City liveability and housing in Nigeria: a case study of low-income housing in Niger State

Studies on the liveability of cities have been on the increase due to their perceived aftermath significant contributions to the quality of life. Although the quality of life (QOL) has been studied from different disciplines, however, it does not mean absence of diseases or sickness rather QOL depends primarily on the living environment. The aim of this study is to examine the quality of life against the backdrop of the existing environment in the public low-income housing estates in Niger State of Nigeria. The conceptual framework for this study was developed based on empirical review. Based on the desktop literature the study used both subjective and objective measurements to investigate the liveability of the selected housing estates. Issues examined include the home environment, neighbourhood amenities,economic vitality, social environment and civic protection. Questionnaires were distributed to household heads in the selected three housing estates. The stratified random sampling technique used was to choose all types of homes. The data analysis techniques include; descriptive statistics, factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM). This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge in liveability studies in terms of model construct. It also uncovers the quality of life in public low-income housing in Niger State

Selangor state structure plan (SSP) : a way forward to 2035

StateStructurePlan(SSP) is a document that prepare a planning framework that will guide and control the state’s physical development as required under the Town and Country Planing Act1976 (Act172). The study area is the Selangor State, located on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This study adopts the process of state structure plan preparation in accordance to Plan Malaysia’s Manual. The development concept proposed in the plan is “Interdependent Polycentric Economic Region”, defined as economic corridor and growth centres that are depending on one and another. There are 5 development thrusts with 32 policies that are being proposed. From the policies, a total of 9 high impact projects being proposed for the state of Selangor

Cultural landscape study of the Kinta Valley postindustrial mining landscape, Malaysia.

 This research explored the potential of the Kinta Valley post-industrial mining landscape from the lens of cultural landscape theory and practice. Recognizing historic, scientific, aesthetic, social and spiritual heritage values, these heritage criteria scaffold and offer performative evaluation guidance as to what values are embedded in the Kinta Valley post-industrial mining landscape today. The findings of this investigation will assist government entities and practitioners values in comprehending the cultural heritage of the place having regard to integrity and authenticity that further defined and characterize Kinta Valley’s regional post-industrial tangible and intangible mining landscape today

The Key Determinant Factors for Social Sustainability in Traditional Settlement

Successful traditional settlements refer to a settlement environment that spontaneously built by residents who consider their existing site integrates with excellent social sustainability indicators. This study aims to determine the critical factors of physical character for social sustainability of a traditional settlement with the objective to identify the types of physical characteristics deemed as significant in daily social interaction among the locals. To achieve this, a quantitative method was employed using questionnaire survey distributed to 400 residents in two historic settlements, namely Kampung Pulau Duyong and Kampung Losong located at Kuala Terengganu. Both sites are selected due to good conservation practices observed concerning the physical landscape. The results generated from the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) revealed eleven factors (11) related to social sustainability. Such factors then categorised into six latent factors, which are the preservation of local identity, safety, provision of infrastructure, natural qualities, accessibility, and availability of public spaces. The findings recall the relationship between physical aspects and social sustainability as a step towards improvement in historic site preservation efforts.Keywords: social sustainability; traditional settlement; factor analysis; Kuala TerengganueISSN: 2398-4287 © 2019. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v4i12.194

As-Tsaqafah (Islamic socialization) in planning public spaces – Malaysian experience

Of late it is noticeable that public spaces have considerably become a significant element in urban fabric as it relates very much with the quality of life of community. A meaningful planning and design of public spaces is crucial as it encourages positive activities for communities to make it more active and lively. Public spaces like parks, pocket gardens, outdoor seating and eating areas, and pedestrian malls are among the trend of this contemporary era among city dwellers globally. Unfortunately, most of the current ideas of planning and designing the public spaces are simply focused to provide spaces for people to do their leisure without respect to Islamic human moral and behavior. Thus, this paper addresses the importance of incorporating the element of as-tsaqafah (Islamic socialization) in planning public spaces. The Islamic perspective is far different from the Western adaptation and modernity style in the social activities. The issues of the right of women, children, family law, security, privacy and gender relationship are seldom being considered and observed in planning public spaces. As such, this paper discusses this issue in the context of Malaysian experiences. Observation on the selected case study was undertaken and analysis indicates that the element of as-tsaqafah is not a priority in planning and design public spaces. It is hoped that this paper could promote some Islamic values and approaches in planning public spaces, taking into consideration the importance of as-tsaqafah values

Mangroves degradation: a local perspective on its awareness

Mangroves in Malaysia reside on the coastlines, and the largest areas of mangrove are in the Northern Sabah. Over the past decades, mangrove species have been reported to be disappearing from the globe. It is due to several natural processes that have been inserted to fill the needs of the increased population. These include illegal logging, agriculture activities and urbanisation. In this regards, awareness of the local residents about the problem of mangrove depletion is important to inhibit the problem to prolong further.Therefore, this research was conducted to determine the degree of awareness of local residents on the importance of mangroves in managing environmental quality. Consequently, a questionnaire survey was conducted on 103 respondents to examine their awareness on the subject of mangrove degradation.The respondents were selected randomly among local residents of Kuala Selangor district.It is found that only twenty percent of the total number of respondents are totallyaware of the issue and acted upon it; either taking part in the endeavours made by the government as well as those with the nongovernmental bodies or practicing mangroves replanting at their backyard

Collective action to secure property rights for the poor: A case study in Jambi Province, Indonesia

"This study presents an approach to analyzing decentralized forestry and natural resource management and land property rights issues, and catalyzing collective action among villages and district governments. It focuses on understanding the current policies governing local people's access to property rights and decision making processes, and learning how collective action among community groups and interaction among stakeholders can enhance local people's rights over lands, resources, and policy processes for development. The authors applied participatory action research in two villages, one each in the Bungo and Tanjabbar districts of Jambi province (Sumatra), Indonesia, to facilitate identification of priorities through phases of planning, action, monitoring, and reflecting. This study finds that action research may be an effective strategy for fostering collective action and maintaining the learning process that leads groups to be more organized and cohesive, and district government officials to be more receptive to stakeholders. A higher level of collective action and support may be needed to avoid elite capture more effectively." authors' abstractDecentralization, Natural resource management, Forest, Collective action, Property rights, Action research, Poverty, Devolution,

Factors Affecting Social Sustainability of Traditional Malay Settlement

The Adopt-A-Park Programme has Successful traditional settlements refer to a settlement environment that spontaneously built by residents who consider their existing site integrates with excellent social sustainability indicators. This study aims to determine the factors of physical character for social sustainability of a traditional settlement. Among the objectives is to identify the types of physical characteristics deemed as significant in daily social interaction among the locals. A quantitative method was employed using questionnaire survey distributed to 400 residents in two historic settlements in Kuala Terengganu. Such factors categorised into six latent factors, which are the preservation of local identity, safety, provision of infrastructure, natural qualities, accessibility, and availability of public spaces. Keywords: social sustainability; traditional settlement; factor analysis; Kuala Terengganu 2398-4279 © 2019 The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA CE-Bs by E-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open-access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer-review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v4i17.19

Liveability analysis of gated and non-gated low middle income communities in kuala lumpur, Malaysia

The aim of this paper is to examine the liveability conditions in gated and non-gated low middle income communities in Kuala Lumpur where rapid urban growth has led to many disruptions in the urban living environment. Hence, a livability framework was developed with dimensions from housing condition, economic condition, functional environment, social relations and community safety towards achieving the research objectives of – a) to study the liveability level in gated and non-gated communities, b) to compare the level of liveability between gated and non-gated communities, and c) to determine the dimensions and indicators which influence the level of liveability in both communities. Residents’ views were collected through a questionnaire survey which consisted of twenty-four indicators of liveability belonging to five dimensions from three communities in Kuala Lumpur. Two communities belong to non-gated and one community had gated living status. The findings of the research revealed that gated community has a better living conditions compared to the non-gated community. Thus, this research can be used as a turning point to improve the living environment of both gated and non-gated communit