KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s move to expand the affordable housing programme in the federal capital is seen as providing more opportunities for home ownership, especially among the young generation.
A senior lecturer in Real Estate, Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Dr Shazmin Shareena Ab Azis said home ownership is important in creating a more stable neighbourhood, thereby creating a prosperous society.
“Neighbourhood stability is important in creating unity, harmony, more secure area, as well as to reduce crime rate in the area.
If there are too many tenants in an area, logically, they (tenants) will always change and we ourselves may not recognise them,” he said when contacted by Bernama today.
He said homeownership is still low because of the high value of properties, including the price of all types of houses in urban areas.
“Providing affordable housing is the solution for the B40, M40 groups and young people to own a home,” he said, adding that the government can take advantage of the green technology in the implementation of its development projects.
“Through this green technology, we can create gardens on buildings, including developing green roofs or green walls which not only help to absorb or delay the flow of water but also restore aesthetic value, thus reducing global warming in urban areas,” he said.
Sharing his views is the Dean of the Faculty of Design and Architecture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Associate Prof Dr Suhardi Maulan, who said that cities need sufficient open and green areas because they have magnetic properties or an attraction for urban communities.
According to him, forest reserves, rivers, hills and green and open areas provide great benefits to city residents and play an important role in ensuring that the city’s planning is healthy and habitable.
“It actually balances the rapid development in the city and needs to be sufficient for quality environment, recreational activities, urban beauty, human health, as well as supports biodiversity in urban areas.
“Apart from that, the availability of open spaces such as urban parks is a reflection of the value of civilisation in the country’s development,” he said.
Therefore, Suhardi said the country needed expertise in the field of urban greening such as Landscape Architecture, to plan, design and manage open and green areas in the city.
A city dweller, Nur Fitri Aini Ismail, 39, regarded the government’s plan to expand affordable housing as the right step to help city dwellers, especially the B40, to own homes.
“However, the development needs to be done properly and equipped with basic facilities, as well as to take into account maintenance costs,” she said.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim called on Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to immediately implement improvements to the Draft Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2040 (KLSP 2040) and gazette the document before the end of this year.
Anwar, who chaired a briefing to hear and examine the report of the engagement sessions on the amendment of the Draft KLSP 2040 together with the Federal Territories Department and DBKL, said DBK needed to focus on maintaining forest reserves and open spaces to ensure the goal of making Kuala Lumpur a green, healthy and vibrant city is achieved.
According to the prime minister, affordable housing should be expanded to accommodate the demand for this type of housing by Kuala Lumpur residents and the move is in line with the government’s desire to provide affordable housing owned through the concept of MADANI Neighbourhood in Kuala Lumpur.
KLSP 2040 is one of the main components of the Kuala Lumpur Development Plan 2040 which contains vision, goals, strategic directions and actions to drive Kuala Lumpur for the next 20 years.
Among the contents of the KLSP 2040 draft is integrating land use with infrastructure planning, transportation, provision of affordable housing, employment, and public facilities as well as improving the quality of the environment and public space. – BERNAMA
