A Current View of Penang s Development: Rhetoric & Reality

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1 A Current View of Penang s Development: Rhetoric & Reality Dr. Lim Mah Hui MPPP Councillor Penang Forum 5, Penang August 4,

2 State Government Penang Blueprint p.135 liveable city defined broadly as: People centered, residents wellbeing Strengthen community relation More public space to encourage more civic engagement & interaction Pedestrian network, bicycle lanes, efficient public transport 2

3 Khazanah & World Bank Cities, People and Economy: A Study on Positioning Penang Penang offers relaxed, cosmopolitan and balanced lifestyle Attributes of liveability declined with growth Air & water quality deteriorated Traffic congestion soared Absence of good public transport Urban amenities like libraries neglected Lively civic participation suffered 3

4 Commitment to liveability must start with citizens concerns Last study on people s views was done in 1999 Penang Peoples Report Lower stress, open spaces, access to shopping, heritage sites, medical care, bookstores & libraries, sports and social facilities, cultural events are features that young professionals cite as most important Must incorporate these in planning 4

5 Two major conclusions from the studies (1) Significant - What are not mentioned as attributes of liveability More roads and highways More high rise luxury condos More trees cut down More hill slopes cut 5

6 Greater Emphasis given to: Social, cultural infrastructure r/t physical infra except public transport REALITY over emphasis to nonhuman scale concrete buildings along established communities Kelawai, Gurney, Macalister, Burmah 6

7 #2 -Emphasise human element & people at centre of planning People participate in planning process People cannot be an after-thought or relegated to a footnote Planning is at heart of liveable city REALITY? Planning is fragmented & outsourced Developers treated as clients and people as complainants 7

8 Is Development Moving Towards More Liveability? Measure against objectives Objective # 1 People-centric, Civic Engagement, Public Places Is our development more peoplecentric or property-centric? Who has more access to government? Are people clients or complainents Why surveyors, planners, architects, engineers & developers have a committee - SPEAD to expedite projects? 8

9 People centric? Why rakyat not represented in SPEAD or no such regular meetings with directors and heads of local govt? Why more resident associations complaining of development that threaten their environment? How often are people consulted BEFORE a project is implemented? 9

10 Recent positive development with this government Botanic Gardens SAP MPPP Budgeting process Penang Master Transport Plan Chowrasta market project All these came about from public diligence & clamour for participation Participatory democracy 10

11 #2- Availability of Public Amenities City lacking in pedestrian walkways, bicycle networks, libraries, green and open spaces, linear parks, public transport Structure Plan calls for 4 ha of open space for every 2,500 persons MPPP plans for only 2 per 5,000 Policy of 10% of open space land in a development project - inadequate 11

12 Cleaner & Greener Penang Campaign - good Must have more meat to it Integrated master plan for planting trees, cleaning rivers and beaches, protecting hills Green hills are lungs of Penang produce oxygen, thru natural channels cold morning air moves down fr hills to town to replenish urban air 12

13 Hills of Penang Green hills provide aesthetic backdrop or stage to life of community Gives Penang its character Hill slope development is NOT simply a technical-engineering issue; it is an Environmental and Social issue 13

14 Beaches and Shores of Penang Blue Print shows Penang island has 66 km of coastline 20km beaches, 8.5km new reclamation, 2.3km properties, 3km public amenities Study highlights recent private development making sandy beach & foreshore less available to public & trend MUST be reversed Propose first 100m of all reclaimed shore land must be open to public 14

15 Urban Parks MPPP has 22 acres of land around SP Chelliah, behind Time Square Should it be another urban commercial & housing centre & MPPP headquarters? Or an international class urban park? Can people be consulted BEFORE its planned & developed? 15

16 Rehabilitation of Rivers & Beaches Priority be given to rehabilitate rivers and beaches of Penang as has been done in Singapore, Kaoshiung, Taipei Takes at least 10 years for it to rehabilitate; we should have started 4 years ago? Not too late to start now and commission master plan 16

17 # 3 Planning & Public Transport Penang 1.6m people, 2m vehicles Population growth 2.4%, vehicle growth 9.5% per annum Building more roads alone WON T solve problem Solution lies in MANAGING growth and use of vehicles, link to planning 17

18 Planning & Public Transport Density & plot ratio of Draft local plan for island based on assumption of 50% public ridership Today this ratio is 4% Policy of 87 units/acre density should be only in transport nodes Today its allowed any area where density is up to 30 units/acre > traffic congestion 18

19 # Heritage Preservation provided in enclave zone What about buffer zone and other parts of city with rich architectural and historic buildings & communities? Recent episodes highlight danger of destruction of heritage Illegal demolition of Khaw Bian Cheng s mansion in Pykett Avenue Two historic houses where first Thai Prime Minister Manoparkorn torn down 19

20 Erosion of Heritage Even if heritage buildings not demolished, they have been mutilated and suffocated, surrounded by 30 storey structures Many foreign visitors have lamented this sad state Propose temporary moratorium of further demolition of such buildings pending inventorization 20

21 Liveable for Who? When we speak of liveability, we must keep in mind, for who? For rich & for expats who can afford good schools, condos & health care? For ordinary people who can t access affordable housing and health care? For foreign workers who build our roads, cities and clean them? 21

22 Meaning of International? Should international be a primary adjective or secondary one? Which model International place of abode like NY and London Hong Kong and Singapore? Singapore so successful that locals left behind > political backlash International destination for tourists 22 Bangkok, Kyoto

23 International City International place for arts, culture, cuisine International destination for foreign investors in : manufacturing and services? Or for property like in Dubai? We should be aware of its positives and negatives C.M. will spell this out for us. 23

24 THANK YOU 24