Kuala Lumpur – Towards a sustainable city. A critical compendium. (original) (raw)

Moving towards embracing sustainability: learning from doing in the extended mega urban region, Kuala Lumpur

2016

The embracing of sustainability and liveability of an extended urban region depends on several underlying factors related to the three pillars of sustainable development. We have identified some of these factors: the soundness of collaboration between stake holders to create functioning institutions; effective governance to ensure feasible implementation and monitoring of plans and policies, the consideration related to the physical environment, creation of favourable social sphere, and balanced economic drivers such as industrial and retail diversity. In ensuring Malaysia’s rapid development, the industrial sector was promoted, thus encouraging domestic and foreign investments and diversified industrial activities. Industrial growth is important to boost up the economic growth. However, the growth of industrial areas in cities makes it a very vulnerable environment for people to live in, for their pollution threats. Retailing is the main component that contributes to the liveabilit...

The effect of sustainable development on environmental agenda. Case study: Putrajaya Green City, Malaysia

2020

During the past four decades, the relationship between the evolution of development strategies and environmental concerns within the urban context. Sustainable development is popularly described as a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. This study is a descriptive research that emphasis to the elaboration of an issue of concern and interest in relation to the implementation of the Green City Program in Putrajaya, Malaysia. This research will use a qualitative study and rely on analytical approach which data were collected from research report, government annual audit report, scientific article and reliable resources. There are TWO (2) indices form Malaysian initiatives for the performance of sustainable development policies namely 1) Malaysian Quality of Life Index MQLI and 2) Malaysian Urban Sustainability Indicator Network MURNInet. According to MQLI Report 2011 by Economic Planning Unit EPU, the quality of life in Malaysia has improved during the 2000 to 2010 period. Components measured in MQLI such as education, transport, communication, culture and leisure, public safety, health and social participation recorded improvement. Overall performance of MQLI was in line with the national aspiration to achieve high-income developed nation by the year 2020. According to MURNInet 2013, Putrajaya sustainable status with a share of 82.0% indicates that the development of existing and future Putrajaya in line with its goal to achieve the status of Green City Putrajaya 2025. This research concludes that the level of implementation of the sustainable development of Putrajaya Green City is still in the initial phase. Lack of knowledge of this concept is also at a satisfactory level.

Sustainable Urban Settlement and Environmental Challenges

ems-malaysia.org

The Malaysian urbanisation experiences have progressed from the grip of pseudo-urbanization in past decades before the 1970-s to the stage of mobilizing the process towards achieving the first world status by 2020 after that. The shift in development paradigms from one of development for social and spatial, rural and urban equity with expanding plantation agriculture and import substitution as the main drivers at first and the export industrialization and services later, to the sustainable development paradigm that seeks some form of balanced growth between the economic, social and the environmental pillars. Embedded in both paradigms is balanced development. The sustainable development concept is not easily applied to the city habitat for the reasons that it is the centre of modernity with economic growth as the mainstay for wealth accumulation to pay for social projects, thus leaving the environment pillar lagging behind. The article proposes city liveability instead to capture on the improved quality of city life. However, under the aegis of the two development paradigms urban centres continued to grow from largely rural to urban and international labour migration. In the last three decades, the country is witnessing the rise of extended mega urban regions focusing on the Klang valley, the Penang-Kulim industrial area and the Johor Bahru-Pasir Gudang area with minor conurbations in all states centering on the state capitals. The success in socioeconomic development in the city is not free of problems. Wealth accumulation has taken its toll on the environmental health as well as on the social situation of the country. More economic growth leads to further enlargement of cities which in turn increase more problems to both the physical and social environments. Economic vibrancy without doubt brings many benefits to the Malaysian society but the health of the environment leaves much to be desired due to unethical use of resources overt consumption. Looking to the future the society needs to be more responsible to both man and the environment. ABSTRAK Proses pembandaran yang diharungi oleh masyarakat Malaysia telah menular jauh dari proses pembandaran pseudo pada dekad dekad sebelum 1970-an ke

Social and Economic Aspects in City Management in Context of Sustainable Development

Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Częstochowskiej Zarządzanie

The article presents the issue of implementing sustainable development in cities with particular emphasis on the economic and social aspects, which together with the environmental one constitute the three pillars of this very concept. The most important social and economic problems of the world's largest cities are presented, as well as the current strategies of cities such as Singapore, London, New York and Dubai, which perform particularly well in these categories. A section analysing the operating effectiveness of cities on the basis of the Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index is presented.

Promoting sustainable urban development in fast growing city-regions: Practices from Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong

2008

The Asia‐Pacific region is characterised by rapid population growth and urbanisation. These trends often result in an increasing consumption of land, which in turn lead to spatially expansive and discontinuous urban development. As a consequence, local communities and the environment face strong pressures. Many cities in the region have developed policies to tackle the issue of rapid growth and its associated consequences, for example climate change. The broad aim of this paper is to identify the nature, trends and strategies ...

THE TRANSFORMATION OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURES IN CITY OF KUALA LUMPUR THROUGH URBAN SOLUTION AND INNOVATION

2017

In past couple of decades, the level of pollution has increased by several folds and this has increased the need to adopt programs such as green infrastructure that aims to protect environment. Human actions have not only damaged the environment and the ozone layer, but they also have had negative effects on all living organisms along with buildings and several precious monuments. The dangerous emissions released by factories, cars and other things that are being used on a daily basis accumulate gradually and if necessary steps are not taken to stop them, then the future generations are in grave danger and might have to face several health issues. Another important thing to take into consideration is that when compared to developing nations, the developed countries have played a larger role in polluting the environment because they are far advanced than the third world countries. This means for the developing countries to follow their steps; the developed countries should provide a good example and one way to do so is through green infrastructure. Green infrastructure refers to the network of natural and semi-natural areas, features and spaces in rural and urban areas, terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine areas. Green infrastructure can be strengthened through strategic and coordinated initiatives that focus on monitoring, restoring, improving and connecting existing areas and features as well as creating new uses and features. The principal issue that stimulates this work is to observe how planning policies could contribute towards achievement of sustainable urban development in Malaysian urban centres using green infrastructure attributes. The procedure involved for conducting this work was qualitative content analysis of planning policies that guides physical development of Malaysia. The policies give more emphasis on protection of natural areas, followed by conservation of Malaysian environment and provision of urban green spaces.

Sustainability, Quality of Life and Challenges in an Emerging City Region of George Town, Malaysia

Journal of Sustainable Development, 2019

High urbanization in Asia has given rise to the necessity to revisit its planning strategies towards the notion of livability and sustainability. This has called upon a need to accommodate the living capacity and ability of cities to provide welfare to their populations. Cities become complex and contradictory spaces if problems with accessibility towards basic necessities, inefficient transportation systems, environmental degradation, urban poverty, social exclusion and collapsing community values are not tackled with scrutiny of the standards needed for the urban quality of life (QoL). This paper aims to describe the urbanisation processes that challenge the livability and sustainability of George Town, the world heritage site of Penang, Malaysia. Using questionnaires and in-depth interviews with respondents, data were collected to explore the quality of life indicators and to assess the extent of urban sustainability and the challenges faced by the local communities. With the notion of an emerging mega urban region, the success of George Town in planning and projecting a sustainable urban development model is a step towards eliminating contemporary urban challenges and to promoting its cultural heritage. In this way forward, the role of the local authorities is crucial to propel George Town towards a livable city status that is culturally preserved.

Socio-Cultural Problems of Sustainable Urban Environment

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2018

Urban environment is a complex concept that includes material structure (buildings, constructions, transport, industry, utility lines, etc.) and natural environment with a variety of anthropogenic factors. Consistent patterns and directions of development of the urban environment are interrelated with philosophy, religion, science, aesthetics, socioeconomic relations, natural and climatic characteristics and culture of a particular country. According to the methodological principles of anthropologism and historism, the authors understand the urban environment as a continuum of coexistence, communication, interactions, relationships and needs of different nature and level, as a socio-cultural space of human life. Leading research workers from different scientifical branches present the urban space in contemporary anthropological versions of ontological theories as a unique space of human existence. Being a symbol of culture, the city, as the mechanism of its conversion to real forms of life, developing a socio-psychological community and the human's personality. Urban environment designers try to form the ambience under the influence of processes taking place in society at each historical stage. At the same time, the urban environment has an impact on the social wellbeing, worldview, attitudes, behavior and culture of the citizens. Therefore, the urban environment must meet the functional, aesthetic, spiritual, cultural human's needs, promoting to the creation of favorable conditions for his life.