Description
Creating vibrant city is how to plan and design the city to be more livable, more spirit in order to enhance better living and quality of life or those people who come, live, work, and play in the city . Good design of vibrant city will facilitate movement and access with multiple modes, provide the setting for architecture, create dynamic social spaces, and contribute to the sense of center: a place where social, commercial, and institutional interaction is more dense and livable. Paumier (2004) mentioned that the key points of design guideline of vibrant spaces covers the quality, style, and arrangement of pedestrian paths, parking, lighting , trees, streetscape, street furniture, squares, plazas, public art/graphic/signage, landmark, edge, closure, node, utility lines, and all interstitial spaces between them all.
Nusajaya is Asia’s newest regional city, strategically located at the south-western Peninsula Malaysia or west of Johor Malaysia, its area covers 24,000 acres. The project started on August 2007 and target to be developed by 2025. Current population is 10,000 inhabitants, projected 500,000 inhabitants by 2025. It is the largest integrated urban development in Southeast Asia with offers significant investment, financial and business opportunities. It is planned to be a sustainable city that is conducive for business, living and leisure in order to boost the quality of life for people. It features 8 development projects that are integral to its vision to be the World in one city”. (1) Kota Iskandar, (2) Puteri Harbour, (3) SiLC Nusajaya, (4) Afiat Healthpark, (5) EduCity Iskandar Malaysia, (6) International Destination Resort, (7) Medini Iskandar Malaysia, (8) Residences of Nusajaya.
Nusajaya is a new development and is too early to examine the success of city, however, the issue of vibrancy is faced as one agenda for the planner and developer of Nusajaya. Several issues are hampering Nusa Jaya regarding to vibrant city such as: (1) climate does not support walking and cycling, (2) unattractive streetscape for pedestrian to move, (3) lack of local identity/local culture in land use planning, (4) lack of dynamic social spaces and sense of center, (5) lack of cluster land use to create high density and to connect activities more livable, (6) lack of variety of night life activities (for certain group only), (7) lack of informal activities provision into certain zoning areas to generate income for low and middle income and (8) poor inter-connection between neighborhoods.
Through fieldvisit, interviews and groups discussion, this article try to propose solution by formulating vision and strategic development in Nusa Jaya. Strategic Development is a general framework for action: a way to determine priorities, make wise choices and allocate scarce resources (e.g. time, money, skills) to achieve agreed-upon objectives. The idea of strategic development is to create the city alive, spirited, energetic, exciting and enhancing the quality of life people who stay, work, play and come to Nusa Jaya
The vision is proposed “Creating the vibrant city in Nusajaya by 2015”. There are five strategic developments formulated (5 year developments) to achieve the vision such as:
Year 1. To create regular events by involving all stakeholders, such as: night market, cultural events, exhibitions, live music, Malaysian performance, etc.
Year 2. To allocate informal sector in several formal spot varies by managing semi formalized to attract people to come there, i.e. Kopitiam in Singapore.
Year 3. To develop ‘modes of transport connecting each development projects to City Center to be more comfortable, friendly environment and highly accessible with low cost innovation, i.e; ULTra System
Year 4. To create more livable streetscape, through placement of shading place, trees, more softscape, street furniture, lighting, signature, transit stops, and other intentional public spaces.
Year 5. To integrate with Kampung Selatan as eco-tourism (native fisherman who owns the fish farm and seafood restaurant).
However, to success those development strategies above, it requires key principles such as: (1) high level government commitment and influential lead institutions, (2) comprehensive and integrated, (3) have political will, (4) targeted with clear budgetary priorities, (5) incorporate accountability and transparency, (6) incorporate monitoring, controlling, evaluation and improvement, (7) develop building capacity and (8) effective participation.
(text edited by Ngakan Ketut Acwin Dwijendra, August 2010)
Access the project presentation at this link: https://issuu.com/cityleft
