theSun | TUESDAY NOVEMBER 3 2009
speak up!
Put people first
in town planning
WORLD Town
Planning Day is on
Nov 8. Although it is
commemorated in
only 30 countries, for
those interested in
urban development, it
provides an occasion
to reflect on town
planning, its strengths
and weaknesses.
This year, the LocalCounsel
Federal Town and
Country Planning by Goh Ban Lee
Department com-
memorates the day by holding
a conference on Nov 9, with the
theme “Sustainable Develop-
ment – People-centric Planning”.
Although this is not something
new, it is timely.
Town planning emerged as
a distinct professional activity
about a century ago to improve
the quality of life of the people, es-
pecially the poor. Unfortunately,
the people are often forgotten. For
instance, dismayed by what he
saw in the 1960s, Herbert Gans,
an American sociologist once
called for “Planning for people,
not buildings”.
Urban development in Malay-
sia has been anything but “peo-
ple-centric”. For example, there
has been too much pandering to
the interests of private car drivers
and highway concessionaires.
How else could one explain the
many highways criss-crossing
Kuala Lumpur and the Klang
Valley? The Penang Outer Ring
Road (PORR) is still an agenda.
Making things worse, pedes-
trians and public transport have
been neglected. Walkways are of-
ten not provided or built so badly
that they serve no purpose at all.
Even if provided, they are often
occupied by motor vehicles or
hawker stalls or not maintained.
While Malaysia gives priori-
ties to private cars, many cities,
especially those in Europe, have
remained people-friendly. For
example, cities in Germany, the
home of Mercedes-Benz, BMWs
and Porsches, VWs and Audis,
have very good public transport
systems. More importantly, pe-
destrians are provided with safe
walkways and drivers stop for
pedestrians at crossings.
What is even more exciting
is that roads and highways are
giving way to walkways and
bicycle paths. For example, New
York recently created a 2.5 acre
pedestrian plaza in place of roads
that used to cater to 53,000 cars
daily. This enables about 356,000
pedestrians to walk and use
the place. Transportation Com-
missioner Janette Sadik-Khan,
who was handpicked by Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, has won ac-
colades and has been invited by
cities like Beijing and Sao Paulo
to talk about her work.
In Seoul, in 2002, Mayor Lee
letter
letters@thesundaily.com
One task force too many
HOW many task forces can one ad-
minister effectively? Chief secretary
to the government, Tan Sri Mohd
Sidek Hassan, now has Pemudah,
PKFZ and the auditor-general’s
report to contend with.
This clearly shows a lack of de-
sire to allow Sidek to do his day job
13
Myung-bak demol-
ished about six-km
of a six-lane highway
in the city centre and
revitalised a river that
once flowed through
the city to create the
Cheonggyecheon
Park with a flowing
stream and pedestrian
walks. It is an attrac-
tion to both Koreans
and tourists and plays
an important role in
Seoul’s endeavour to
become an international finan-
cial and commercial hub.
In 2007, Lee was elected the
president of South Korea.
There is much that can be
done to make Malaysian towns
and cities more people-centric.
The local authorities should
reclaim public space for people
to walk, mingle and make new
friends or rekindle old ones.
For instance, five foot ways in
traditional shophouses should be
cleared of boxes, display shelves
and parked vehicles. Shop own-
ers should not be allowed to raise
or lower the level of walkways.
The same should also apply
to all municipal open spaces and
road reserves that are occupied
by hawkers, car-dealers, show-
rooms, etc. Such spaces must
only be for people to congregate,
if only to see other people and be
seen.
Old wet markets that are no
longer used should be turned
into public parks. Such spaces
could be used for weekend activi-
ties such as “farmers markets” or
even “garage sales” to bring
people back and enjoy the town
centres.
For instance, the old market in
Balik Pulau in Penang should not
be a site for multi-storey build-
ings. It should be turned into an
open space so that the township
which is famous for seasonal
fruits, especially durians, has a
green place for the local people
and visitors to mingle and enjoy
local fruits.
Last but not least, river banks
should be turned into linear
parks. Malaysians should be able
to walk, mingle and relax along
the banks of Sungei Klang in
Kuala Lumpur, Sungei Segget in
Johor Baru and Sungei Penang
in George Town just as the South
Koreans do in central Seoul.
As Lewis Mumfort said in
1938, “City is a place for multiply-
ing happy chances and making
the most of unplanned opportu-
nities.” But unless people meet
and mingle, the benefits of city
living will not materialise.
Dr Goh Ban Lee is interested in
urban governance, housing and
urban planning. Comments: let-
ters@thesundaily.com.
to improve the government services
while at the same time allowing all
the task forces to be an eyewash
so that all the scandals remain
unresolved.
Maniam Sankar
Kuala Lumpur