12 COVER STORY
@ green | July-August , 2021
“ A lot of cities are a slower indicator of change . But we ’ re starting to see different trends , for example , with commercial spaces becoming emptier , what will happen to all these things ?
“ Planning is more than just looking at it from a top-down perspective . It deals with people , real challenges , real places . There ’ s a need to be very forward-thinking in this sense .
“ So , the only way we can get a real analysis of what ’ s happening on the ground is if we bring the people who are managing the cities and designing the cities to come together and have that sort of discussion .”
With CEM 2021 being virtual , the expo could attract global audiences and international speakers to participate and share their knowledge . Imran also mentioned that there would be a networking lounge where attendees could pitch ideas and discuss things with other people worldwide .
Learning opportunity at the virtual expo
Noraida agreed that after two years of the pandemic , many things need to be changed and reevaluated .
“ The expo will provide a platform to exchange ideas and to learn from each other on how cities were affected by the pandemic ,” said the MIP President .
She added that there were many learning and re-learning opportunities at CEM 2021 as the people involved in the expo
Placemaking touches lives
Noraida Saludin , President of the Malaysian Institute of Planners ( MIP ).
MIP PRESIDENT Datin TPr Noraida Saludin , a professional town planner , has reserved a particular spot in her heart for placemaking . Placemaking is a multi-faceted approach to the planning , design and management of public spaces . It capitalises on a local community ’ s assets , inspiration , and potential , intending to create public spaces that promote people ’ s health , happiness , and well-being .
As mentioned previously , she revealed that aside from placemaking , another urbanism theme that Malaysia focuses on is healthy cities .
“ In urban planning , when we talk about healthy cities , we talk about providing spaces for recreational activities . I think it is becoming popular in Malaysia because the country has a high obesity rate .
“ With that fact in mind , the local authorities seek to encourage the communities to be more active ,” said Noraida . She also shared that in 2021 , Malaysia is looking to move into smart cities .
“ But what ’ s close to my heart is placemaking . I enjoy working with the place-makers because these people are not just urban planners , but everybody … it could be historians or artists .
“ When you do placemaking , you work in your local area , in a small space . The pleasure that you get is when you see people flocking the places to activate the spaces .”
On challenges of Malaysian cities
With many people coming to cities , Noraida said that the rapid urbanisation would strain many things in the area .
“ The first thing will be basic infrastructure , housing , road network connectivity . There are just too many people in the city , and that is already straining the city .
“ It will also affect the city ’ s environmental health . We will have a lot more pollution , and we will have fewer green areas . We will also infringe the forest because of the need to expand urban areas .
“ Within the cities , there are also inequalities . Providing affordable housing is going to be a challenge as we move into the future . Providing a quality living environment in cities would be a concern too . Technology is also a challenge as it just disrupts things ,” shared Noraida .
She agreed that technology needed to be embraced and embedded into urban planning and city management , but its disruption to town planning is also evident .
She shared that in the past , engineers used to do a traffic impact assessment to project certain travelling behaviours , such as the number of cars estimated to use a particular road . However , with technology like Waze , Noraida said patterns couldn ’ t be predicted .
“ Malaysian cities will keep growing . Moving forward in the next 20 years , if we get our urban planning right to refocus our sustainability agenda , we will achieve sustainable development goals ( SDGs ). Today , I think more than 150 local authorities in Malaysia have already embraced the SDGs .”
Political will and political interferences are other challenges .
She said : “ This is a Malaysian challenge . There are always political interferences , and there ’ s a lack of political will to implement a good plan . When we change the leader , then we change the plan .”
On the idea of sustainability at MIP
“ Sustainability is a big topic . The core to it is environmentally sustainable , economically sustainable and socially sustainable . But I want to add that it has to be financially sustainable because if you talk about the three , the private sector wouldn ’ t want to come .
Noraida revealed that at MIP , they worked to equip members with the