104 Nor Akmar et al.: Greenspace Planning and Management in Klang Valley, Peninsular Malaysia sponsoring for the creation of new greenspaces, for example near their own buildings. In Shah Alam and Klang, companies have “adopted” municipal parks. Increasing interest in social corporate responsibility plays a role, as reflected in the Toyota Eco Youth program, a joint effort by the car manufacturing and the Ministry of Education to enhance environmental aware- ness and respect among pupils at the secondary school level. Stakeholders with an interest in greenspaces include NGOs. Many of these protect greenspaces by embarking on protests when they feel that nature is under threat. However, NGOs can also take a more active role by offering constructive sugges- tions for greenspace planning and management or even becom- ing an actor. In Putrajaya, the Youth Environmental Heritage Foundation has created and organized tree planting and envi- ronmental activities, among other events. Several parks in Pu- trajaya have their own “friend groups.” These groups help mu- nicipal authorities by informing them if something happens in the parks. In Klang and Shah Alam, several interest groups are active through cleaning activities and tree planting programs. Involvement by the general public is also represented by the Laman Cantik Putrajaya Award, a competition in Putrajaya to find the best green courtyard, which leads to landscaping, gar- dening, and tree planting activities by the public. In Klang, the public engages in tree planting in residential areas. Among the six cases, Subang Jaya is an exception in terms of a seem- ing lack of private sector and NGO involvement. However, the local community does take an active part in greenspace plan- ning and management. So-called residential communities are very vocal in expressing their greenspace needs and preferences. Greenspace plans and activities All cities studied have plans and activities in place for the plan- ning and management of urban greenspaces, but vary in scope and level. KL has rather ambitious plans, for example, under its Tropical Garden City 2020 vision. According to KL’s draft City Plan 2020 (Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2009), the city aims to pro- vide an integrated network of greenspaces by linking the major parks in the city, both through natural and man-made connec- tors, which include rivers, utility reserves, roadside landscape areas, and pedestrian walkways, targeting the neighborhood as well as the general city level. Moreover, KL aims to increase its public park and open space area to 10% of its area by 2020. Improving connections between the city’s different greens- paces is a recurring theme when evaluating the case study cit- ies. Petaling Jaya is in the process of connecting its 440 open spaces, under the Petaling Jaya Action Plan Green Corridor Net- work 2009. Creating a green network, with green connectors, greenways, and a central park, is an ambition in Shah Alam as well, as the city takes the Garden City of Letchworth, UK, as an example. Putrajaya has focus on enhanced accessibility of greenspace, as part of its Intelligent Garden City vision, which aims to combine greening with becoming a knowledge center. Greenspace activities are often part of Local Plans, as in the case of Subang Jaya, where planning targets include, among other tasks, creating a unique city design and a desirable, healthy, and compet- itive city with various land uses and land use functions. Klang’s new Master Plan aims to improve control over management and enhance public maintenance for city greenspaces. Finalization and implementation of the plan has proven to be difficult, however, as ©2011 International Society of Arboriculture the required land inventory takes time and has shown that land thought to be under public ownership is in fact privately-owned. Challenges to Municipal Greenspace Planning and Management Using a SWOT-analysis, the municipal officers in the six cities were asked to assess the status of greenspace planning and management and shine their light on future developments. The existing focus on greening as part of an overall city development strategy was men- tioned as a strength by three cities: KL, Petaling Jaya, and Klang. In fact, this strength could also be seen as an opportunity, as the full potential of greening as a part of city development has not yet been realized. Other strengths mentioned for specific cities were, among others, the extensive existing green cover (Putrajaya), the exis- tence of a tree inventory (Petaling Jaya), and the historically strong links between humans and nature (Klang). Other strengths men- tioned included, for example, chances for better control of parks. The respondents agreed on main weaknesses in present greens- pace planning and management: lack of funding is generally seen as a main concern. Other weaknesses mentioned (but only by in- dividual cities) include lack of legal protection, land ownership (many of the open spaces in Klang are privately-owned), and the presence of hawker stalls in the greenspaces of Petaling Jaya. Regarding opportunities for greenspace planning and man- agement, the visions, policies, and ambitions of cities to be- come more competitive and sustainable were mentioned. Listed threats included the current financial crisis and lack of public awareness, as well as confrontations with land man- agement administrations regarding alternative use of greens- pace areas. Issues such as dog walking (mentioned in the case of Subang Jaya) are a weakness rather than a threat. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION The study has identified specific characteristics of the Malaysian context, but many of the findings reflect experiences from across the world. Urban greenspace cover in Malaysian cities shows the same variation as in cities in other parts of the world. Pauleit et al. (2005) offer an overview of European assessments that show cities with greenspace cover ranging from only a few percentage points to more than 50%. Probably more relevant is a study by Palijon (2004) that shows a range of greenspace cover from 4.4% to close to 40% for a series of Asian cities. However, assessments have not used the same definition of greenspace, in terms of what type of green areas to include, only public spaces or also private. Regarding greenspace functions, Malaysian cities place high emphasis on environmental services, which seems obvious be- cause of the need to create comfort in hot climates and deal with major stormwater challenges related to tropical rains. Other authors have also mentioned the importance of environmental services in an industrializing and developing country context (Palijon 2004; Konijnendijk and Gauthier 2006). In Europe, greater emphasis seems to be placed on the social values, including health aspects, of urban greening (Ottitsch et al. 2005; Nilsson et al. 2008), while the economic benefits of nearby greenspaces on real estate prices have been given increased attention (see Tyrväinen et al. 2005). The policy and legislative framework for greenspace plan- ning and management in Malaysia is largely based upon the British system and thus it is not surprising that similarities
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