Crowdsourcing visualizations of future Malaysian cities up to 100 years in the future
Kuala Lumpur, July 3, 2018: Urbanice Malaysia, a Centre of Excellence under the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT), today launched the inaugural Malaysia 100YC (Year Cities) programme. Officiated by UN Habitat Executive Director, Her Excellency Dato’ Maimunah Mohd Sharif and witnessed by Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT) Deputy Secretary General, Dr. Mary Wong Lai Lin, the programme encourages local universities to reimagine what Malaysian future cities will look like and share their ideas, solutions and concepts to address the challenges of future urban living.
Group Shot during the press conference: (From left) Mr Pacome Kosy, special officer to Executive Director of UN Habitat, Director General Plan Malaysia, Pn Hajah Rokibah, Chief Executive of Urbanice Malaysia, Madam Norliza Hashim, UN Habitat Executive Director, Her Excellency Dato’ Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government (KPKT) Deputy Secretary General, Dr. Mary Wong Lai Lin, Think City’s Managing Director, Mr Hamdan Abdul Majeed, Think City’s Programme Director (KL and JB), Dr Neil Khor, and Nextdor Property Communications Executive Director, Mr Imran Clyde
This includes attracting ideas, best practices and case studies from professional bodies and industry leaders in the areas of technology, architecture and town planning. The Malaysia 100YC programme, inspired and adapted from the Malaysia Biennial 100YC programme, is a collaboration between Urbanice Malaysia, Think City and the Nextdor Property Communications Sdn Bhd. Six topics have been identified under the Malaysia 100YC programme as key focus areas covering innovative technologies, green open spaces, urban mobility, affordable living, community governance and smart infrastructure.
Speaking at the launch, Norliza Hashim, Chief Executive of Urbanice Malaysia said “the Malaysia 100YC programme is in line with Malaysia’s aspiration to advocate, promote and implement projects in support of the New Urban Agenda (NUA) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). “We are also keen to increase the momentum generated amongst Malaysians from our successful hosting of the World Urban Forum 9 earlier this year”.
The Malaysia 100YC programme will run till February 2019 with workshops and special studio sessions taking place throughout before culminating in an exhibition. Hamdan Abdul Majeed, Managing Director of Think City also added that technology is moving at a frantic pace, changing the way people interact with each other and the spaces around them. “One of our main aims from this collaborative programme is to guide our city planners and managers to better meet the current and future demands of our cities and its citizens”, he said.
City councils were also urged to participate in the Malaysia 100YC programme and share their own challenges and aspirations so that participants will be able to provide greater local context to their solutions and ideas. Imran Clyde, founder of the Malaysia Biennial 100YC programme said, “Crowdsourcing ideas and solutions for future cities is an innovative way to promote knowledge sharing and collaboration. By visualizing ideal future cities, we are also able to create a foundation towards realizing those futures and this can be done by creating or promoting the right incentives or policies.”
The event also hosted an Urban Café Session entitled ‘Urbanization and Community Development’ which saw local experts deliberate on how rising urbanization is placing a strain on city and environmental resources as well as what urban communities can do to address these scenarios. The NUA is a framework that guides efforts around urbanization and development such as local fiscal systems, urban planning and basic services and infrastructure to ensure sustainable development. The SDGs focus on making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. “UN projections indicate that Malaysia will have an urbanization rate of 85% by 2040, by which time Malaysia’s population is expected to hit 41.5 million people. We must prepare and start planning now,” Norliza concluded.
About Urbanice Malaysia
Urbanice Malaysia, set under the Ministry of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government, Malaysia is a Centre of Excellence established since June 2016 to create better cities in Malaysia. It promotes sustainable and climate responsive urban development through knowledge sharing, partnership programs and multi-stakeholder engagement.
About Malaysia Biennial 100YC
A programme under the leadership of Nextdor Property Communications Sdn Bhd, the Malaysia Biennial 100YC aims to transform the future by envisioning the impact of four key urban catalysts on cities; knowledge, commerce, technology and mobility. A grantee of Think City, the Malaysia Biennial 100YC launched in 2014 and has since hosted two programmes involving leading architecture schools, with the second programme culminating in a Biennale Sessions event at the world-renowned Venice Biennale Architectura in May 2018.
About Think City
Think City is a community-based urban rejuvenation organization and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Berhad that seeks to increase the wellbeing of the communities by creating more sustainable and liveable cities. Established in 2009 to spearhead community based urban regeneration in Penang, its impact and successes in Penang allowed Think City to expand its mandate into Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru and Butterworth. Think City works with local government and the corporate sector to implement projects that will improve liveability and public amenities in the areas of arts, heritage, culture, environment and economic resilience.
Issued by Nextdor Property Communications on behalf of Urbanice Malaysia. For further media enquires please contact:
Anne Lourdes Low Eeleen
