CIVIL & STRUCTURE DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & BUILT ENVIRONMENT

THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF MALAYSIA

REPORT OF SUSTAINABLE URBAN PLANNING

SEMESTER II, SESSION 2013/2014

KKKH4284 SUSTAINABLE URBAN PLANNING

Assignment :

Task 5

Local Agenda 21

Lecturer :

Prof. Ir. Dr. Riza Atiq Abdullah Bin O.K. Rahmat

Pn. Norliza Bt Mohd Akhir

Dr. Muhammad Nazri Bin Borhan

Name of Student :

Nurul Afina Bt Abd Mutalib A134187

You are given a task by the mayor of your hometown to evaluate and give suggestion on how to plan the town in accordance with Local Agenda 21. Write a brief report on your evaluation and suggestion. 

Figure 5.1 : The area of my hometown

Local Agenda 21 ia a comprehensive programme for action relating to sustainable

development, was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development (the Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. A fundamental tenet of Agenda

21 is that development must be sustainable, that is, it must be able to meet the needs of the

current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own

needs. The strategy of sustainable development is one, by which communities seek economic

development approaches that benefit the local environment and, at the same time, enhance

the quality of life. Local Agenda 21 grew out of Agenda 21 and is aimed at forging a

partnership between local authorities and the public they serve, so that they may work

together to plan and care for their surroundings within the context of sustainability. There are

six key elements according to the Local Agenda 21 Malaysia. Based of these elements, the

evaluation and suggestion are listed as below :

Elements Evaluation Suggestion

Managing and improving

the local authority’s own

environmental

performance

The involvement of multiple

agencies and departments in

urban management had made it

difficult to coordinate many

actions and in turn affects the

effectiveness of those actions.

The various roles that are

expected of these local authorities

to attain a liveable city with a

high quality of living had put

pressure on those authorities to

acquire a strong organisation. The

pressure is left more intensely by

small; and medium sized local

authorities that lack finance,

manpower, skills and equipment

in providing the expected

services.

The challenges that been facing

require the respective parties be

more focused in undertaking

parties be more focused in

undertaking each and every

responsibility in urban

development.

Good urban administration and

management need to take into

consideration the capability of each

local authority as each local

authority as each differs in terms of

manpower, skills and financial

capacity to provide good service

for its population.

The local authority, as the main

agency responsible to urban

management, needs to update the

administration and management

system to optimise its financial

revenue including new sources,

upgrade its capacity to enable

towns to become more competitive

and viable, strengthen human

resources by employing skilled and

experienced staff as well as expand

the use of technology.

The local authority, as the main

agency responsible to urban

management, needs to update the

administration and management

system to optimise its financial

revenue including new sources,

upgrade its capacity to enable

towns to become more competitive

and viable, strengthen human

resources by employing skilled and

experienced staff as well as expand

the use of technology.

Integrating sustainable

development aims into the

local authority’s policies

and activity

The sustainable development are

less in these area

The large number of private

vehicle ownership puts pressure

on the capacity of the existing

road network especially for larger

conurbations. The inefficient

public transportation resulted in

the tendency for the urban

population to opt for private

vehicles instead of the public

transport. In the long term, this

will have negative impact on the

competitiveness and the attraction

of those cities to draw local and

foreign investors.

Rapid urban development has

contributed to the degradation of

environmental quality especially

The development of an urban

system needs to be based on clear

system of hierarchy so that the

provision and distribution of

facilities and infrastructure will be

more efficient, thus, preventing

wastage of national resources.

Urban development needs to be

carried out within a specified area

to ensure urban sprawl is avoided.

Towards this end, land use

development should be based on

the adopted development plan and

comply with all policies,

programmes and action plans

proposed by the respective plan.

Urban development should be

implemented in accordance with

the principles of smart growth with

the quality of water, air and noise.

Many rivers which are major

sources of water have undergone

degradation in water quality due

to the pollution from domestic

waste, industrial effluents,

suspended particulates from soil

erosion and heavy metal pollution

from factories. Air pollution has

also increased due to emission

from motor vehicles, industrial

development and use of non-

environmental friendly fuel

sources. Furthermore, increased

human activities and high

population density have also

generated noise pollution in urban

areas.

emphasis on redeveloping suitable

areas especially in urban centres

and brown field areas, preserving

green areas for recreational

purpose and conserving

environmentally sensitive areas.

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.

Awareness raising and

education

These element need to be

improved. Good access to high quality public,

social and cultural facilities will

contribute a great deal to the

improvement of the quality of life

of the City’s residents. City Hall

Kuala Lumpur can provide good

governance by recruiting the

participation of residents in the

improvement of their living

environment.

The public participation should

assist in achieving sustainable

development in optimal utilisation

of available resources environment,

should be promoted and enhanced.

The public should also be

encouraged to adopt the 3R

concept of ‘Reduce, Reuse,

Recycle’. Such programmes can be

organised at a neighbourhood level.

The policies that have been

formulated and the guidelines to be

drafted, shall form the basis for a

comprehensive framework to

guide, control and manage new

development and improvement

works in Kuala Lumpur.

Consulting and involving

the general public

This element has been

implemented through the area.

They may included residents/

tenants associations, youth club,

senior citizen group, sports club,

activity/hobby societies,

environment/conservation

organization

All parties, in particular local

authorities should be more

innovative, transparent and

efficient in promoting urban

development that is of quality,

healthy, competitive and

progressive.

The concept of eco-partnership,

which places emphasis on the

concerted efforts of various

stakeholders such as private

enterprises, various government

agencies and community based and

non governmental organisations

(CBOs and NGOs) to carry out

study activities aimed at increasing

public awareness on sustainable

environment, should be promoted

and enhanced.

Setting up a special environmental

or local agenda 21 forum to discuss

and propose solutions to

environmental problems that can

be involve representatives of

group.

Partnerships These elements need to be improved. Partnerships should have concrete

value addition to the

implementation process and should

be new – that is, not merely reflect

existing arrangements.

Partnerships should bear in mind

the economic, social and

environmental dimensions of

sustainable development in their

design and implementation.

Partnerships should be based on

predictable and sustained resources

for their implementation, include

mobilizing new resources and,

where relevant, result in transfer of

technology to and capacity

building in, developing countries.

Measuring, monitoring

and reporting on progress

towards sustainability

These element need to be

implemented.

Those who choose to register their

partnership should provide

transparent, participatory and

credible information and reporting,

focussing on their contribution to

the implementation of goals,

objectives and targets of Local

Agenda 21.

Such reports, which should be in

writing, could also include an

update of progress towards stated

objectives, lessons learned,

identification of opportunities,

problems, constraints and proposed

solutions. Registered partnerships

should submit a regular report,

preferably at least on a biennial

basis.

The policies that have been

formulated and the guidelines to be

drafted, shall form the basis for a

comprehensive framework to

guide, control and manage new

development and improvement

works in Kuala Lumpur. In order to

implement these measures, the

Environment Unit under the Health

Department of City Hall Kuala

Lumpur should be strengthened to

regulate and facilitate coordination

with other stakeholders both inside

and outside City Hall Kuala

Lumpur

Many challenges faces the city of Kuala Lumpur in this new millennium,

transformation of Kuala Lumpur into a world class city and sustainability city will certainly

involve concerted efforts by all parties involved. In line with this, the importance of

governance and good governance is eminent in administration of developing city like Kuala

Lumpur