Environmental decay and the urban poor in Southeast Asia: a study of the Klang River Basin Malaysia

Urbanization and urban growth has contributed significantly to the rapid transformations of the Malaysian economy (Khairulmaini 2000). The rate and manner by which growth is taking place has caused tremendous stress on the environment thus affecting the well being of the urban dweller. These stresses affect the living comforts and health profiles of the urban dweller and are most severely felt by the urban poor communities (Fauza 1996 and 1997). The urban poor, normally found in marginal areas are generally squatter settlements, within the urban areas. They are usually located on unoccupied government lands such as along river and railway corridors, which a part from their overcrowded nature are in general, hazard prone areas(Plate 1). They are also characterized by poor living conditions, lack of sanitation and infrastructure, facilities, poor building layout, and problems of overcrowding (Plate 2 ). In general, the houses are made of cheap building materials thus making them prone to fire and damage from floods, soil erosion and landslides (Plate 3Khairulmaini 1994). Another key characteristic of such settlements is its lack of ownership of the land parcel on which they have built their houses. The paper examines the impacts of urban growth and the emerging problems of environmental deterioration within the Klang River Basin. lt specifically attempts to examine the relationships between environmental decay and the urban poor. The discussion was based on an extensive social impacts study carried out at various squatter settlements located in the Klang River Basin (Figure 1). The study was conceptualized as shown in Figure 2. (Copied from article)