National Urbanisation Policy - Ministry of Housing and Local ...

National Urbanisation Policyi. Rapid Rate of UrbanisationUrbanisation in Peninsular Malaysia has developedrapidly especially during the last two decadeswhereby the rate of urbanisation has increased from54.3% to 65.4% between 1991 and 2000. This isexpected to increase to 75% by 2020. The increasein population will mostly concentrate in majorconurbations such as Kuala Lumpur, Georgetown,Johor Bahru and Kuantan. The high rate ofpopulation increase requires the development of newareas for housing, social amenities, commercial andother urban landuses. The lack of clear urban limitshas led to the creation of urban sprawl encroachingupon environmentally sensitive areas, majoragricultural areas and areas unsuitablefor development.In addition, non-compliance with the existingdevelopment plans has also contributed to thisproblem. This situation has given rise to variousurbanisation related woes such as environmentalpollution, traffic congestion, brownfield areas, lossof inner city attractions, infrastructural decay, lackof social amenities and green areas; ultimatelyresulting in degradation in the quality of urban living.133.0 Issues and ChallengesThe problem of conflicting landuse still existsespecially in towns that experience rapid growthconsidering the high demand of landuse at strategicareas. The existence of illegal factories in urbanareas has caused much environmental pollution.This is because illegal factories are not equippedwith proper infrastructure and utilities. Manyindustrial activities especially small and mediumenterprises (SME) are constructed and distributedhaphazardly and poorly managed. This situationneeds to be addressed through proper planning,monitoring and management for the betterment ofthe economy in urban areas.