Problems Faced by Contemporary Malaysian Cities

Introduction

Gone were the days when everybody in the kampungs knows each other, different races live together in harmony, and they cooperate with one another in unison through activities such as ‘gotong-royong’. Nowadays children can no longer play freely in the streets, people can no longer feel safe while walking along the streets. High crime rate is a disturbing trend nowadays. Modern city life now became part and parcel of most Malaysians’ way of life, often conforms their social realm within the household. Property developers nowadays build new townships and housing schemes at the urban fringe of many major city conurbations. These developers often rake in profits by selling their residential units, disregarding any proper urban planning that may benefit the residents.

1.   No priority for pedestrians and cyclists

Among the aspects developers and planners should consider are to provide more space for pedestrian walkways and make it far away from busy streets. Many major streets and laneways in Malaysia do not provide ample space dedicated to pedestrians and bicycles. In many residential areas kerbs are used by residents as private gardens, while five-foot ways in shop lots are used to park motorcycles, furniture or displaying goods, so people frequently walk or jog along road shoulders. To make matters worse, cars were often parked at road shoulders, jeopardizing resident’s safety to vehicle accidents and snatch thefts. Even when there are pedestrian walkways that is narrow, often there is illegal parking of motorcycles which obstruct pedestrian movement. Instead, the authorities should encourage developer to plant more trees so as to provide shade to walkways.  This in turn will reduce the reliance on cars and motorcycles for travelling to nearby destinations, thus inculcate healthy lifestyle and increased chance of social interaction among neighbours.

2.    Lack of civic centres

Aside from that, urban planners should accentuate mixed use of development while planning new townships. As a resident of a new residential area, I have to drive my car as far as 10-minute journey for running errands such as grocery shopping, dining-out and banking, therefore it is inconvenient for residents like me to walk or cycle. Shops, commercial centres, public buildings and transportation hubs developed within a 2km radius and within walking distance are laudable.

3.   Lack of public spaces

Many contemporary cities in Malaysia has lack of public open space. Developers and urban planners should create more public space for recreation, games, communal activities, festive gatherings and flea markets. These will not only ameliorate robustness of the neighbourhood, but also encourage more productive and beneficial activities, and in turn instill family values, building camaraderie and sense of comfort in the neighbourhood community as in traditional kampongs. Various recreational activities and community centres may deter the young from indulging in social ills such as illegal racing. Besides that, public spaces would also provide a more safe and secure realm for the residents, especially for children who would use it as a play space.

4.   Inefficient public transportation

In addition, townships should be built along major transportation corridors to ensure residents have easy access to public transport. Major landmarks such as shopping centre and public parks, and key districts should be planned in close proximity to the public transportation hubs. In many new residential areas much is focused on travelling by private vehicles, mainly cars and motorcycles. It is suggested that towns may have a dedicated bus lane or bicycle lane to reduce reliance on private transport. In that way, traffic congestion and environmental pollution is alleviated.

A public park may be developed at the centre of a residential area with people conducting business by setting up warungs, mamak stalls or hawker stalls. This is because these hawkers tend to occupy parking space which lead to double parking by vehicles, which in turn cause traffic congestion. Maximizing functions of public space may increase liveability of the neighbourhood. Cities should provide ample open space for hawkers selling food. In that way, this would become a popular public space for residents to converge. Food streets should be celebrated as one of the key elements of Malaysian culture.

5.    Insufficient variety

Building arrangements should have a distinctive layout and variety, rather than continuous street layouts parallel to one another as in many typical terrace housing. Developers and planners should also promote mixed use of space in these new urban areas, instead of vast specific zoning of residential areas. An urban area should have different types of buildings to provide visual cues and create a sense of meaning to the place. This would also increase legibility for people to locate places.

6.    Lack of local character and cultural richness

Planners of contemporary cities should not discard the good qualities of a local kampongs and old towns. These kampungs consists of fine grains of intense social activities that enlivens the city. Many modern Malaysian cities today are looking more like Western cities and their distinctive urban characteristics are diminishing. This is due to increasing globalization that seems to be more economically expedient in Malaysia, but this is however a major threat to the maintenance to the urban cultural heritage. 

Modern buildings that may be suitable for cold climates may not be suitable for Malaysia which has a tropical climate. These cities have isolated glass skyscrapers that are unsustainable and out of local context. In some traditional heritage buildings and kampong houses, they are built to adapt with the local tropical climate.   

These contemporary cities should have a certain human scale. Putrajaya and Cyberjaya may have been planned with wide boulevards, monumental plazas and governmental institutions are mainly for vehicles with disregard to human scale. The buildings are located too far apart to accommodate wide streets and this makes people feel uncomfortable while walking through the streets in the scorching afternoon. The buildings in these newly planned cities should be designed with different architectural styles, i.e. Malay, Chinese, Indian etc. to reflect the multiculturalism in Malaysia.

Conclusion

I vehemently believe that developers, planners and authorities should not be nonchalant in solving the prevalent issues in our cities and considering the needs and future of the local community to achieve the objective of a city with a clear vision.