WCSC 2024: Socioeconomic, cultural impact of urban regeneration has to be factored into projects

• Urban regeneration should increase social value, boost economic growth, and improve infrastructure, within the context of a city’s cultural landscape.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 12): Innovative urban regeneration should be a holistic process that increases social value, boosts economic growth, and improves infrastructure, within the context of a city’s cultural landscape.

These were some of the insights shared alongside case studies of successful urban regeneration projects at the 15th International Conference on World Class Sustainable Cities (WCSC) 2024, held at M Resort & Hotel Kuala Lumpur on September 10th.

Urban renewal should be conscious of surrounding infrastructure

In his keynote paper, “Urban Renewal — the story of Merdeka 118”, PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd CEO YM Tengku Dato’ Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud explained that developers must be conscious of how their projects will impact surrounding infrastructure.

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“When you are talking about creating a large-scale development, you have to view it through the lens of creating a mini-city, to consider how the development will interact with existing infrastructure. For example, we had to take into account our development’s impact on traffic flow and its connectivity to public transport. We undertook additional construction to widen roads and provide better connectivity to the highway, and we incorporated transit-oriented elements, like providing direct access from 118 Mall and the Merdeka 118 tower, to the Merdeka MRT station” he said.

Increase inclusivity through the preservation of culture and creation of multifunctional spaces

“Rapid property-led regeneration that often adopts Western models without adapting to the cultural and environmental context of a city, can lead to projects that lack a sense of place and fail to resonate with the local population,” said Building Design Partnership India urban design director Manisha Bhartia, in her sharing session, “Urban Regeneration towards creating inclusive and resilient communities”.

“We also need to make sure we're creating more open neighbourhoods, which encourages a mix of users. There should be a number of functions within the space, so that communities can come together and interact on those bases,” she added.

Creating social value with Battersea Power Station

In her sharing session, “Urban Renewal of the Battersea Power Station: Design for Inclusivity,” Battersea Power Station Development Company, London, chief design review officer Marina Chung highlighted that the creation of a new town centre for the borough of Wandsworth was a holistic regeneration process, increasing social value and economic growth, as well as improving infrastructure.

Initiatives for the community such as the Battersea Academy of Skills and Employment (BASE) help to boost local employment and skills development, to complement the newly created business district within Battersea, which will be anchored by tenants, Apple and SharkNinja, with more businesses to take up tenancy in the near future.

“Creating further social value is a core part of our long term vision. Since we started the project, we have created 6,500 new jobs, of which 30% of the workforce is from the local community. Over 2,500 local residents have directly benefited from employment opportunities at Battersea Power Station. BASE has also supported over 750 local residents into jobs, and we have also placed almost 200 apprenticeships in the project,” said Chung. 

Another key initiative is the support and incubation of local businesses. Infrastructure-wise, Battersea Power Station has delivered a 13,000 sq ft workspace as part of their affordable housing development, New Mansion Square.

WCSC is a yearly event co-organised by the Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Federal Territory Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian Institute of Planners and the Malaysian Institute of Architects.

EdgeProp Malaysia is supporting WCSC 2024 as a media partner.

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