Learning with nature is a form of psychological therapy for all, including children with disability. Beyond the psychological aspect, access to outdoor green space can also improve social, environmental, developmental, emotional and behavioural, and even medical outcomes. In Malaysia, studies of learning with nature remain scarce due to the Malaysian education system’s focus on indoor learning rather than outdoor learning. This research aimed at determining perceptions towards the application of learning with nature among preschool educators. Qualitative methods were used for data collection, consisting of structured interview and field observation. Four preschools were selected as sample. Results show that learning with nature contributes to the positive development of the children. The approaches used to instil nature awareness include conducive landscape, environmental activities, outdoor class activities, outdoor free play, formal education and recreational programme outside a preschool. These involved both outdoor and indoor spaces and facilities.
Kuala Lumpur owes its beginnings to the two rivers that transect its historic core but it lost its waterfront as a public place due to rapid urbanisation. The rivers were used as flood mitigation measures with limited visual and physical access to the public. This paper traces the effects of policies on the waterfront development of the city by focusing on the factors that contributed to its disappearance. It employs a qualitative approach by analysing the riverfront physical conditions based on old maps and photographs as well as government documents and in-depth interviews with local authority officials, architects and developers.
The morphological development of the towns and cities in Malaysia was influenced by the river, where it functioned as the main transportation system. Many of these rivers flow right through the town centres and are influential in giving character to the townscapes of the cities through the quality of views. Nevertheless, many of these rivers are in a poor state of health in terms of the water quality and have not been fully exploited in terms of their recreational potential as well as their heritage value. Of the thirteen state capital cities studied, there are three cities that have already embarked on a regeneration program to revitalize their riverfronts. However, some of the recent developments on the riverfront are considered unsustainable and insensitive to the river as a valuable asset of the city, such as the covering of the river with an open plaza and changing the natural embankment of the river to concrete banks, hence turning its image into that of a large open culvert running across the city. Many of the buildings along the river are still backing the waterfront where access both visually and physically is rather limited. This paper is going to discuss the issue of rivers as one of the significant elements that contribute to the sense of place of the city and the plight of the rivers as the city progresses into the future. The discussion is based on an urban design study of all the state capital cities in Malaysia as well as a doctoral research that looks at the issue of waterfront regeneration in the Federal Capital City of Kuala Lumpur. The paper concludes by highlighting the impact of these rivers to the sense of place of Malaysian cities and their roles in creating sustainable cities in the future.
Urban waterfronts are unique cultural resources which have great potential to improve economic development, public enjoyment and civic identity. This issue is more predominant in the historic areas where the once active waterfront ceases to function in its traditional capacity. George Town and Melaka were both jointly awarded the UNESCO world heritage site in 2008 because of the similarity in issues and the functions they served in the past. The waterfronts of the cities were included in the heritage sites' boundaries and the approaches taken to the waterfront development have an important influence on their sustainability. This paper examines the approach to waterfront regeneration in the major cities of Malaysia including the two aforementioned historic cities. A mixed method approach has been adopted for the research using field observations, morphological study, in depth interview, questionnaire survey and content analysis of policies in government documents to collect data for the analysis. The research attempts to compare the differences in approaches between the two heritage cities and their implications in relation to their sustainability. The research discovers that the level of contextual integration is an important consideration for sustainable waterfront regeneration for the historic cities.
Islam took root in the Malay Sultanate kingdom when trade flourished through the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea. Islamic teaching was accepted by the locals and Islam became the country’s official religion. Islam has been assimilated in the way of life of the Malays, including the physical built environment of its cities. However, after colonisation, many of the Malay town structure had changed tremendously following the western planning. Remnants of the Malay-Islamic state footprint can still be traced in the town of Kuala Terengganu. This paper aims to establish the urban design principles influenced by the Islamic values which are embedded in and characterised in Kuala Terengganu. Employing a qualitative method, secondary and primary data (observation using photography) were collected. Content analysis were conducted on the observation data, archival documents, historical literatures and morphological study on Kuala Terengganu Town and triangulated with the literature on principles gathered from the characteristic of Islamic cities. The findings revealed that Kuala Terengganu has similar characteristics to other Islamic cities however it is translated in the local context. The comparison revealed fifteen Urban Design principles related to the Malay-Islamic Town of Kuala Terengganu that are well-assimilated and embedded within the local culture, geography and climate for the reference of future city planners.
Channelization of rivers, along with beautiication and structured designated landscape design along the riverbanks, are parts of the development that occur in the urban centres around the world. Such developments are often taken up toprevent natural catastrophes such as loods, without considering the nature of the river itself. Realizing this mistake and its adverse effects towards the environment, many developed countries, such as the U.S.A., U.K., Japan, China and, many more, have started to ecologically reorganize riverfront designs to ensure that rivers are restored to their natural condition. Various principles of ecological riverfront design are available, but the information is patchy and in different documents. Hence, this research aimed at redeining the principles of ecological riverfront design. A qualitative method, using comprehensive content analysis of journals and reports on ecological riverfront designs and ecological riverfront design guidelines from selected countries, was employed to redeine such principles. In summary, these principles could become a reference for architects, planners, engineers and other related professional bodies to reconsider the ecological aspect of riverfronts while planning and creating the urban spaces along the Riverfront Designriverbanks, thereby indirectly promoting urban sustainability within the urban cities.
The booming development of transit-oriented development (TOD) worldwide, especially in high-density urban areas, has shown that many cities have started to transform their urban spaces into more sustainable and liveable cities. TOD integrates the mixed-use development around the public transport stations and promotes a pedestrian-and bicycle-friendly environment as a city lifestyle. However, such developments often lack integration with the contextual condition of the surrounding area, which in the case examined in this study is the waterfront. Many cities in developed countries such as Singapore, U.S. and Canada have started to reintegrate their TODs with the water bodies. Recent trends show that TODs are widely established in areas near the water body such as dockland and waterfront, as part of urban regeneration. Various urban design principles of waterfront transit-oriented development are available, but most of them are scattered across many documents. Thus, this research aimed to identify the urban design principles for waterfront transit-oriented development. The principles were developed using a qualitative method that included content analysis ofjournals, reports, and guidelines on transit-oriented development (TOD), waterfront development, and waterfront transit-oriented development (WTOD). In the end, the urban design principles of WTOD can guide professional stakeholders such as architects, planners, engineers, and others relevant to the field to reintegrate the TOD with the waterfront in future planning.
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