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)

Introduction
According 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

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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 Places

According 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,
The process
climatic,
of urban
technology,
regeneration
economics,
(source:
behavioural
Lecture Notes,
& psychological
Urban
Dynamics
aspects.
Theory)

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

View of Kuala Terengganu from Bukit Puteri

For this semesters studio project, the site is at Kuala Terengganu City
Centre, which is located at the estuary of Terengganu River, facing the South
China Sea. It is the administrative capital, royal capital, and the main
economic centre of Terengganu. Kuala Terengganu City Centre is also the
administrative centre for the district of Kuala Terengganu. It is located about
500 kilometres northeast of Kuala Lumpur on the East Coast of Peninsular
Malaysia.

City

status was

awarded

to

Kuala

Terengganu

with

the

title Bandaraya 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
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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.

View outsideHowever,
Pasar
Payang
View
inside are
Pasar
Payang
Viewactivities
inside Pasar
Payang
there
losses
of Malay Traditional
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
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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
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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.

View towards Terengganu River & the

View towards Kuala Terengganu
However, nowadays the Traditional Malay Villages has been
land reclamation behind Pasar Payang
from Seberang Takir
demolished. The view towards the river has been blocked by the buildings.
area
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
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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 future

As the conclusion, Kuala Terengganu City Centre holds thousands of
uniqueness for a place that once was a Royal Malay Traditional Waterfront
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The gist of urban regeneration is by conservation, restructuring or even development

(source: Lecture Notes, Urban Dynamics Theory)

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
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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-friendlydevelopment-lessons-from-japan.html
http://www.eurocities.eu/eurocities/issues/urban-planning-regeneration-issue
https://www.mi.vt.edu/research/urban-regeneration/
http://www.building.co.uk/10-ways-to-define-regeneration/3062794.article
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