Towards a sustainable landscape of urban parks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A study from a management perspective

Kuala Lumpur’s urban parks have evolved to fulfil the needs of its multi-cultural urban communities since the conception of its first public park in the late 19th century. Nevertheless, the management and maintenance of these tropical urban parks are currently under pressure as local authorities have no longer adequate funding to maintain the existing landscape as they have to focus on addressing the impact of environmental problems; particularly frequent flooding that has been a never-ending issue facing the city. There are growing pressures on resources, especially on water supply, in response to urbanization and population growth. Nevertheless, Kuala Lumpur’s urban parks were highly dependent on potable water for landscape maintenance at a time of growing demand for this limited resource. There is a possibility that these urban parks can be managed in a more sustainable manner, which may consequently reduce their dependency on potable water resource for irrigation. They might also make a more positive contribution to managing stormwater control and increasing habitat diversity. The challenge, therefore, is to try and achieve a more sustainable, ecologically informed design and management practice without alienating park users, management, and maintenance staff.
This research aims to investigate the potential of changing the design and management of Kuala Lumpur’s urban parks towards a more ecologically sustainable landscape practice. A case study approach was adopted through multiple sources of data collection, such as documents review, photo-based interviews and field observations. The historical development of the parks was also reviewed in order to understand how they evolved into the present day, and influenced the current state of landscape design and management practices associated with these tropical urban parks. Field observations conducted at each case study site help identified a potential aspect of design and management that can increase sustainability of the parks. Subsequently, interviews with the management’s stakeholders further assessed their attitudes towards changing the current management and maintenance practice in adaptation to this sustainable landscape practice. The impact of applying this sustainable landscape practice was identified; alongside with its benefits and challenges. Finally, strategies for adaptation of Kuala Lumpur’s urban parks towards delivering this ecologically sustainable landscape practice were recommended according to practicality and adaptability of such approach to fit in the local context.

Keywords: Sustainable urban park, Ecological sustainability, ecological design and management.