Developing new guidelines for riverfront development in Malaysia

Rivers and water are valuable natural resources for human life, for the environment and for national development. A riverfront development is already a well-established phenomenon internationally. In Malaysia, as the economy began to develop in the 1980s, so did the use of land along many of the riverfronts. The pressure of new technology coupled with urban population growth and urbanisation began to force a transition from water dependent industries to a variety of non-water dependent urban developments. Residential riverfront development has taken advantage of the land made available by changed land use and has incorporated the water amenities as a feature or “selling point” of the development. The development of riverfront land has occurred with limited federal, state, or municipal planning guidance and in some cases has added a cost in terms of flooding and pollution. Although some riverfront development projects continue to remain profitable and also maintain a successful public access component, many have not. The aim of the current study is to identify the current practices of riverfront development in Malaysia and to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the regulations associated with riverfront development in Malaysia, and any subsequent barriers to development. This will allow guideline recommendations to be formulated to help ensure more sustainable development in crucial riverfront locations throughout Malaysia in the future. Data and information to undertake this research was obtained from in-depth interviews with government officers, property developers and the waterfront community (qualitative phase), followed by a survey of property development companies through postal and email questionnaires (quantitative phase). The results show that the most of the interviewees and the property development companies are familiar with waterfront development even though not directly involved in these projects. Only limited numbers of them are familiar with guidelines for riverfront development, while the rest have inadequate information about them. The majority of the interviewees and the property development companies do not support the riverfront development guidelines for many reasons such as weakness in policy administration and external interference. The findings also identified eighteens attributed to be used in assisting developers when undertaking riverfront development project in the future. This information will be used to develop recommended guidelines for best practice riverfront development in Malaysia. Keywords: Guidelines for riverfront development, Riverfront, Riverfront development, Riverfront property