07/03/2023
“Many of the worst urban landscapes of the twentieth century were carefully planned” (Ellis, 2014)
Came across this statement while I was doing some reading on urban design. Straight away I was thinking about Putrajaya, the designed capital city of Malaysia. Some people love the city but not for me. I feel like it is a city built for cars and yet it is so difficult to find a parking space. When you walk, it is too far to get to any where and too boring for me because it is empty. And I guess I’m not the only one having a negative view of Putrajaya. An article I found says that
… “Putrajaya is clearly intended to be read against the colonial/Chinese city of Kuala Lumpur in a way that racializes the urban landscape. The city is also criticized for only serving the needs of its Muslim population by adopting a completely Islamic architecture from the Middle East, thereby excluding Indigenous architectural forms. In short, Putrajaya is excluding cultural spaces catered to other ethnic minorities, which reinforces their isolation.”
Oof, that’s a bit hard to swallow.
News and Articles Are New Cities Being Built for Inclusivity? Putrajaya, Malaysia Written By Celine Thomas Social Connectedness Fellow 2017 Blogs • May 30, 2017 Almost two-thirds of the world’s population will live in urban centres by 2030, and 95% of urban expansion in the next few decades will...
