Towards sustainable low cost high rise urban housing in Kuala Lmpur, Malaysia

Sustainability is a multi-dimensional concept when applied to our built environment. Not only does sustainability require that housing developments are designed, developed, constructed and managed in a way which minimises negative impacts on the environment and society as a whole but also the community of which the development is part can only be sustainable if it is a place where people want to live now and in the future. Malaysia’s population growth and urban migration combined with its ambitious economic development objectives conflated to create an urgent need to house growing numbers of people in its major conurbations, particularly in the capital Kuala Lumpur. Many of these people were in low income groups and some part of a disturbingly large squatter population. In the search for a solution, policymakers turned to low cost high-rise projects, attracted by the high density housing such projects could deliver. This mixed methods research triangulates different types of data to produce a deep insight into the sustainability of low cost high-rise public housing in Kuala Lumpur. The research was partitioned into two separate studies, one qualitative and the other quantitative each differentiated by the corresponding data sources and methodological approach. In the case of the qualitative study these data were collected through user focus groups, one-to-one expert interviews, written observation notes, and location photography. For the quantitative study a residential satisfaction survey provided the data. A wide range of findings emerged from the quantitative study many of which highlighted a range of negative aspects of the high solution to urban housing policy challenges. However, many of these issues were within the remit and capacity of policymakers, designers and developers to address suggesting that despite the major challenges ahead it may be premature to abandon the high-rise option in the quest to house low income groups among rising urban populations. In some respects, the survey study contrasted by revealing a generally positive level of satisfaction among users. The thesis completes with a set of best practice recommendations which will be of interest to policymakers, developers and designers of low cost high-rise housing and all those interested in the sustainability of the built environment