Urbanisation Versus Urban Planning Practice in Malaysia: Considerations, Prospects and Possibilities

Abstract

Urbanisation and urban growth area of central concerns to urban planners. The process of urbanisation in Malaysia has been accompanied by rural-urban migration, but the scale of such movement is near those which have been reported for places such as Jakarta in Indonesia. Looking at the Malaysian towns, it is true that without urban planning and development control, urban living as appeared today would be impossible. Rapid urban growth in Malaysia is a phenomenon which often coincides with rapid industrialisation. Periods of rapid economic growth have been concurrent with periods of rapid urban growth. Problems encountered in Malaysian cities have been partly related to the need for restructuring. Efforts to solve the problems are being made through administrative, political and fiscal measures. The need for environmental planning and an integrated approach of planning as a whole is fully realised by the authorities.