FACULTY OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

ENGINEER AND SOCIETY

BFC24203

GROUP EXERCISE 3

SECTION : 5

LECTURER’S NAME : IR. TS. DR. RAHA BINTI ABD RAHMAN

GROUP MEMBERS :
1. MUHAMMAD SYAIFUL ALIFF BIN AMAN (DF170133) (K)
2. NANTHINI A/P KANAGARAJAH - (DF190128)
3. NAZARUL AMIEN BIN NADZRI - (DF190122)
4. NOR NABILAH NASUHA BINTI HIZAM (DF190086)
5. NORHAFIZZA BINTI ZOLKAFRI - (CF190169)
6. NUHA BINTI ABD WAHAB - DF190168

DATE : 1/12/2020
QUESTION 1.

1. There are just too many vehicles in Malaysian cities. Are cities being
designed to accommodate vehicles and not people ?

NOR NABILAH NASUHA BINTI HIZAM (DF190086)

To my way of thinking the cities that were built were not to be used as a place to
accommodate vehicles but they were built to accommodate the current human
population. The more years, the more human population. So, it is not impossible that
the number of vehicles in an area or cities will also increase over time. This can be
proven when a person is married or has a family where they have children, the couple
will definitely buy a vehicle to make their life doing daily affairs such as sending
children to school much easier. Also, if a person capable and has less commitment,
he/she will definitely buy a vehicle. So, it is not impossible if the number of vehicles
is higher now. In the current pandemic season, people may be more afraid to use
public transport services such as buses, taxis or lrt. So, for those who still need to go
to the office, it will be a problems that need to be solved immediately and one of the
solution is by buying a car or motorcycle. In addition, the public transport's usage also
will be limited in this pandemic season. Public vehicles in Malaysia may not be able
to accommodate the number of users in a certain community and this will dragging a
lot of times.

NAZARUL AMIEN BIN NADZRI (DF190122)

In my opinion, in this era, I would say yes. Human beings were designed to walk but
due to the industrialization and urban growth, this phenomenon was changed. This
phenomenon changed on how people move as people needed to move farther even
faster. The demanding on vehicle is increased because of that because it already be a
necessity for people. Then, the established cities will be upgraded along the
modernization to adapt this new demand. So, no wonder why the cities being
designed for vehicles as it looks a necessity in this new era.
QUESTION 2

2. How can we reduce the number of private vehicles in the city, and what are
the benefits of this approach ?

NANTHINI A/P KANAGARAJAH (DF191028)

In my opinion, we need to normalize using public transport. Public transport such as

buses, train are an alternative mode of transport for vehicle users. The quality of the
service provided by the public transportation should be enhanced in order to
encourage citizen to shift from using their private cars to use different types of public
transportation. There should be also integration between different modes of public
transportation in order to reduce the overall journey time of an individual.

Moreover, we can use car pooling policy. Car-pooling means the usage of the private
car that belongs to one person in order to carry a number of his colleagues. This
solution has many benefits on the city as it reduces parking demand as well as
reducing traffic congestion by decreasing the number of vehicle trips on the existing
road network and pollution reduction.

Parking Pricing Policy also can reduce the usage of private vehicles. The main
benefits of this policy is to discouraging the use of private vehicles and encouraging
public transport which will lead to a reduction in traffic congestion as well as a
reduction of carbon emissions in the environment.

Benefits :
1. Reduce environmental impact.
 The environmental consequences of transport are the result of air pollution, roads
congestion and the depletion of renewable resources. By using public transport
we can increase the road environment. Although automobile and aeroplane are
considered to be more damaging to the environment than other modes of
transport, most transport modes result also in some form of negative
environmental consequences.
2. Reduce social impact.
 Social benefits have been accompanying with the automobile such as
independence, freedom in going to employment, shopping, and recreational
activities. However, there are some negative social consequences associated using
private vehicles such as traffic noise, which cause significant health and social
problems. One of the studies shown, noise causes cardiovascular diseases, high
blood pressure, and insomnia prohibits undisturbed outdoor recreation and
damages the learning and reading abilities of school-age children.[1]
 Car use is associated with greater health risks that most people are neglecting. It
is always associated with road deaths and serious injuries resulting from
accidents. So, we can reduce accidents/ car crashes and increase road safety.

MUHAMMAD SYAIFUL ALIFF BIN AMAN (DF170133).

The growth of vehicles number on the road is not a positive sign for our country. It
can give rise to any disadvantage in our community, such as increased traffic
congestion. Malaysia is struggling with these issues in a specific state with the highest
population but with less land area such as Malacca. Therefore, in order to solve these
issues, I try to come up with the extremely outcome that will reduce the number of
private cars in the city. The solution is suggesting to Road Transport Department of
Malaysia or JPJ to introduce the Off-Car Peak scheme (OCP), in critical cities with
heavy private vehicles uses. The alternative is to restrict the use of personal vehicles
at the time of use. We may categorise into two types of off-peak car schemes, such as
“Weekend Car” and “Service Car”. This means that any private vehicle of an
individual is required to register the scheme. They can only drive their vehicle by
following the time permitted and driving during the limitation period. For the
Weekend Car scheme, the car can only be used during public holidays and night or
day weekends. Meanwhile, under the Service Car scheme, people will use the car to
get to work day and night. Furthermore, for people that live outside from city and visit
for tourism purposes, they are required to purchase 10-hour coupon that will allow
them to use their vehicle from 8.00 a.m.until 5.00 p.m. The coupon price is
only RM 50. If they declined to buy a coupon, they would be charged with paying the
compound for RM 200.
Benefit
1. Traffic congestion is going to decrease significantly at the crucial stage.
2. The parking area may be decreased and replaced by public facilities.
3. Minimize the amount of carbon monoxide emitted by the transport engine.
QUESTION 3.

3. As engineer, we should design our built environment to include all people,

young and old, able and disabled. Do you agree, and how can we do it ?

NUHA BINTI ABD WAHAB (DF190168)

As a engineer I agreed that we should design to be aware of difference across the

range of human abilities, and of associated design considerations. This includes
walking, balance, handling, pulling, pushing, lifting and reaching. Many activities
involve simultaneous use of more than one of these skills. Physical strength and
stamina may also affect people’s abilities to perform these actions. For some people
walking on the level or up gradients is difficult. Some people may have a limited
walking range, may have difficulty with turning movements or may use mobility
devices such as crutches or a walker. They may need to stop frequently, to regain
strength or catch breath. Design considerations include provision of handrails, seats at
regular intervals, convenient set-down parking and adequate time for slower
pedestrians at road crossings. Designers should also consider the needs of people
walking and engaging in sign language when designing access to and from buildings
plus within the buildings themselves.

The people that disable to hear clearly,designer should aware and do ishing
arrangement as this is very important for visually based communication and also use
of vibration as means of sensing others should be considered.For people who are blind
or who have visual difficulties, the provision of suitable tactile walking surface
indicators and tactile or acoustic warnings at hazardous locations, should provide
information on using the built environment and should limit the risk of injury. The
built environment can be designed for orientation by providing sound cues and tactile
cues. An easily discernible system of ‘way finding’ should also be considered. For
people with limited, but low vision, effective visual contrast between surfaces or
objects helps to identify critical locations. Warning markings on glass surfaces, and
markings on the edges of stair treads, help minimise hazards.
For the developing child, it is important to create environments that are safe,
accessible and useable for children. Individual components should be safe and useable
as age-appropriate. Learning to manage risk is an essential part of a child’s
development. Ageing adults, life span within the human population is increasing.
More and more we expect to maintain an economic and social life within both the
public and private domains as we age. However, many human faculties are in decline
as we age, such as mobility, dexterity, stamina, strength, hearing, sight, or memory.
Familiarity with a particular environment is important.For the ages with limited
endurance, frequent resting-places are essential.People generally find it easier to push
a component, than to pull it. This is particularly so if the individual uses a wheelchair.
Self-closing devices on manual doors can be difficult for some people to operate,
particularly if the doors are required to resist wind forces. For these reasons, doors
that open and close automatically are preferred.

NORHAFIZZA BINTI ZOLKAFRI (CF190169)

As a engineer I agreed that we should design our built environment to include all
community and generations needs. As the population increase, and there is greater
pressure for sustainable development, the requirements we have from the built
environment are becoming more demanding. With projected population growth comes
a huge increase in demand for transportation, for both passengers and goods. A vision
for the future is that all people have access to affordable and safe transportation, as
greater access to mobility will improve social and economic activities. As a engineer
we can actively contribute to planning, designing and building new infrastructure as
well as improving existing infrastructure. Focus on upgrading traffic control
technology like smart traffic lights, and detection technology, and supporting new
systems like high speed rail that allow large passenger volumes on interregional
routes. Other than that, we should design intelligent transportation system (ITS) to
enhance the efficiency, speed and reliability to public and private transport. ITS will
enable people to minimize waiting times by combining different modes of transport,
thereby improving social capital.

Built environment should be design to deconstruct and dismantle and not demolish.
During the planning and design phase, waste manager (environmental engineer)
should develop a strategy for end of life, including recyclable materials, ease of
dismantling and deconstruction and then allows virtual planning that how the building
will be reused. Engineers should have systemic thinking to decide how construction
and demolition waste can be minimized. Environmental engineers can make a
framework to maximize 3Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) into planning, design,
extraction of reusable material at construction and demolition stage and minimize the
disposal of construction waste by implementing sustainable strategy throughout the
life cycle of construction. The C&D waste management significantly reduces the
material in the design and planning stage, reducing scrap and waste at site and to
landfill reducing the cost and overall impact on environment.

Population growth, urbanization, and climate change will continue to stress water
resources and accelerate the need for new solutions to conserve, supply, treat, store,
and distribute water. Engineer can find new methods for making upgrades and repairs
to aging infrastructure to fix leaks that waste billions of gallons of water every day.
When designing and building new water infrastructure, or repairing or replacing
existing infrastructure, ensure that the owner considers investments that are cost
effective over their life cycle, are resource efficient, and are consistent with
community sustainability goals. Develop new sources of water, such as desalination
plants, tertiary water treatment for recycled water use, or rainwater collection
treatment and redistribution systems.