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Urban population ( 10 6 )
[ line ]
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
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Urban population Urban population (% of total population ) Population in the largest city (% of urban population )
Urban population keep increases
Stagnate in Kuala Lumpur
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76 % |
100
80
60
40
20
Urban population (%) [ dotted lines ]
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0.0 |
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0 |
1960 |
1970 |
1980 |
1990 |
2000 |
2010 |
2020 |
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Y |
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Figure 1 : The urban population in Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur from 1960 to 2020 [ 4 ], [ 5 ], [ 6 ]
Statistics Malaysia ( DOSM ), urban is defined as “ Gazetted areas with their adjoining built-up areas , which had a combined population of 10,000 or more at the time of the Census 2010 or the special development area that can be identified , which at least had a population of 10,000 with at least 60 % of the population ( aged 15 years and above ) involved in non-agricultural activities .” [ 3 ] The urban population in Malaysia is rising rapidly over the past 30 years and makes up 76 % of the total population as shown in Figure 1 . This population is packed into an area that is only 4.9 % of the total land area in Malaysia [ 7 ]. The urban population in Kuala Lumpur ( KL ) has stagnated since 2010 but the total urban population has continued to rise . The saturation of KL has prompted the sprawling of urbanisation towards the rural .
A proper urban environment design should prioritise the comfort of urban dwellers and create suitable and comfortable living conditions for their physical and mental health . This means that the urban environment has to be designed to balance the three main pillars of sustainability — economy , society and environment . Unfortunately , the economy is usually given the heaviest weightage , followed by society and the environment . It is the economy that differentiates the urban from the rest . Even so , the hard truth is that without the
environment , society and economy cannot be sustained .
An urban environment can only be made to last if it is able to self-regulate and self-sustain . The environmental aspects of urban design should be considered from the inception and the design stage [ 8 ]. Urban design and planning extend from micro- , macro- , up to meso-scale features and configurations .
On the Micro-Scale
On the micro-scale , urban design involves the design layout of the building and within the building itself . Urban design encompasses land use management , energy consumption , water quality , air quality , noise , drainage , transportation proximity , traffic — the list goes on . Only very basic factors and requirements are being ingested in the current environmental impact assessment by the Department of Environment ( DOE ) in Malaysia [ 9 ]. The Green Building Index ( GBI ) and MyCREST have incorporated energy assessment and indoor air quality to complement the existing DOE requirements . The latter has also considered the entire life cycle of the building from design , construction and operation , to refurbishment and
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