‘Balik Kampong’: is Malaysia facing the trends of de-urbanization?

Malaysia is a fast-grown developing country which took only 30 years to shift from predominantly agriculture-based to manufactured-dependent society. This kampong to urban migration has created a new generation of urban society who had disconnected themselves from the traditional subsistence farming but kept maintaining an occasional connection with their hometown. With new jobs, environment and lifestyle, these urban migrants’ life and livelihood in cities improved and expanded. Growth in urban population and affluence raised the demand for housing, food and technological goods. With increased growth in demand, came an increased challenge in resource management to satisfy needs. A recent debate has highlighted issues on oil depletion and competition from neighboring countries that indicates a possible economic decline. This situation has triggered discussions about limits to urbanization and the possibility of urban and peri-urban food production in order to re-localize urban areas. Therefore, there is an emerging of decentralization of cities and population in Malaysia. This paper questions whether there is a further progression towards ‘de-urbanization’ or a return to a new form of rural life that takes advantage of new technologies to assists new way of life and improves the standard of living in kampong

The relationship of heritage trees in urban heat island mitigation effect at Taiping, Perak, Malaysia / Nor Suhaida Yusof, Nur Huzeima Mohd Hussain and Noradila Rusli

Every tree species provide different cooling effect depending on their tree characteristics. Evergreen species such as heritage trees are significant in reducing the surface temperature. The aim of this paper is to determine the relationship of heritage treesin mitigating urban heat island at Taiping Old Town. The research had been conducted through Landsat 8 OLI and field data collection. Thisresearch integrated the Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing in data processing and analysis. The results show the low significant relationship of tree characteristics and Land Surface Temperature (LST) with (R²=0.17) which indicate that external factors may also influence the changes in temperature

The Rise of Rooftop Urban Farming at George Town, Penang

Urban farming is growing in popularity for taking advantage of unused spaces on the rooftop in cities. This issue is becoming fundamentals due to the scarcity of land issue, urbanisation and urban poverty. This paper presents a brief method used in exploring the potential of implementing urban farming on the rooftop areas. The research aims to measure the potential of the rooftop as urban farming at George Town, Penang. This study adopted quantitative method using the questionnaire to conduct a survey. The result shows significant findings of reliability test of Cronbach's Alpha

The Tree Vandalism Model (Tvm): Quantifying urban tree vandalism status

The Tree Vandalism Model (TVM) was developed to assist decision-makers and tree managers to quantify the status of tree vandalism incidence in the urban area. The model quantifies tree vandalism incident influenced by the shortcoming of tree conditions, tree vandalism incident derived from human error and tree vandalism incident due to lack of urban tree concern; which that interpret the number of tree vandalism throughout the area; the tree vandalism composite index value throughout the area; and a tree vandalism classification. Keywords: Composite Index, Tree Vandalism, Urban Stresses, Urban Tree Care. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. 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/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6iSI4.303

Establishing the Malay Landscape Elements through Islamic Garden Perspective

Beliefs and interpretations from the Islamic concept have influenced the emergence and extensions of many landscape designs including the Malay landscape.  This paper reviews the significant relation between the Malay landscape and Islamic garden concept through established references.  The main intention is to identify, analyzing and establishing the landscape elements, design characteristic and their functions as the research attributes.  This paper uses the imagery evidence from the Quran to support the study analyses and discussions.  The conclusions will lead towards all possible dimensions of Islamic Malay landscape in cultural, traditional and sustainability context for future resilient.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA 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.Keywords: Malay; landscape; element; Islamic concep

Analysing street heritage trees surface temperature for UHI mitigation using remote sensing and GIS application / Nor Suhaida Yusof, Nur Huzeima Mohd Hussain and Noradila Rusli

Urban Trees are important in reducing the heat by providing the shade and cooling effect to the urban environment. Every tree species provides different cooling effect depending on their tree characteristics. Evergreen species such as heritage tree are significant in reducing the surface temperature. In particular, heritage trees do have environmental implications which provide lots of benefits for the environment and human health. The aim of this paper is to analyse the heritage trees surface temperature in mitigating urban heat island (UHI) at Taiping Old Town. The research has conducted utilizing Landsat 8 OLI data and on-site data collection. This research integrated Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing in data processing and SPSS for analysis. The result shows the low significant relationship of tree characteristics and Land Surface Temperature (LST) with (R²=0.17) indicates that external factors can reduce the cooling effect from heritage trees in reducing the surface temperature in the urban area. Moreover, there is also an analysis on the LST of land cover features together with the frequency of heritage trees. The findings revealed that the higher frequency of heritage trees planted at the hard surface; the higher the ability to reduce the LST (about 5.3°C) in urban areas

The Components of Social Dimension for Community Gardens in Housing Residential

Community gardens are known as space for people to plant vegetables and fruits for their daily use. Various social benefits could be obtained through the implementation of community gardens in the urban neighbourhoods. This paper aims to give a better understanding relationship between the social dimension and community garden. The objectives of this paper are to identify the social dimension elements of sustainable development and to explore the benefits from community garden implementation towards social dimension. This paper analyses established references from previous articles and theses to identify a relationship between the social dimension and community garden

Improving community quality of life through Recycle Edible Garden

Recycle Edible Garden (REG) is a green initiative green project that was composed to accommodate the community with edible resources, rainwater harvesting and reuse materials towards achieving subsistence living. This paper documented the rationale, risks and recommendation based on the collaborative design-build process and experiences. The data derived from the quantitative and qualitative method in which was recorded through meetings, pictures, newspaper and surveys.  All data were analysed descriptively through comparative tables, images and graphs.  The outcome will present the benchmark in designing and engaging with the community through motivating community interaction, minimising living costs and improving the quality of life

Reverse Migration Determinant Factor: A systematic literature review

Reverse migration in Malaysia is a relatively new emerging phenomenon where the migrants have intentionally chosen to return to their hometown for better living. Thus, there is a demand to investigate the determinants that lead to these changing population mobility trends in Malaysia. This study adopts the systematic literature review to identify the determinant factors of reverse migration. The aim is to analyse empirical studies to determine factors in reverse migration. Consequently, the findings have revealed several determinants: following family, career, environment, economic reason, quality of life, and social aspect as the driving factors towards achieving subsistence living. Keywords: reverse migration, systematic literature review, determinant, Malaysia eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. 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/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.273

Between Survival and Sustenance : Plants for Recycle Edible Garden

Previous studies demonstrate that plants played a significant role in the edible garden plantings.  Therefore, this study aims to analyse and evaluate the practicality and performance of plants selected in composing the recycle edible garden at Masjid As-Siddiq. This paper discusses the issues, challenges and imperatives of how a successful plants selection would lead towards survival and sustenance food for the community. The data derived from qualitative and quantitative method through photo and images recorded throughout the implementation period.  The results will interpret relevant information about the plants potential in surviving and becoming sustenance towards the sustainable community.