Urban Revitalisation for a City's Soul: The Case of Kampong Bharu
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
It is an accepted dogma by urban planning gurus that livable and sustainable cities, neighbourhoods and communities are those with souls that differ according to the communities' socio-cultural, economic, political and physical environments and perspectives. The soul of a city is in its people. This article presents findings from a study on the revitalisation of Kampong Bharu. Being only a conceptual study, the findings are only based on literature review, observations through walkabouts and drive-throughs, and interviews with custodians and major stakeholders. The article presents the results of the conceptual study: the concept of a city's soul in urban planning, the urban village concept, history and characteristics of Kampong Bharu the urban village, manifestations of its soul. The article will also present key issues in revitalising Kampong Bharu that is, custodians, mandates and institutional arrangement, heritage-led development, and a brief assessment of actions in urban heritage conservation and revitalising of Kampong Bharu's soul. The study concludes by supporting the move to revitalise Kampong Bharu and its soul. However, a deeper research is recommended to untangle the conundrum created by its legal and institutional arrangements; establishing a formal definition of Kampong Bharu's soul; the development of a set of criteria for planning a heritage-led development; and cataloging tangible and intangible Malay cultural elements in Kampong Bharu.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Arkib Negara Malaysia. 1900. Lembaga Pentadbir Kampung Baharu Kuala Lumpur. http://hids.arkib.gov.my/peristiwa/-/asset_publisher/WAhqbCYR9ww2/content/lembaga-pentadbir-kampung-baharu-kuala-lumpur/ (accessed 31 March 2017).
Azira Aziz. 2008. The Kampung Baru issue. Malaysia Today. 24 May. http://www.malaysia-today.net/the-kampung-baru-issue / (accessed 31 March 2017).
Bashiran Begum Mobarak Ali and Nor Asiah Mohamad. 2007. The "red-ink grants": The Malays and the land. IIUM Law Journal 15(2): 273–303. http://irep.iium.edu.my/7517/1/The_%27Red-Ink_Grants%27_The_Malays_and_the_Land.pdf (accessed 31 March 2017).
Benevolo, L. 2002. The city as an expression of culture: The case of 14th century urbina. In UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2003. Partnerships for World Heritage Cities: Culture as a vector for sustainable urban development. World Heritage 2002 shared legacy, common responsibility associated workshops, Urbino, Pesaro – Italy. 11–12 November.
Bruku, S. 2015. Community engagement in historical site protection: Lessons from the Elmina Castle Project in Ghana. Conservation and Management of Archaeological Sites 17(1): 67–76. https://doi.org/10.1179/1350503315Z.00000000094.
By-Laws made under Rule 4 of the Rules for the Occupation and Management of the Malay Agricultural settlement, Kampong Bharu, Kuala Lumpur. Selangor Government Gazette Notification 66. City of Kuala Lumpur Act 1971. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad, Kuala Lumpur.
Emerson, M. n.d. Building the soul of a city. http://www.theworkofthepeople.com/bundle/building-the-soul-of-a-city (accessed 31 March 2017).
Faludi, A. 1973. A reader in planning theory. Urban and regional planning series, Volume 5. Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press.
Federal Capital Act 1960 (Revised 1977). Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad.
Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad.
Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur Land Rule 1995. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad.
Fujita, M. A. 2010. Forays into building identity: Kampung to kampong in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area. Journal of Architectural Education 63(2): 8–24. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1531-314X.2010.01055.x.
Gartland, A. 2015. Master plan for Malay enclave outrages local landowners. https://changingtimes.media/2015/01/18/master-plan-for-malay-enclave-outrages-locallandowners / (accessed 31 March 2017).
Girardet, H. 2004. Cities, people, planet: Liveable cities for a sustainable world. US: Academy Press.
Hajah Sulasteri Abdul Hamid. 2012. Asal usul Kampong Bharu. Puspawangsa October– December: 17.
ICOMOS. 1999. The Burra Charter. The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance. http://www.icomos.org/charters/burra1999_fre.pdf (accessed 31 March 2017).
Ismail Omar and Aminah Md Yusof. 2002. Indigenous land rights and dynamics of the land market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Habitat International 26(4): 507–521. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0197-3975(02)00024-3.
Ismail Omar, W. Djurjani and N. D. Prijono. 2009. Transaction cost analysis in redeveloping indigenous lands in Malaysia. Economia Seria Management 12(1): 21–40. http://www.management.ase.ro/reveconomia/2009-1/3.pdf (accessed 31 March 2017).
Johana Hassan. 2008. A new Kampung Baharu with the old charm. http://www.christopherteh.com/publications/resources/MalaysianDigest.Com.pdf (accessed 31 March 2017).
Kampong Bharu Development Corporation (KBDC). 2014. Kampong Bharu Comprehensive Development Master Plan. Kuala Lumpur: Kampong Bharu Development Corporation.
______. n.d. Garis panduan senibina Melayu Islam Kampong Bharu. 1st ed. Kuala Lumpur: Kampong Bharu Development Corporation. Kampong Bharu Development Corporation Act 2011 (Act 733). Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad.
Khairil Azhar Md. Yassin. 2009. Kampung Baru: Organizational study of an urban Malay settlement. Master diss., International Islamic University Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall. 2016. Kuala Lumpur City Centre Comprehensive Development Master Plan 2016. Kuala Lumpur: DBKL.
______. 2004. Kuala Lumpur structure plan 2020. Kuala Lumpur: Kuala Lumpur City Hall. Lo' Lo' Dato' Hj. Mohd Ghazali. 2010. Sejarah penubuhan – Kampung Baharu Kuala Lumpur. http://docpearl.blogspot.my/2010/06/sejarah-penubuhan-kampungbaharu-kuala.html (accessed 31 March 2017).
Local Government Act 1976. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad.
Malay Agricultural Settlement (M.A.S.) Board. 2017. Seminar cetusan minda memperkasakan M.A.S. Kampong Bharu, Akar Beach Resort, Port Dickson. 31 March–2 April.
Mohd Hasrol Haffiz Aliasak and Mohd Farid Sa'ad. 2014. The 100 years of Malay Reserve Land in Peninsular Malaysia (1913–2013): An analysis of land size trend. Academia Journal UiTMT 3(1): 17–24.
Norsidah Ujang and Faziawati Abdul Aziz. 2016. The Malay enclave of Kampong Bharu as a living tradition: A place of uncertainty. Environment-Behavior Proceedings Journal 1(2): 197–202. https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v1i2.269.
Nor Asiah Mohamad. 2007. Buying properties in Malaysia? Highlight on laws, policies and their implication on foreign land ownership. Journal of International Trade Law and Policy 6(2): 54–62. https://doi.org/10.1108/14770020780000556.
Nor Rasidah Hashim and Naziaty Mohd Yaacob. 2011. Urban landscape changes in Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, from 1969 to 2004 as observed. Journal of Design and Built Environment 9(1): 49–58.
Sandow, G. 2014. The soul of a city. Arts Journal 24 November. https://www.artsjournal.com/sandow/2014/11/the-soul-of-a-city.html (accessed 31 March 2017).
Saulter, C. 2011. The soul of a city is in its people. http://grist.org/article/2011-01-24-thesoul-of-a-city-is-in-its-people/ (accessed 31 March 2017).
Selangor Rules 1951. The Malay Agricultural Settlement (Kuala Lumpur) Rules. Selangor Government Gazette Notification 50.
Sharifah Mariam Alhabshi. 2012. Kampung dalam bandar: Cabaran pembangunan semula. Akademika 82(2): 69–80.
______. 2010a. Surviving urban renewal programs: Case study of a traditional urban village in Kuala Lumpur. In Proceedings Seminar on National Resilience "Political Managements and Policies in Malaysia", eds. Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani and Abdul Rahman Abdul Aziz, 277–313. Sintok: Institute of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, Universiti Utara Malaysia.
______. 2010b. Urban renewal of traditional settlements in Singapore and Malaysia: The cases of Geylang Serai and Kampung Bharu. Asian Survey 50(6): 1135–1161. http://repository.um.edu.my/86631/1/Geylang_KB_Alhabshi.pdf (accessed 31 March 2017). https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2010.50.6.1135.
Shahrul Yani Said, Hasnizan Aksah and Elma Dewiyana Ismail. 2013. Heritage conservation and regeneration of historic areas in Malaysia. Procedia, Social and Behavioral Sciences 105: 418–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.044.
Shaw, R. 2009. Sustainable eco-development of Kampong Bharu: A policy perspectives. Kuala Lumpur: Malay Agricultural Settlement and Kyoto University. http://www.preventionweb.net/files/12404_KBGPolicy1.pdf (accessed 31 March 2017).
Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad. Wong, A. 2016. Secubit rasa kampong. Going Places, March. https://issuu.com/spafaxmy/docs/gp_mar_2016_binder (accessed 31 March 2017).