Question:
Assignment 1: Discuss the concept of urban regeneration and its
role in dealing with the urban dynamics. How can urban places be
regenerated by considering the social, economic and physical
character of a place in fostering the sustainability of the city in
the future. Illustrate your answer by using your studio project as
a case study.
(maximum 10 pages)
IntroductionAccording to Jon Ladd, Chief Executive of British
Urban Regeneration Association (BURA), "Urban regeneration is a
comprehensive and integrated vision and action which leads to the
resolution of urban problems and which seeks to bring about a
lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social and
environmental condition of an area." In the context of urban
development, it constitutes a range of complementary improvements
at brownfield sites in relation to land, property and associated
infrastructure, with the intention of achieving social, economic
and environmental benefits. Meanwhile, urban design is primarily
concerned with the quality of the public realm both physical and
sociocultural and the making of places for people to enjoy and use.
It is a complex process of ordering a community's natural and
man-made features to establish a distinct visual image and identity
- a sense of place - for the community. Good urban design practices
help to create a legible development pattern, which makes the
community understandable to residents and visitors alike. It is
also good in the aspect of environmental sustainability.
Therefore, urban design has the potential to make an important
contribution to urban regeneration. Regeneration is a concept that
relates to the process of injecting new life to declining inner
city areas. The historic buildings and its townscape has the
potential of becoming an important asset in regeneration of the old
city centre due to the opportunities available in providing low
cost premises that draws in a rich mix of small scale activities,
bringing life to declining urban areas.Urban regeneration is at the
core of city planning and can be defined as the integrated local
redevelopment of deprived areas including the neighbourhood, city
and metropolitan area. It covers many aspects of city life such as
physical, social and environmental (http://www.eurocities.eu/).
Urban regeneration is primarily concerned with regenerating cities
and early/inner ring suburbs facing periods of decline due to
compounding and intersecting pressures. The ongoing processes of
adaptation and change presuppose both development and decline with
the former often dependent on the latter happening before
reinvestment and renewal can occur (Carmona et. al, 2003).
Regeneration of Urban PlacesAccording to Lichfield (1992), urban
regeneration is a comprehensive and integrated vision and action
which leads to resolution of urban problems and which seeks to
bring about lasting improvement in the economic, physical, social
and environmental conditions of an area that has been subject to
change. It is a continuous process of remodeling older parts of
urban areas, including their central business areas by means of
rehabilitation and conservation as well as redevelopment. In
dealing with urban dynamics, urban regeneration may forces in
shaping the urbanization, as one of the major component is the
built environment. It must respond to the social-cultural,
climatic, technology, economics, behavioural & psychological
aspects.
Urban Regeneration is about the improvement of run-down areas in
towns and cities and it can bring social, economic &
environmental benefits to the city dwellers in long term, as it
also can create a livable city, a place where someone can live,
learn, work and play. In order to achieve the sustainable urban
regeneration, there are some principles of urban regeneration that
must be followed, such as the sustainability use of natural
resources; compliance with laws; concerning the health and safety
of residents; increase of the urban image; conservation of heritage
cities; and adding the value of city property and investment
opportunities.Creating sustainable urban regeneration by
considering the economics, environmental, physical and social
character(source: Lecture Notes, Urban Dynamics Theory)
Urban regeneration is very important as it reflects to some
issues and therefore, can overcome all these problems, such as
rising urbanization that create unsustainable city, urban decline
and urban decay that can create slum or crime, increase of
brownfield areas and how to revitalize old city centre, traffic
congestion and also urban sprawl.
Case Study
For this semesters studio project, the site is at Kuala
Terengganu City Centre, which is located at the estuary of
Terengganu River, facing theSouth China Sea. It is the
administrativecapital, royal capital, and the main economic centre
ofTerengganu. Kuala Terengganu City Centre is also the
administrative centre for the district of Kuala Terengganu. It is
located about 500 kilometres northeast ofKuala Lumpuron the East
Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. City statuswas awarded to Kuala
Terengganu with the titleBandaraya Warisan Pesisir Air(Coastal
Heritage City) on 1 January 2008. Even though the city is not
spared from modernity and development, Kuala Terengganu still
retains strong Malay influences that are also mixed with other
cultures as this place was once functioned as a port.In the view of
Kuala Terengganu, there are also some issues (pros and cons) about
the urban regeneration from the social, economic and physical
character. As we know, urban regeneration is more than just
upgrading the physical environment of an area to hopefully spark
private investment. However, one of the most critical issues in
urban regeneration is gentrification. The same problem also
happened in Kuala Terengganu, as the development trigger the
existing community to move away from the city centre, in the name
of modernization & globalization. Even though in the reality,
this should not be happening in the true spirit of urban
revitalization. Instead of displacing the existing community, they
should be relocated to the same site.From the bright side, in the
aspect of social culture, there are variety of Terengganu Malay
traditional cuisine such as nasi dagang, nasi minyak, keropok lekor
and akok, with the traditional market activity at Pasar Payang,
traditional boat making and boating activity, traditional
shophouses activities at Kg Cina such as street cafe, goldsmith,
sundries, eating activities at the gerai makan such as at Kg.
Ladang and Pasar Payang and also the richness of heritage based
activities related to tourism such as crafts songket, brassware,
batik, boat and keropok making.
However, there are losses of Malay Traditional activities
craftsmanship activity at the town centre such as brassware, batik
and songket making and the demolishing of Malay Villages that also
changed the social character of the people in town centre. There
are also inadequate spaces for social interaction among the local
at the city centre. Besides, local peoples activities also have
been changed after the authority relocated them to the outside of
the town. Another issue regarding the social aspect is that many
people who come to Pasar Payang are tourists, compared to local
people. Therefore, to regenerate the city centre by its social
character is to bring back the traditional local lifestyle,
creating a space and place for the traditional local cuisine
trading and creating an urban social space and setting for peoples
interaction.
In the aspect of economics character, Kuala Terengganu was a
major fishing port and one of the important trading ports in Tanah
Melayu (once upon a time). The economic sector in Kuala Terengganu
is mostly made up of small-scale manufacturing industries such as
the traditional textile making, local food industries, arts and
craft factories, and agriculture, with most of them centered around
residential areas or villages. However, the local people feel that
the places are no longer belongs to them. There is lack of sense of
belonging because of the displacement that destruct the community
spirit. Another problem nowadays in Kuala Terengganu City Centre is
that the local prefer to go to the hypermarket for shopping instead
of the Pasar Payang because it is more convenient to find daily
goods and other necessities. This phenomenon really gives impacts
to some of the traders who do their trades traditionally.
Therefore, it is one of the negative impacts of modernization that
needs to be looked at in order to regenerate the city. This is
because economic forces such as this will influences consumers
ability to purchase and thus, affecting wider scope of
community.Meanwhile, from the aspect of physical character, Kuala
Terengganu city centre holds various strengths, such as its
geographical location that is located at the estuary of Terengganu
River which creates a strong character of Traditional Malay
settlement. Kuala Terengganu is also well known as a Royal Town of
Terengganu. Besides, the historical and heritage place are still
present; such as Masjid Zainal Abidin, Bukit Puteri, Pasar Payang,
Istana Maziah and Kampung Cina. It also used to have a strong
morphology connection between one another (the castle is the centre
of administration and safety, with the Shahbandar Jetty, Pasar
Payang, Masjid Abidin, Field (Padang Rakyat / Medan Maziah), Bukit
Puteri (fortress) and linked together with the villages area.
Besides that, the architectural style, local craftsmanship and
architectural features are one of the strengths of this city
centre.
However, nowadays the Traditional Malay Villages has been
demolished. The view towards the river has been blocked by the
buildings. Besides, the reclamation of river destroys the
traditional setting of the town, for example is Kg Cinas double
frontage. Lack of connectivity between a node with another node in
aspect of connectivity also become a problem. The traditional
village for Malay people is no longer there at the original place,
where now only Kg. Cina exists. There are also inadequate public
spaces designed for the people in the town centre with inadequate
trees and shading area at the town centre.Therefore, these issues
and problems creates some threats to the urban regeneration
process, such as the loss of characters of waterfront town as it
become eroded due to reclamation, the traditional setting and
architectural character of the town is changing to modern style
building and haphazard development due to ad-hoc planning. The
Malay village is slowly disappearing due to the development, with
less people travel using bicycle and trishaw nowadays. Besides,
there are also the problems of poor up kept of buildings.Looking at
the bright side, urban regeneration can be done with some potential
of the land reclamation at Taman Shah Bandar which can be developed
as a new town centre and increase of public space, by creating a
sense of unity for the town centre through architectural treatment
in the material and motifs, such as buah kuntum, woodcarving and
boat / tebar layar motifs that can be used to symbolize a
waterfront city, creating linkages from a node to another node
using architectural symbol that can show the site is a waterfront
city, for example is by series of water trail / water element,
beacon, lighthouse, and create a landscape character that show the
transformation of waterfront city, from a fishing village to a
marina.
Kuala Terengganu City Centres structure, with the nodes, path,
portal and landmark Therefore, due to the rapid economic growth,
modernization and development-oriented urbanization, some of other
initiatives that can be taken into consideration to urban
regeneration is by restoring the cultural and historical heritages
of Kuala Terengganu into the heart of the city, initiate a balanced
development between the old and new city section, creating more
jobs and facilities for the people, enhancement of public space or
square, optimizing adaptive reuse instead of demolishing and
building new buildings, and maintaining the existing unique
landscape features such as matured and shady trees.
Conclusion on How to Fostering the Sustainability of Kuala
Terengganu City Centre in the futureAs the conclusion, Kuala
Terengganu City Centre holds thousands of uniqueness for a place
that once was a Royal Malay Traditional Waterfront City. Wisely
geographically located at the estuary of Terengganu River, it
certainly holds much uniqueness as a fisherman village with various
tradition and heritage. However, due the modernization and
development, the city needs to be regenerated so that it can
sustain in the future. In aspects of urban dynamics, Kuala
Terengganu City Centre is very potential to be regenerated as a
liveable city for people to work, live, play and learn in a
waterfront city with unique traditional heritage and character. It
can be obtained by reviving the genius loci of waterfront heritage
city through physical character and socio-cultural values that
reflects local identity of the place, or even by increasing the
vitality of the city by encouraging mix use and enhancing the
diversity of activities for people. Apart of it, to foster the
sustainability of the city centre is also by strengthening the
relationship between a street ability to connect places and its
ability to support movement and activities, and by enhancing the
design of public spaces around Kuala Terengganu city centre for
people and public realm.This urban regeneration must be continuous,
Kuala Terengganu community based, people-centred, focusing on place
making and also local identity. For example, in urban regeneration,
it is crucial to understand that in a city, it is supposedly that
the pedestrian is more important that the vehicle. Therefore, in
the proposed design later, we can create a tool to defend the
rights of pedestrians by transforming street intersections into
public spaces, where the people really matters most, compared to
vehicles. More restoration works and adaptive reuse of the old
building stocks should be encouraged instead of building new.
Besides that, one of the sustainable urban regeneration can be
achieved by fostering the cultural values that creates the sense of
place of Kuala Terengganu. Urban regeneration is seen as a
sustainable approach to the future of Kuala Terengganu city centre
as it enables new life to be injected to this city whilst achieving
a better urban living quality. For example, the existing old
building stocks that is usually rich in architecture offers a range
of opportunities for conversion to office premises, studios,
restaurants and shopping arcades. They can also be adapted for
residential use to meet the growing demand for city centre living,
and give healthy economic character to the place.
Besides that, to the people of Kuala Terengganu, the spirit of
this place will stay no matter what happens. Therefore, to bring
back whatever has been lost to this place, the urban regeneration
will incorporate and adapt to all the social, economic and physical
character of the place. And it can be strengthened by ensuring that
the regeneration maintains a link with the past in terms of
activities and physical characteristics.References:Barnett, J.
(2007), Smart Growth in a Changing World. Chicago: American
Planning Association.
Carmona, S., Heath, T., Oc, T. and Tiesdell, S. (2003), Public
Places Urban Spaces: The Dimensions of Urban Design, Elsevier,
Great Britain
Gehl, J. (2010), Cities for People, Island Press
Dahlia, R., Azmizam, A.R. (2013), Revitalizing Urban Development
in Malaysia Through The Implementation Of Urban Regeneration
Programme, 43rd Annual Conference Of The Urban Affairs
Association
Urban Dynamics Lecture Notes for MSUD programme, UTM
http://unu.edu/publications/articles/urban-regeneration-and-climate-friendly-development-lessons-from-japan.htmlhttp://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/issues/urban-planning-regeneration-issuehttps://www.mi.vt.edu/research/urban-regeneration/http://www.building.co.uk/10-ways-to-define-regeneration/3062794.article
The process of urban regeneration (source: Lecture Notes, Urban
Dynamics Theory)
View of Kuala Terengganu from Bukit Puteri
View outside Pasar Payang
View inside Pasar Payang
View inside Pasar Payang
View towards Terengganu River & the land reclamation behind
Pasar Payang area
View towards Kuala Terengganu from Seberang Takir
The gist of urban regeneration is by conservation, restructuring
or even development
(source: Lecture Notes, Urban Dynamics Theory)
10