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CHARLES READE : TOWN PLANNING BRITISH MALAYA

CHARLES READE : TOWN PLANNING BRITISH MALAYA
Category:
Publisher:
Published: 2015
Page Count: 374
Diulas oleh   :  Nen Farahana binti Ahmad Fooad (Bahagian Penyelidikan dan Pembangunan PLANMalaysia)

Charles Compton Reade (C.C. Reade). PERANCANG BANDAR BERTAULIAH PERTAMA DI MALAYSIA.

 

Sejarah perancangan bandar di Malaysia secara formalnya telah bermula semenjak Februari 1921 dengan ketibaan C.C. Reade, seorang perancang bandar dari Australia Selatan. Menjelang Februari 2021 akan datang, usia profesion perancang bandar di Malaysia akan genap 100 tahun. Justeru, buku ini dipilih secara spesifik supaya perancang bandar di Malaysia lebih mengenali perihal beliau yang telah banyak mencorak konsep dan pendekatan perancangan bandar di negara ini.

 

Buku ini telah ditulis dengan terperinci oleh mantan Timbalan Ketua Pengarah (TKP) PLANMalaysia (dahulunya Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa) dalam usaha beliau untuk merekod secara formal mengenai individu yang dikenali sebagai C.C. Reade. Buku ini merungkai dengan terperinci prinsip-prinsip perancangan serta sumbangan-sumbangan signifikan beliau dalam perancangan bandar di Malaysia termasuklah kritikan-kritikan yang diterima oleh beliau sepanjang menjadi perancang bandar di Tanah Melayu dalam tempoh 1921 – 1929.

 

Buku ini mengandungi 10 bab dan dimulai dengan pengenalan secara imbas lalu berkaitan C.C. Reade dalam bidang perancangan bandar sebelum kedatangan beliau ke Tanah Melayu dalam Bab 1. Bab ini mengetengahkan perihal beliau yang memperjuangkan prinsip perancangan yang mengutamakan ideologi kepentingan rakyat (public interest) berbanding asakan pembangunan oleh tuan tanah dan pemaju. Ini dapat dilihat melalui pelbagai artikel yang telah dihasilkan oleh beliau yang akhirnya dibukukan pada 1909 sebagai The Revelation of Britain. Buku tersebut secara jelas menyentuh pembasmian setinggan serta perumahan dan persekitaran yang lebih baik untuk golongan kelas pekerja. Walau bagaimanapun, ideologi tersebut tidak dapat diterima baik oleh pemilik tanah dan pemaju walaupun ianya berniat baik untuk kesejahteraan rakyat. Selain itu, beliau juga mendapati konsep perancangan bandar moden dilaksanakan di Port Sunlights melalui penerapan skim perumahan dan persekitaran yang lebih baik. Beliau juga mempunyai kesedaran bahawa hanya melalui perundangan, perancangan bandar yang holistik dapat dilaksanakan.

 

Setelah ketibaan beliau di Tanah Melayu pada 1921, beliau telah mendapatkan maklumat-maklumat berkaitan perancangan bandar. Beliau mendapati dari sudut perundangan, terdapat persamaan ketara dengan perundangan perancangan bandar yang digunapakai di Australia iaitu melalui Sistem Torrent. Selain itu, beliau juga telah mengadakan General Survey ke atas bandar-bandar di Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu (Federated Malaysia States) dalam usaha memahami keadaan semasa dan seterusnya mencadangkan perkara-perkara berikut:-

  1. Pengwujudan Perundangan Perancangan Bandar;
  2. Dasar dan Pentadbiran Perancangan Bandar yang tetap dan berterusan di peringkat Daerah dan Ibu Pejabat (Central);
  3. Penyediaan General Town Plans dan skim pembaikan untuk menambahbaik bandar/ bangunan/ pembangunan yang sedia ada atau yang baharu; dan
  4. Kawalan efektif ke atas pemberian tanah negeri, pelaksanaan pecah bahagi, kerja-kerja operasi bangunan dan kerja-kerja pembangunan bandar berdasarkan General Town Plans dan skim pembaikan yang akan disediakan.

 

C.C. Reade juga merupakan individu yang bertanggungjawab dalam mewujudkan perundangan perancangan bandar di Tanah Melayu. Penyediaannya telah bermula sebaik sahaja ketibaan beliau di sini lantaran terlihat isu-isu percanggahan kuasa di peringkat Sanitary Boards dan Persekutuan. Tindakannya telah menyebabkan ketidak senangan banyak pihak yang berkait dengan perancangan dan pembangunan bandar. Pada tahun 1923, Town Planning Enactment 1923 telah diluluskan dan mula digunakan di sebalik sokongan dan juga bantahan daripada banyak pihak. Seterusnya, setelah pelaksanaannya secara penuh pada 1925, C.C. Reade telah menerima banyak aduan berhubung pelaksanaan Town Planning Enactment 1923 terutamanya kelewatan dalam memproses permohonan perancangan serta andaian bahawa berlaku pertindihan kuasa antara Residen dan Perancang Bandar.

 

Kritikan yang diterima ke atas Town Planning enactment 1923 pada sekitar 1925 itu yang dimuatkan dalam Review tidak mematahkan semangat beliau, sebaliknya C.C. Reade telah melaksanakan pindaan kepada Enakmen tersebut menjadikannya Town Planning Enactment 1927. Dalam masa yang sama, pada tahun 1926 beliau telah melaksanakan Pameran dan Syarahan Perancangan Bandar di Dewan Bandaraya Ipoh (Town Hall Ipoh). Pameran yang menonjolkan contoh-contoh dan situasi perancangan bandar di dalam dan luar negara tersebut, merupakan inisiatif beliau untuk menunjukkan progres positif terhadap perancangan bandar dan pembangunan dengan sokongan perundangan perancangan bandar untuk mendapatkan sokongan daripada pemilik dan pemaju tanah.

 

Buku ini juga telah mengupas sumbangan-sumbangan C.C. Reade termasuklah perancangan Garden City di Kuala Kubu Bharu. Selain itu, sumbangan beliau yang tidak banyak disentuh oleh kebanyakan pihak terutamanya perancangan bandar di Kuala Lumpur turut direkodkan dalam buku ini. C.C. Reade terlibat secara langsung dalam perancangan dan perancangan semula Kuala Lumpur melibatkan Kuarters Kerajaan di Jalan Imbi dan Jalan Cochrane, Kuarters Pekerja Stesen Keretapi di Sentul (termasuklah perancangan semula jaringan jalan raya dan rezab kerajaan), Institut Victoria, Dewan Perniagaan Cina dan akhir sekali Victory Avenue di Jalan Sultan Hishamuddin serta Dataran Merdeka. C.C. Reade juga sedari awal telah menetapkan Dataran Merdeka sebagai rezab awam untuk tujuan rekreasi dan akhirnya digunakan sebagai laluan perarakan dan sambutan hari kemerdekaan negara kita.

 

Satu lagi sumbangan besar C.C. Reade ialah pengwujudan Jabatan Perancangan Bandar dan Desa di Tanah Melayu (Negeri-Negeri Melayu Bersekutu) pada ketika itu. Sejarah telah mencatatkan kehadiran beliau ke Tanah Melayu adalah ketika kemelesetan ekonomi pada sekitar 1920an. Justeru, di awal ketibaannya beliau menghadapi masalah untuk mendapatkan profesional perancangan bandar untuk membantu beliau dalam melaksanakan tugasan di sini. Isu kekangan bajet disebabkan kemelesetan ekonomi merupakan halangan utama. Pekerja-pekerja yang ditempatkan di Jabatan merupakan pekerja pinjaman daripada Jabatan Kerja Raya dan Survei. Beliau menerima pelbagai rintangan dalam mendapatkan perancang bandar tetap di Jabatan dan akhirnya pada 1929, R.P Davies berserta 5 perancang bandar tetap yang lain tiba di sini untuk berkhidmat sebagai perancang bandar di Tanah Melayu.

 

Secara kesimpulannya, banyak yang boleh kita pelajari daripada C.C. Reade. Dalam salah satu bab, penulis ada menyebut bahawa C.C. Reade bukanlah seorang yang hanya melaungkan teori tetapi merupakan pelaksana kepada ideologi yang dibawanya sebagaimana guru beliau Ebenezer Howard. Di zaman penuh cabaran dan serba moden kini, sewajarnya perancang bandar di negara kita mengambil semangat beliau yang mengutamakan kepentingan awam berbanding kehendak pemaju dan pemilik tanah dengan pandangan bahawa “visionary ideas combined with appropriate architectural civic design skill and sound economic argument mattered most”. Beliau telah mengharungi banyak kritikan untuk mewujudkan Jabatan Perancangan Bandar di negara ini sehingga kepada cubaan untuk menutup dengan menidakkan kepentingan Jabatan ini. Beliau juga menghadapi kritikan tanpa henti ketika menyediakan perundangan perancangan bandar di negara ini. Sebagai generasi kini yang menikmati banyak kemudahan daripada usaha-usaha beliau, sewajarnya kita menyemak semula dan menghayati peranan dan kepentingan perancang bandar di negara ini. Jika seorang perancang bandar dari Australia boleh memikirkan untuk negara kita seratus tahun dahulu, apakah alasan kita rakyat Malaysia untuk menidakkannya hari ini?

 

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Category:
Publishers: ,
Published: 2004
Page Count: 324
Reviewed by   : En. Mohd Ariffin bin Ahmad (Research and Development Division, PLANMalaysia)

Book entitled Global Environmental Issues gives the substance of discourse on the existing world environmental problems faced by various countries. Environmental problems were viewed as complicated issues that attach with network of causes which influenced by numerous people with differing priorities. This book covers chapters interlinking human demands on the Earth’s resources to natural biophysical change – not simply a cause and effect’ treatment of global issues and environmental change. It assembles a team of well-qualified authors, who between them consider such important environmental issues as climate and sea level change, biodiversity, GM crops, energy supply, urbanization, pollution, and efforts towards sustainable development.

 

Global Environmental Issues stresses that environmental issues need to be addressed urgently as they are complex, involving many stakeholders and related to our consumption patterns to reduce pollution to the earth. It also discusses the main biophysical causes and illustrates how socio-economic and political factors determine why and how people use land, resources, and technology, and how they affect natural resources management.

 

According to the book, human-environment interactions involve resource use per person and our ability to understand the science of the environment. Along with that, this book also considers the scientific evidence for global environmental issues from all perspectives. It includes global case studies from the UK, USA, Asia, and South America and identifies stakeholders with interest in each issue, their perceptions of the problem, and suggestions for the solutions.

 

The style of writing in this book is clear and non-technical, the coverage is global and the text is supported by numerous figures and illustrations. Boxed case studies provide useful exemplification of general issues.

 

All the issues discussed and initiatives suggested, seen suitable to be applied everywhere including in Malaysia. This book is absolutely an essential read for private and government personnel, local authority managers and administrators as well as citizens in helping to inspire us to do more in the journey toward sustainable environmental and resilient development. This book concludes that it is high time for all multi-disciplinary professions to make a relevant effort along with some new ideas of protecting the environment such as nature-based solutions, in our long fight to preserve the environment and to save our mother earth from being deteriorated.

PERANCANGAN BANDAR DARI PERSPEKTIF ISLAM

PERANCANGAN BANDAR DARI PERSPEKTIF ISLAM
Category:
Publisher:
Published: 2013
Page Count: 263
Reviewed by    :Lelawati@Normadiah binti Ismail (Bahagian Penyelidikan dan Pembangunan PLANMalaysia)

Buku Perancangan Bandar Dari Perspektif Islam mempunyai nilai tersendiri, di mana ia menggariskan aspek spiritual dan keagamaan dalam perancangan bandar yang merupakan teras dalam perancangan dan pembangunan fizikal. Aspek spiritual dan fizikal harus berjalan seiring ke arah mewujudkan perancangan dan pembangunan mampan. Perkara ini merupakan usaha untuk mewujudkan bandar yang selari dengan tuntutan Islam, sekali gus mendapatkan keberkatan Ilahi.

 

Buku ini mengandungi 11 bab yang digarap oleh para pemikir agama dari institusi penting di Malaysia seperti Jabatan Kemajuan Islam di Malaysia (JAKIM), pejabat mufti, para akademik dan pengamal perancangan bandar.

 

Bab pertama buku ini mengulas secara mendalam tentang perancangan bandar sebagai ibadah yang mengadunkan antara ketinggian akhlak, ilmu dan kebendaan di dalam merancang keselesaan kehidupan manusia yang merupakan perintah Allah SWT dan Rasul-Nya melalui ayat-ayat Al-Quran dan hadith Rasulullah SAW. Seorang perancang bandar perlu merancang bandar, pekan dan kampung dengan persekitaran dan reka bentuk yang menjamin keselesaan penghuninya di samping menyediakan peluang pekerjaaan sebagai sumber rezeki. Maka apa yang dirancang itu kelak bukan sahaja membolehkan keuntungan fizikal untuk kehidupan insan, bahkan perancangan fizikal yang membawa manusia mendekatkan diri dengan Tuhan.

 

Bab 2 menerangkan Bandar Islam sebagai pelaksanaan syiar Islam yang menitikberatkan kedua-dua aspek spiritual dan fizikal di dalam tadbir urus bandar. Penekanan lebih diberikan kepada aspek kerohanian kerana perkara itu akan melahirkan aspek fizikal. Di dalam agama Islam, ibadat yang dilakukan bukan hanya terhad pada isu sembahyang, puasa, zakat dan haji sahaja tetapi juga merangkumi aktiviti ekonomi, sosial dan politk. Islam juga mengambil kira soal kebersihan tempat dan perkara-perkara yang menyentuh urusan kehidupan manusia seperti penyediaan kemudahan infrastruktur dan awam serta keperluan sosial yang lain.

 

Ini diikuti dengan Bab 3, 4 dan 5 yang mengulas tentang falsafah reka bentuk dan perancangan bandar yang berpegang teguh kepada reka bentuk sejagat dengan menekankan konsep hubungan manusia dengan penciptanya, hubungan manusia dengan manusia dan hubungan manusia dengan alam sekitar.

 

Etika orang awam dan pihak berkuasa tempatan dalam sesi penyertaan awam diterangkan di Bab 6. Tindakan perlu diambil berdasarkan prinsip keberkatan dan nilai sebagai seorang yang berpegang teguh kepada agama Islam supaya mempunyai niat yang jelas, ilmu yang mantap, interaksi dan komunikasi secara hikmah, pernyataan dan keputusan bersandarkan matlamat syarak dan undang-undang.

 

Bab 7 menghuraikan urus tadbir kerajaan tempatan dari perspektif Islam, pentingnya ilmu pengetahuan dan kawalan diri untuk mematuhi undang-undang dan syarat-syarat di dalam menjalankan tanggung jawab supaya keputusan yang dibuat dapat memelihara kepentingan awam dan hak individu.

 

Bab 8 mengulas tentang kepentingan kesederhana dan perseimbangan alam semula jadi yang harus dijadikan pedoman untuk menghasilkan perancangan yang lebih berkesan ke arah pembangunan komuniti sejahtera, yang berpegang teguh kepada

Konsep pembangunan sejagat sebagaimana di Bab 3 dan Bab 4. Konsep perpaduan, kesamarataan dan persefahaman yang digarap oleh Rasulullah SAW untuk menyatu padukan penduduk Kota Madinah diterangkan di Bab 9. Konsep ini telah dijadikan sebagai garis panduan untuk membina dan memupuk semangat perpaduan di dalam pembentukan masyarakat Madani.

 

Bab 10 dan 11 menitik beratkan perancangan bandar yang inklusif untuk masyarakat dengan mengambil kira penyediaan kemudahan kepada semua golongan sama ada orang kurang upaya, warga emas, kanak-kanak, ibu bapa dan golongan remaja.

 

Buku ini boleh dijadikan panduan dan rujukan kepada para profesional dan masyarakat awam dalam merealisasikan prinsip-prinsip Islam dalam perancangan bandar. Buku ini dapat memandu arah terhadap perancangan bandar yang holistik, sekaligus membantu pihak-pihak yang terlibat melaksanakan tugas mereka sebagai khalifah yang memakmurkan bumi.

 

TOWARD SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES : RESOURCES FOR CITIZENS AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS

TOWARD SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES : RESOURCES FOR CITIZENS AND THEIR GOVERNMENTS
Category:
Publisher:
Published: 2005
Page Count: 239
Reviewed by    : TPr Dr. Alias Rameli (Research and Development Division, PLANMalaysia)

Many of our most critical global environmental issues are rooted in local, day-to-day problems. Atmospheric and potential climate change, for example, can be altered by local communities and government officials making enlightened decisions about local traffic congestion and inefficient land-use patterns. Local decisions about such issues benefit all of us globally.

 

While global environmental change is accelerating, there is a wealth of important and exciting information that can help us set the planet on a sustainable course. Unfortunately, most of this information is not readily available through the mainstream media. This book, Toward Sustainable Communities: Resources for Citizens and Their Governments, has endeavoured to make these ideas, tools and resources accessible. It offers practical suggestions and innovative solutions to a range of common community problems on energy efficiency, transportation, land use, housing, waste reduction, recycling, air quality and governance.

 

The book, which is divided into 3 parts and 15 chapters, applies a new framework based on the concept of `community capital’ to understand city development as a process of developing and managing natural, social and economic capital. It opens up new horizons for practice and offers readers a compendium of practical cases, models and tools to indicate the way. Part 1 explores the meaning of sustainable development and its implications for communities, explains comprehensively the concept of `community capital’ and develops a framework for sustainable community development. It concludes with a chapter on thinking strategically, which explores the use of policy instruments in sustainable community planning and development, and reviews the different types of instruments that are available to community decision-makers.

 

Part 2 is a set of sustainable community “building blocks”. Each chapter provides an overview explaining the topic and its relevance to sustainable communities, followed by a set of “Tools and Initiatives” and “Resources.” These building blocks are a set of planning tools, practical initiatives, and associated resources that have helped citizens and their governments move toward sustainable communities. In detail, this part underlines the tools and initiatives for greening the city; saving and maximizing the use of water; reducing and recycling solid waste; reducing the consumption of energy; reducing the atmospheric change and air pollution; making transportation and traffic efficient; achieving sustainable land use; improving liveability and fostering community connection and neighbourliness; and implementing the concept of sustainable community economic development.

 

Part 3 focuses on mobilizing citizens and their governments toward sustainable communities. It discusses the aspects of governing sustainable communities by listing the ways to enhance the participation of the public (local community) and the roles of local government in the planning and development process. Tools for managing community sustainability from planning stage to assessment stage are also highlighted in this part. The final chapter shares some lessons for designing effective sustainable community development policies and explores the challenges ahead. In this chapter, the author states that the communities are coming to recognize their responsibility to develop sustainably. The author also highlights that the `community capital’ approach to sustainable community development requires some relatively new thinking about broad questions of community sustainability and self-reliance.

 

The book ends with addressing the key features, within the context of sustainable community, which should be recognized in formulating any sustainable development policy framework:

  1. Sustainable development requires sustainable communities; Rules can and must be changed;
  2. Sustainability can mean `less’ as well as `more’;
  3. Where the market works, use it;
  4. Where the market fails, don’t be afraid to mandate changes;
  5. Polluters should pay for the costs of remediation, but it is even more important to prevent pollution and the waste of resources in the first place;
  6. Social equity is not only desirable but essential; and
  7. Public participation is itself a sustainable development strategy.

 

This book can be considered as a comprehensive resource on creating sustainable communities. Though this book focuses on situations, experience and development frameworks in North America, the arguments and examples as well as the policy, initiatives and solutions suggested are seen suitable to be applied everywhere including in Malaysia. This book is an absolutely essential read for private and government town planners, local authority managers and administrators as well as citizens in helping to inspire us to do more in the journey toward sustainable communities and a liveable future.

 

PLANNING FOR METROPOLITAN AREA

PLANNING FOR METROPOLITAN AREA
Category:
Publisher:
Published: 2019
Page Count: 426
Reviewed by   : Fauziah Abd. Jalil (Research and Development Division, PLANMalaysia)

More than before, cities and especially agglomerations of cities will be the engines of the global economy. At the same time, climate change, emerging new technologies, increasing (domestic and trans border) migration, and growing inequality urgently demand solutions at the scale of cities. Cities and their planners need to rethink and innovate the way people live, work and recreate in cities; how they produce and consume food, water, energy and everyday products; and how they make cities attractive, socially inclusive, healthy, accessible, green, safe, liveable and competitive.

Cities and metropolises play a crucial role in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, which address both the hardware and the software of cities. Therefore, city and regional planners have a profound responsibility to ensure that cities and metropolises become more liveable, inclusive and sustainable. They have to overview and capable to implement the Goals set by the United Nations.

The book is a compilation of articles written in lieu of the 55th ISOCARP Congress in Jakarta in the year 2019, aims to become an event where planners, developers, politicians and NGOs meet and discuss the future of urban resilience of agglomerations of Jakarta and beyond. The theme “Beyond Metropolis” evokes the complex and daring challenges for our present and future cities. This is in line with the venue chosen for the congress-Jakarta being the second largest agglomeration on earth, has taken on the courageous responsibility to put the future of its metropolis on the agenda and hosted the 55th ISOCARP Congress.

The articles are very interesting – 19 articles organized into four sections: Metropolitan Plan and Tools; Planning Practices; Environmental Planning Projects, and Noteworthy Plans. As ISOCARP is the global network on International Society of City and Regional Planners, it’s a global platform where planners around the world share, network and learn, hence various pressing issues, like climate change and energy transition, have a great effect and need to be addressed on a local scale on very short notice.

Articles outlined and shared are enriching and serve as a platform to reach out to planners from around the world and publish the wonderful and varied work they are doing. It ranges from stories about planning projects in each of the main Continents except for Antarctica: three from North America; two from South America; two from Australia/Oceanic; three from Africa; four from Asia; and three from Europe. Two other articles reference planning projects in several continents. These articles share and record planning efforts in resource-rich and poor places and present how the focus of planning changes from place to place.

The articles in the first section under the theme Metropolitan and Tools describe the successful regional planning efforts underway for the New York, Greater Sydney and Metropolitan Doha areas. There’s also an article about the disappointing results from the State of New Jersey’s (USA) multi-year effort to plan for more equitable regional land uses. This article is especially interesting as it provides insights into political, social, judicial and historic causes behind the general failure of regional planning in the USA.

The second section under the theme Planning Practice – explore whether and how Asian cities should develop an indigenous design language for their emerging cities, whether Italian landscape preservation planning might be considered for application to Russia, and whether the French certification program for historic neighbourhoods should be applied to other countries. In all these articles, insights into the need for strategic planning and case studies on how to augment local staff to accomplish these plans are explored. Interestingly at the end of the section, there’s a write-up that shares on Indonesia’s efforts to alleviate slums.

 

The third section entails on environmental planning projects. There is a fascinating overview of efforts to use dredge material to develop sustainable urbanization in delta areas. The second article in the section describes a small town’s effort to redevelop a contaminated site for private market housing and recreation.

The last section is named Noteworthy Plans. Readers may learn about Quito’s effort to achieve food sustainability. The book also presents three articles from Africa, each intent on improving wellbeing. Each of these articles is important as they document the difficulties of developing viable plans in the face of resource constraints. The last article in the section examines if smart technology has improved planning participation in villages near Jakarta, Indonesia.

In a nutshell, this ISOCARP Review 15 edition is very comprehensive and enriching as the write-ups are very forward looking and always exploring new approaches and topics in the urban planning discipline. Hence, as planners managing daily practices on various urban development and sustainability issues at the Federal level in PLANMalaysia, we must always seek knowledge from various case studies and experiences shared around the globe so that we are always well verse, competent and knowledgeable in addressing the various urbanization issues that we are facing today with innovative urban solutions tailored to local context. This is important to further navigate Malaysia into a Sustainable Urban Nation that uphold the societal wellbeing, economic prosperity as well as environmental protection.

TOWARD THE HEALTHY CITY: PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THE POLITICS OF URBAN PLANNING

no title has been provided for this book
Category:
Publisher:
Published: 2009
Page Count: 293
Reviewed by  : Azlin Binti Abd Hamid (Bahagian Penyelidikan dan Pembangunan, PALANMalaysia)

Buku Toward The Healthy City: People, Places, And The Politics Of Urban Planning secara keseluruhannya mempunyai 8 bab dimulai dengan cabaran dalam merancang sebuah bandar yang sihat. Bab pertama buku ini dimulakan dengan persoalan bagaimana profesion perancangan bandar yang muncul pada akhir abad ke 19 dengan matlamat untuk meningkatkan kesihatan penduduk bandar yang kurang baik pada masa itu, akhirnya telah kehilangan fokus menjelang abad ke 20. Apakah hubungan antara proses perancangan bandar kontemporari dan ekuiti kesihatan? Adakah sistem politik semasa dapat membantu menangani permasalahan ini dengan menghubungkait proses perancangan bandar dan kesihatan awam dalam menangani ketidakseimbangan sosial dan kesihatan di bandar? Bab ini menjawab soalan-soalan ini dengan menfokuskan bagaimana profesional kesihatan, perancang bandar dan komuniti setempat perlu bekerjasama dalam usaha meningkatkan tahap kesihatan awam di bandar. Buku Toward the Healthy City mendefinisikan perancangan bandar yang sihat perlu dilihat sebagai Healthy urban governance, di mana kedua-dua aspek penting ini menyumbang kepada kesejahteraan manusia – kualiti fizikal dan sosial sebagai pemangkin kesihatan bandar.

 

Bab 2 mengulas secara kritikal mengenai amalan perancangan dan kesihatan awam di Amerika daripada akhir abad ke-19 hingga awal abad ke-21. Bab 3 kemudian membahas bagaimana proses perancangan bandar gagal menangani isu sosial kesihatan dan menyumbang kepada berlakunya peningkatan masalah kesihatan di bandar-bandar. Bab 4 secara khusus mempertimbangkan isu alternatif yang merangkumi pertimbangan kesihatan penduduk, pandangan yang berkaitan dengan persekitaran, proses tadbir urus dan peringkat pembuat keputusan. Penulis menerapkan kerangka konsep perancangan bandar yang sihat dalam analisis terhadap tiga kajian kes (2004-2008) di San Francisco: Penyusunan semula amalan kesihatan persekitaran, pembangunan bandar yang sihat, dan menggunapakai penilaian kesan kesihatan untuk bandar dan perancangan wilayah. Kes-kes ini telah diterangkan dengan terperinci dalam Bab 5 hingga 7, di mana ia dengan jelas menggambarkan bagaimana proses perancangan perlu kembali kepada titik asal dengan menerapkan isu kesihatan dan sosial dalam setiap aspek pembangunan di bandar.

 

Buku ini diakhiri dengan Bab 8 yang merumuskan bahawa perancang bandar, profesional kesihatan dan anggota masyarakat perlu bekerjasama dalam memelihara kesihatan persekitaran dengan menerapkan langkah-langkah kawalan dan pencegahan. Sebagai contoh, Aktivis di Bayview – Hunters Point, SoMa, dan West Oakland telah membuat tuntutan baharu kepada pihak kerajaan agar memfokuskan pada langkah-langkah kawalan dan pencegahan dengan melibatkan persekitaran fizikal, sosial dan ekonomi.

 

Sebagai kesimpulan, buku ini bukan sahaja boleh menjadi rujukan kepada profesion perancang bandar, profesional kesihatan dan anggota masyarakat di Amerika syarikat, tetapi juga boleh dijadikan panduan kepada pembangunan bandar di seluruh dunia. Buku ini turut menegaskan bahawa sebarang perubahan fizikal terhadap sesuatu kawasan atau bandar perlu mengambil kira pelbagai aspek terutama sosial, ekonomi, politik dan pentadbiran di pelbagai lapisan bagi memastikan pembangunan bandar yang lebih sihat dan seimbang untuk kesejahteraan penduduk.

HAPPY CITY : TRANSFORMING OUR LIVES THROUGH URBAN DESIGN

HAPPY CITY : TRANSFORMING OUR LIVES THROUGH URBAN DESIGN
Category:
Publishers: ,
Published: 2014
Page Count: 358
Reviewed by  : Syed Muhamad Iqbal Shah Bin Syed Asghar Ali (Research and Development Division, PLANMalaysia)

Happiness is often viewed by economists and policy makers through the lens of economic data such as Gross Domestic Product and income per capita. While happiness and wellbeing do correlate with economic vitality. Charles Montgomery, through his book Happy City takes a different approach in defining happiness. He defines happiness with an equation, measurable and is directly influenced by our built environment. He argues that if happiness is a by-product of wealth, then people must be happier now compared to a century ago. But his research shows that it is not the case, people now are more likely to suffer from clinical depression and mental illness compared to generations ago.

 

Montgomery highlights the research of the Nobel Prize-winning Professor Daniel Kahneman, known as “hedonic psychology,” which had found a relationship between people’s happiness and their experience with urban life. In this 13 chapter book, the author ventures into how urban design affects our behaviour and wellbeing with reference to various scientific researches by psychologists, behavioural economists, and their experiments.

 

A Happy City in the eyes of the author is defined as a social city. His views can be related to the philosophy of Aristotle which he quotes in the book as saying “He who is unable to live in society, or who has no need because he is sufficient for himself, must be either be a beast or a god”. While not denying the importance of wealth in the pursuit of happiness, social interaction ranked higher in his happiness philosophy. Montgomery stresses that people who have higher social interactions are likely to be happier, healthier and more productive in which cities play a crucial role in influencing those interactions.

 

One of the key ideas highlighted in the book is the role of dispersal or sprawl in reducing social interaction and happiness. People now are more likely choosing to live in a sprawling suburban area where houses are cheaper and bigger than in the inner cities without paying too much attention to the effects of commuting for work or social interactions. Dispersal promotes auto-dependent society and people who live in auto-dependent neighbourhoods are less likely to engage with their community as most of their time are spent commuting.

 

To build a happier cities, people need to be living in a dense, compact and walkable city environment rather than low density, sprawling suburban area. Compact city promotes social interactions as people are living closer to each other, a term he refers to as proximity. He explains in detail that “to say proximity is the key to happiness” is wrong as people value their privacy as much as they value living close to each other. Thus, it is the role of city designers especially planners to strike a balance between designing a neighbourhood that promotes social interactions without jeopardising privacy.

 

Montgomery also highlights the role of nature and public spaces in the urban environment and how it affects our behaviour with each other. In one of his social experiments, he concludes that people are more likely to help a lost tourist in lively public spaces where street edges are filled with small businesses and activities compared to a sterile unattractive sidewalk.

 

Happy City is hardly a design manual on how to build a happier city but rather an insightful journey into the effects of urban design on the behaviour and wellbeing of its inhabitants. The book invites readers through the experiences of many cities such as Bogota – on how to reclaim the city from automobile, Vancouver – on how to create lively street edges, Copenhagen – on creating freedom of movement through cycling, among many other cities and examples around the globe. Happy City provides a powerful argument on the importance of improving wellbeing in cities and is recommended for casual readers and professionals on how to create a better and happier urban design. Happy reading folks!

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