An evolution of waterfront development in Malaysia

Abstract

Rivers have long been recognized as one of humanity’s most important natural resources. They are one of the most important of all the natural resources necessary to ensure human health and civilization. A close association between cities and water is inherent over the history of civilization and in fact, many urban cities in Malaysia are located close to river areas. The last two decades have shown Malaysia has shifted development strategy from an agricultural base to industrialization, and manufacturing industries have now become the main component of the economy for the country. This transformation since the 18th century has clearly shown that rapid urbanization, industrial and intensive agricultural activities, as well as wide-spread land development, have contributed to extensive changing of river functions for the economy, national development and the environment. In particular, river roles have become less significant for human life and river functions limited to transportation purposes only. Viewed historically, waterfront development in Malaysia has undergone cycles of change over the decades and the latest in this pattern is to more public purposes, such as recreational and mixed used development. By using data from interviewing various groups of respondent, this paper aims to identify the transition in waterfront development in Malaysia from historic times to the modern era and is a significance background contribution to research that is currently on going.