Spatiotemporal analysis on the squatter development: a case study in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur

As a Malay Agricultural Settlement gazetted in 1900, Kampung Baru (Kuala Lumpur) has been subjected to prolonged national interests (e.g. economic, social, environment and politic) and it is pressured by modern and future development. Theoretically, the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon is prevailed in the area, but only few studies have been carried out to address the issues in a quantitative manner. Therefore this study aims at providing better insight the UHI phenomenon in Kampung Baru (Kuala Lumpur) and explicitly examining the temperature pattern and its vicinity effects. The field survey was conducted to collect the temperature and relative humidity using mobile survey method. Additionally, the fixed weather station had been installed starting from October 2013 in the study area and the data were compared with the rural area data from the Malaysia Meteorological Department. Thus, the intensity of UHI was estimated based on the difference between urban and rural temperature. In conclusion, this research quantified the UHI in Kampung Baru, and it can be a critical input to the urban development planning in a changing environment

Analysis of urban morphological effect on the microclimate of the urban residential area of Kampung Baru in Kuala Lumpur using a geospatial approach

As a Malay Agricultural Settlement established in 1900, Kampung Baru which is located in Kuala Lumpur, has become a subject of prolonged national interests in terms of economic, social, environment, and political issues along with the pressure of modern and future development. This study investigated the urban morphological impact of Kampung Baru on the intensity of urban heat island (UHI) by developing a smart geodatabase for urban climatic mapping. The database provided baseline data which was crucial to unveil the spatiotemporal characteristics of UHI in Kampung Baru. Determination of the urban heat island intensity (UHII) in Kampung Baru was carried out through two approaches, mobile and fixed measurements. In a period of six days, the mobile measurement was conducted within the target area at night using a motorcycle equipped with the temperature and relative humidity data logger while the fixed measurement was conducted using the similar equipment installed at a school building in the area. Building height data were also collected while building footprints were digitized using a topographical map and the satellite image was used as the base map. To estimate the UHII, the reference data for rural temperature was obtained from the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD). All of the data were analyzed using ArcGIS to portray the temperature pattern in the study area. The analysis revealed the presence of UHI effect in Kampung Baru at the average building height of six to ten metres. The results of the fixed measurement showed an island-like local maximum in the study area with the average and maximum UHII values of 4.4 °C and 6.0 °C, respectively. The results from the mobile measurement also showed that the highest temperature was recorded in Kampung Baru rather than in the surrounding areas of different land-use types throughout the observation days. The spatial temperature distribution in the study area also showed that the most affected part was the south-west of Kampung Baru which is surrounded by tall buildings. The findings of this study could be utilized in the planning of new development in the city of Kuala Lumpur