INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

ASSIGNMENT
RKGS 6100: VALUES, ETHICS & BUILT
ENVIRONMENT
DR. SPAHIC OMER

NUR NABILA AHMAD AZAM

G 1016160
 RKGS 6100: VALUES, ETHICS AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

URBANIZATION: PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

At present, countries all over the world are facing with the same issues and problems concerning
environment, social, transportation, economy and many others in their respective cities. These
issues which frequently occurred in developing countries are mainly caused by the discrepancy
of development in cities and villages (Latif Fauzi, 2007). This imbalanced development between
the urban and rural areas is believed to cause such issues and problems. Most countries have
tendency to develop the city as the centre of government and business, rather than developing
rural areas. As a result, the urban areas are equipped with infrastructure, public facilities as well
as offered more job opportunities compared to the rural areas. This situation has attracted more
people from rural areas to migrate and live in the city in order to get a job to improve their lives
and eventually leads to many urbanization issues.

Malaysia has been acknowledged as one of the fast growing developing countries in the East.
The rapid urbanization which has been took place since independence 1957 has led to a massive
migration of people from rural villages to urban and newly growth areas (Zaid Ahmad, Nobaya
Ahmad and Haslinda Abdullah, 2009). For the past two decades, the rate of urbanization in
Malaysia has registered a significant increase and is expected to rise further in the future (TCPD,
2006). According to Syafiee Shuid (2004), in the year 2000, more than 60% of Malaysian lived
in urban areas and expected to increase up to 75% in 2020. It is projected that by year 2030 more
than three quarter (77.6%) of the total population in Malaysia will be staying in the urban areas
(TCPD, 2006; Ho Chin Siong, 2008). As the nation moving towards the vision to become a
developed country by year 2020, there are several issues and problems which also come along
together with the rapid development. As such, this paper will discuss about the impacts of
urbanization by using Malaysia as the example.

1.0 What is urbanization?

Urbanization has been defined by Nsiah-Gyabaah (u.d.) as the shift from a rural to an urban
society which involves an increase in the number of people in urban areas during a particular
year. Similarly, Gooden (u.d.) discussed urbanization as the migration of people in large
numbers from rural to urban areas and occurs mainly because of the concentration of resources
and facilities in towns and cities. Meanwhile, Reynolds (1989) defined urbanization as the
 RKGS 6100: VALUES, ETHICS AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

development of the population and cities, so that higher proportion of population lives in urban
areas. Generally, urbanization is closely linked to modernization, industrialization, and the
sociological process of rationalization. Urbanization began during the industrial revolution, when
workers moved towards manufacturing hubs in cities to obtain jobs in factories as agricultural
jobs became less common (Materialism, u.d.). Urbanization is the outcome of social, economic
and political developments that lead to urban concentration and growth of large cities, changes in
landuse and transformation from rural to metropolitan pattern of organization and governance
(Nsiah-Gyabaah, u.d.).

2.0 Factors of urbanization

There are several aspects which are believed to be the factors that lead to urbanization.
According to Gooden (u.d.), the factors can be classified into three categories, namely, economic
opportunities, proper infrastructure and utilities and availability of public facilities.

i. Economic opportunities

Most people believed that the standard of living in urban areas will be much better in urban areas
(Vimala, u.d.). People believe that more job opportunities and a greater variety of jobs offered in
the city rather than rural area. Besides, the income also will be higher.

ii. Proper infrastructure and utilities

As been mentioned before, most countries all over the world are focusing on the development of
major cities as the centre of government and business. As such, the cities will be definitely
equipped with a better infrastructure and utilities such as roads and transportation, water,
electricity and others. Apart from that, the communication and internet coverage also are good in
the cities which are believed as one of the pulling factors of immigration.

iii. Availability of public facilities

In addition to proper infrastructure and utilities, the cities also offered better public facilities
which are not found in rural areas. Since a variety of public facilities such as health and
education are provided in the cities, people have more options to choose either to use public or
private. Furthermore, the provision of recreational area, postal services as well as police station
and others are also provided to meet the needs of the urban community. Apart from that, a
 RKGS 6100: VALUES, ETHICS AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

greater variety of entertainment namely restaurants, movie theaters and theme parks are
definitely attracting more people to live in cities.

3.0 Urbanization Issues and Problems

Most people believed that urbanization will bring more benefits to the economy improvement,
growth of commercial activities, social and cultural integration, efficient services, as well as
resources of utilization. However, there are still some issues arise due to the urbanization.
According to TCPD (2006), in the process of urbanization, there are several major issues
encountered by cities or towns nationwide. These include:

i. Rapid rate of urbanization

The rate of urbanization which is increasing every year has required more development of new
areas for housing, social amenities, commercial and other urban landuses. However, the lack of
clear urban limits has led to the creation of urban sprawl encroaching upon environmentally
sensitive areas, major agricultural areas and areas which are not suitable for development
(TCPD, 2006). Besides, the high demand of landuse at strategic areas also has led to landuse
conflicts. These situations have contributed to various urbanization issues such as environmental
pollution, traffic congestion, depletion of green areas and degradation in the quality of urban
living.

ii. Degradation of environmental quality

Urbanization also has led to degradation of environmental quality especially the quality of water,
air and noise. Some illegal factories and even houses which have a poor infrastructure –the waste
from buildings are directly channeled to the nearest river or water resources- are contributing to
the water pollution. The domestic waste, industrial effluents and other waste that were dumped
directly to the river have affected the water quality. Besides, the air pollution has also increased
due to emission from motor vehicles, industrial development and use of non-environmental
friendly fuel sources. Meanwhile, the noise pollution is generated from the various human
activities which are increasing every now and then. The increase in population has generated a
very high volume of solid waste and there is pressure to provide a waste disposal site in the
urban areas.
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iii. Inefficient transportation system

In Malaysia, the number of vehicles on the road is increasing every year. Although various types
of public transportation are provided in the cities, more urban community still preferred to drive
private vehicles. This is due to the inefficient public transportation. The public transportation
facilities are provided without taking into account the need to integrate the different modes of
transportation subsequently make it difficult for the user to change the modes of transportation.
Since the public transportation is not reliable, it has resulted in the tendency for the urban
population to opt for private vehicles instead of the public transport and eventually led to the
acute problem of congestion in the cities. If any traffic jam occurred, public transportation -
especially bus and taxi- and private vehicles are trapped together and cannot move.

iv. Decline in quality of living for urban dwellers

Urbanization has contributed to the declining in quality of living for urban dwellers. As the city
is aiming for a developed city, definitely the land value will also increase. The housing provision
will focus more to meet the needs of the high income group. As such, there will be a problem in
the provision of housing, especially for the low income group. The supply of housing for the
urban poor is still insufficient as the price of these houses is beyond the reach of this group. The
lack of housing provision for the low income group has led to the existence of squatter
settlements in the city. These squatter settlements will definitely lack of proper infrastructure that
will bring about many setbacks to the urban environment including social problems such as child
education, crime, drugs, delinquency and others.

Apart from lack of housing provision for low income group, the rapid growth of the urban
population has also increased the demand on infrastructure and utility which is beyond the
capacity of the existing facilities. The maintenance of drains and rubbish collection is inefficient,
giving rise to various problems such as flash floods and poor public health. The recurrence of
flash floods is due to the drainage system being unable to contain surface water run-off that has
greatly increased with the higher intensity of urban activities.
 RKGS 6100: VALUES, ETHICS AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

v. Ineffective urban governance

The urban governance is faced with a various complex challenges in managing a city. The rapid
pace of urbanization is one of the challenges which require every party to be more focused in
undertaking each and every responsibility in urban development. Nevertheless, the involvement
of multiple agencies and departments in urban management made it difficult to coordinate many
actions and in turn affects the effectiveness of those actions. Apart from that, the local authority
also confronted with the diverse goals and interests of community groups which they need to
fulfill. The local authority also needs to come out with solution for a various social issues and
negative influence.

4.0 Approach to solve the urbanization issues and problems

From the issues and problems of urbanization that have been discussed before, it can be
summarized that the major problems of urbanization are pertinent to the social and
environmental problems. Thus, two approaches have been suggested in order to solve the
urbanization issues; Islamic approach and other approach which include Healthy City concept
and National Urbanization Policy. These approaches will be further elaborated below:

a) Islamic approach

Islamic approach is believed as one of the solutions that can help to solve the urbanization issues
and problems. It has been acknowledged that the Holy Qur‟an and Sunnah are the most
important sources for Muslims. Since these two sources are the ultimate guidance for
humankind, they cover areas in economy, social behavior, family ties, defense and even
urbanism (Farid Moustapha, 2008). As such, humankind should refer to the teaching of the
Qur‟an and Sunnah and practice it in every single aspect that they do, so that, it will ensure that
they are guided at the right path. Jabal Buaben (u.d.) claimed that the principles of Law and
Order which are formulated based on the teachings of the Qur‟an and Sunnah, very often led to
reduced crime in many of the cities. In other words, a city can prevent undesirable events if all of
the residences are upholding to the Holy Qur‟an.

In addition, Spahic Omer (u.d.) clarified that the inhabitants of the city affecting the development
or condition of the city. He claimed that “If a city is well-ordered, clean, efficient, corruption-
 RKGS 6100: VALUES, ETHICS AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT

free, balanced, safe, free from stress and nuisance, it is all due to the right conduct, attitudes and
mindset of its inhabitants”. Apart from that, the right conduct of the inhabitants also reflected
when a city‟s amenities are adequate and accessible, when its environment is conducive towards
social interaction and coherence, when it conserves material and energy resources, and when it
prevents ecological disruption. In other words, every actions and behaviors of people determined
the condition of cities either in good or bad condition. Hence, the practicing of Islamic values in
every aspect of human lives including in the planning of a city can help to contribute in the
establishment of a good performance city, and indirectly can help to reduce or minimize the
negative impacts of urbanization.

Apart from that, every development must also be peaceful co-existence with the environment
(Spahic Omer, u.d.). The authorities must ensure that every developer, architect and other related
professions follow the guidelines and requirements that have been prepared in order to limit the
environment interruption. Architects for instance, before they design any building, they have to
conduct site analysis to get familiar with the site and eventually will design a building that
correspond with the context. Meanwhile, for urban planners, they have to plan an area or city
carefully. For example, there should be a gap between residential, commercial or even industrial
area and water bodies. Those areas cannot be placed directly next to the water bodies because the
tendency of the buildings will channel their waste into the water bodies are high. If that situation
occurs, it will lead to environmental problems such as water pollution. Therefore, there is a need
to carefully design and place a building in order to protect the environment. As such, any
approach that done based on the teachings of Islam and the Qur‟an will help to minimize the
impact of development to the environment.

Besides, it has been acknowledged that one of the significant roles of vicegerents that have been
assigned by Allah is to protect the environment.

„He it is who created for you all that is on earth. Then He rose over (Istawa) towards the
heaven and made them seven heavens and He is the All-Knower of everything.‟
(Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 29)
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This verse shows that all sources on this earth are made for the vicegerent (humankind).
Although humankind can utilize all of the sources that have been provided for them, it is still not
their right to overexploit all of the sources. As Allah warns in the Qur‟an:

‫ا ت ْفسد ْا فى ااٌرْ ض إصْ لـح ا بعْد‬

“And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order” (5:56)

From this Quranic verse, it definitely explained that Allah prohibits causing mischief on the
earth, especially after it has been set in order. Allah has created everything on this earth in a
perfect and good manner, thus, humankind should put a limit in developing the city, not by
overexploiting the sources.

In brief, Islamic approach is one of the solutions that can be used by every city in this world to
overcome the urbanization issues. The actions and behaviours of the city inhabitants are the main
factor of good or poor performance of a city. Urbanization issues and problems can be reduced
or avoided by the practicing of Islamic teaching in the planning of the city. If the people are
practicing Islamic values in the city, it will help to minimize or even avoid urbanization
problems such as pollution as well as help to protect and preserve the environment.

b) Other approach

i. Healthy City

From the article written by Khosh-Chashm (1995), the author believed that the concept of
„Healthy City‟ provides a unique opportunity for people and authorities to build a partnership
and provide an effective strategy to overcome the problems in urban area. Healthy City can be
defined as clean and have a good health and environmental services (Khosh-Chashm, 1995). He
further added that Healthy City is safe and people can live in them comfortably with their own
social bonds, beliefs, customs and lifestyles. Basically, Health City concept attempts to solve the
social and environmental problems.

Healthy City approaches can be categorized into two parts namely, formulation of policies by the
local authority and establishment of partnership between local authority and community. Firstly,
the local authority will prepare policies for land use, traffic and transportation, housing and other
related aspects through the different level of development planning which consists of National
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Physical Plan, Local Plan and Special Area Plan. Through the preparation of development plan,
the local authority and planner will set out requirement and guidelines for the city planning. It is
important for governments to formulate urban environmental policies and plans at all levels and
integrate environmental considerations into all urban development planning efforts. Secondly,
the partnership between the local authority and community must be established to ensure the
success of Health City concept. Through partnership, it will encourage the community to
participate in the programs and activities that have been organized as well as involvement in the
decision making. Community participation is very crucial to ensure that what have been planned
by the local authority will fulfill the needs of all stakeholders.

ii. National Urbanization Policy

One of the strategies to solve the urbanization issues and problems is through the enforcement of
laws and policies by the local authorities. In Malaysia, National Urbanization Policies (NUP) has
been formulated to solve the current problems of urbanization as well as preparing the nation for
the future challenges. Basically, NUP is divided into six thrusts:

Thrust 1: An efficient and sustainable urban development

In order to accommodate an orderly and manageable development, urban development should

have a clear guidance on the direction of future expansion. The authorities should specify area in
the city where the urban development is permitted and the area which urban development is not
allowed. This to ensure the efficiency use of landuse and at the same time prevents misuse of
land use. The authorities should encourage brownfield development rather than developing green
area. This is to prevent development from encroaching upon agricultural and environmentally
sensitive areas, to promote the optimum usage of existing infrastructure and to revive the
attractiveness and liveliness of the urban centres. The government has formulated nine policies in
realizing the first thrust. In overall, the nine policies promoting the conservation of
environmentally sensitive areas, development of urban renewal rather than opening a new town
or city as well as provision of an adequate open spaces to meet the requirements of the
population.

Thrust 2: Development of an urban economy that is resilient, dynamic and competitive

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Each urban centre needs to identify their respective economic strength and specialization in order
to develop, promote and strengthen their future growth and development. A strong correlation
between economic growth and urban growth further clarifies the role of the local economic base
in national economic growth. The main idea of this thrust is to encourage the economic
development, not only in the major urban areas, but the medium and small sized urban centres as
well. Just like the major towns, the small towns also have an important role in improving the
standard of living of the rural population as they function as commercial and trading centres
especially in marketing agricultural products. Besides that, programs such as provision of
housing, income generation, facilities and others are also promoted to eradicate the urban
poverty issue. As a whole, five policies under this thrust attempt to promote the enhancement of
major and minor settlement centres and the improvement of employment opportunities.

Thrust 3: An integrated and efficient urban transportation system

As we know, transportation system is one of the significant elements in determining the

performance level of every city. In other words, an efficient and comprehensive transportation
system is vital in enhancing the competitiveness of an urban centre. The increase in population
and high private vehicle ownership compounded by an inefficient public transport calls for a
solution and strategy that could resolve these issues. Apart from that, the traffic management
also needs to be revised implemented comprehensively in order to reduce congestion in the
cities. Three policies have been formulated under this thrust aim to enhance the condition of
public transportation system as well as the improvement of traffic management and road
network.

Thrust 4: Provision of urban services, infrastructure and utility of quality

The provision of urban services, infrastructure and utility are significant to fulfill the demand of
the population and supporting the growth of the urban economy. Those services need to be
provided in a good quality and adequately meet the needs of every single resident in that area.
Infrastructure and utility need to be adequately provided, in terms of quantity, coverage of
distribution and be of high quality that utilizes the latest technology. These attempts will help to
improve the quality of living of the local population as well as increase the attractiveness of the
urban area. Besides, the participation of local community is also encouraged to assist the local
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authority in administering and managing the urban area in order to improve the condition of the
city. As a whole, three policies under this thrust are made to improve the provision and network
coverage of infrastructure and utilities as well as to provide a quality of urban services and
infrastructure.

Thrust 5: Creation of a conducive livable urban environment with identity

Basically, this thrust emphasized on the peaceful of urban living which should be equally
enjoyed by all urban residents. As we know, people nowadays are more concerned with a
comfortable, user-friendly living environment with facilities for social interaction. As such, as
the urban population increases, the urban environment should be planned and managed as a more
attractive place for living, working and recreation. For instance, provision of adequate basic
facilities, provision of public amenities, and beautification of landscapes are important to ensure
the urban population is living in a conducive and livable urban environment. In general, the six
policies which covered under this thrust aim to improve the condition of urban quality live by
providing a conducive living environment which are equipped with an adequate facilities.

Thrust 6: Effective urban governance

It has been acknowledged that urban governance system plays important roles in administering
the urban growth and development at various levels, towards achieving the sustainability. This
will ensure that the value of assets, economy, social and the environment will be maintained and
value-added towards attaining sustainable urban centres in Malaysia. The local authority, as the
main agency responsible for urban management, needs to update the administration and
management system. Apart from local authority, other stakeholders which consist of local
community, private sector as well as the NGO need to involve in every programs and activities
that have been organized or even participate in decision making in every development proposal.
As such, Local authorities need to cooperate closely with the stakeholders to plan and implement
appropriate urban planning and management programs that meet with their requirements for
sustainable development. Four policies under the sixth thrust are formulated to promote the
partnership between the local authorities and stakeholders as well as encourage the community to
participate in urban planning and governance in order to achieve effective urban governance.
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5.0 Conclusion

As been discussed before, urbanization frequently occurred in developing countries due to the
eagerness of the government to achieve a developed city status. As a result, almost all area in the
city has been developed and in the worst case scenario, even the green areas are also turned into
industrial or commercial area. It shows that rapid urbanization has many negative implications
especially towards social and environmental aspects. The government should not be eagerly to
develop a city or nation without considering the impacts towards the social and environmental
aspect. Instead, the government should revise the urban development process in order to achieve
a developed city and at the same time reduce the possibility of problems that might arise. In
order to overcome urbanization issues and problems, Khosh-Chashm (1995) suggested that the
community to collaborate closely with the authorities in helping to upgrade life in urban area. All
stakeholders including local authorities, public community, private sector and NGO should
establish partnership and work together in order to improve the living condition in the urban
area. For instance, the local authorities may come out with a list of policies for the city planning,
while the other stakeholders should participate in giving their opinion as well as assist the local
authorities in the decision making process. The collaboration among the stakeholders will help to
achieve a developed city status and at the same time create conducive urban living environment.

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