Abstract
High urbanization in Asia has given rise to the necessity to revisit its planning strategies towards the notion of livability and sustainability. This has called upon a need to accommodate the living capacity and ability of cities to provide welfare to their populations. Cities become complex and contradictory spaces if problems with accessibility towards basic necessities, inefficient transportation systems, environmental degradation, urban poverty, social exclusion and collapsing community values are not tackled with scrutiny of the standards needed for the urban quality of life (QoL). This paper aims to describe the urbanisation processes that challenge the livability and sustainability of George Town, the world heritage site of Penang, Malaysia. Using questionnaires and in-depth interviews with respondents, data were collected to explore the quality of life indicators and to assess the extent of urban sustainability and the challenges faced by the local communities. With the notion of an emerging mega urban region, the success of George Town in planning and projecting a sustainable urban development model is a step towards eliminating contemporary urban challenges and to promoting its cultural heritage. In this way forward, the role of the local authorities is crucial to propel George Town towards a livable city status that is culturally preserved.
Highlights
Urban areas have become the living places for almost half the world population
On the other hand is the traditional cultural landscape in need of efforts to conserve it from disappearing. This gives rise to the question of how policy makers plan and manage the emerging new landscapes of cities and how an assessment of the character or identity of a changing landscape can be determined and valued for the future, and potentially become traditional or heritage? It is within this notion in mind that this paper aims to discuss the challenges faced by island cities like George Town, Penang to compete for its economic prosperity while sustaining its quality of life (QoL) standard
About 37.5% of the respondents were from the age group of 21-30 years old category and most of them were students and government officials who lived near the city of George Town
Summary
Urban areas have become the living places for almost half the world population. In this sense, mega urban regions have emerged as new engines of global economic growth, which is characterized by the intense movement of global and local capital, producing new economic landscapes in many places in Asia (Ortega et al, 2015; Yoon, 2017; Ye & Bjomer, 2018). Cities are habitat for human settlement and for that requires holistic planning and management, so that the quality of life (QoL) for the community can be upgraded and sustained. The urban environment has to be assessed through indicators that are set for measuring the quality of life
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