecological theories like the gradient approach and the island habitat ecological theory, and fundamental ecological relationships such as the species-area relationship are valid despite the manipulated 'nature' of parks and the surrounding urban matrix. Most studies surveyed large number of parks and applied 'multi-scale' approaches in tests of confounding variables, providing methodological strength. While matrix effects are consistently found to affect species richness negatively, the diversity of habitats and microhabitat heterogeneity contained in urban parks appears as the most decisive factor for the overall species richness. However, a constraint of research to date is the limitation of individual studies to one or a few species groups, rarely bridging between flora and fauna. Adopting 'multi-species group' approaches in future research is needed to further advance the understanding of the overall biodiversity of urban parks, and its drivers.

Urban Forestry & Urban Greening

Studies have pointed at the negative side of urban green spaces in terms of evoking fear of crime... more Studies have pointed at the negative side of urban green spaces in terms of evoking fear of crime. Howeverresearch on fear-provoking attributes suggests that there usually is no single attribute that influencesfear but that rather a combination of attributes prevails. The aim of the paper is to systematically reviewthose attributes that evoke fear of crime in urban green spaces and to highlight their complex interactionby adopting a social-ecological framework. Results include an overview of the reviewed literature withregard to authorship, journal, geographical distribution of the studies, types of urban green spaces stud-ies, types of landscape stimulus used, applied methods, types of respondents involved and main studyfindings. Forty-eight studies met the authors’ inclusion criteria. The majority of the studies highlightedthat individual factors (such as gender and past experience) were more influential than social and phys-ical factors in evoking fear of crime. A proposed socio-...