Towards a sustainable landscape of urban parks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: A study from a management perspective By: Roziya Ibrahim A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Social Science in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Landscape University of Sheffield United Kingdom May 2016 ABSTRACT 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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My Journey throughout the PhD study was a valuable opportunity and experience in searching for research knowledge that led to the accomplishment of this doctoral thesis. However, it would not be successful without the unconditional support of those people around me throughout this inspiring journey. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Almighty for His bountiful blessing of good health and happiness; besides granted me with strong courage to go through all the difficulties and challenges I have faced throughout the study. My deepest appreciation to both my supervisors, Andy Clayden and Professor James Hitchmough for their encouragement and continuous support; for all the constructive comments and critics in developing my research knowledge and skills that have contributed towards the completion of this thesis. Their advice and guidance will always be remembered and shared through my academic career. To my family especially my beloved husband, Wan Mokhtar Wan Mohamed and my children, my heartfelt thanks for your unconditional love, patience, and support. Having you around makes me realize that all of you are my greatest strength and inspiration that motivates me to keep striving for the best upon the completion of my study, and I cherish every single of our moment of tears and laughter together. Special thanks to my mother, Halimah Nordin; as well as my brothers and sisters for their love, prayer and moral support throughout these years, especially to Rohani Ibrahim, who has accompanied me during my field work as my assistance photographer. To the park management staff of the precedent and case study sites in the UK, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, who had participated in my study, I wish them my humble appreciation for their willingness to share their precious time, knowledge and experience; which are the most valuable contribution to this research. To the staff of the Department of Landscape, especially Helen Morris (the Learning and Teaching administrator); Paul Buck (the IT officer) and Cilla Hollman (English language tutor) for their on-going assistance in throughout my Ph.D. study. I appreciated their advice and support. Finally, my special thanks to all my wonderful friends in Sheffield, United Kingdom. I appreciate them for being part of my extended family; besides my fellow Ph.D. friends for sharing all the stress yet enjoyable moments together. TABLE OF CONTENT TABLE OF CONTENT ........................................................................................................................... i LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................................. vi LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................ xi ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................ xiii TABLE OF DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................... xv CHAPTER 1 Introduction and background study 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research background and context ............................................................................................ 1 1.2 Problem statement: Urban development and environmental challenges facing the tropical city of Kuala Lumpur ..................................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 The impact of environmental problems and climate change on Kuala Lumpur .................. 4 1.2.2 Pressure placed on urban parks and green spaces by urbanization and population growth ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Non-inclusion of landscape as part of the city’s infrastructure in addressing the city’s environmental problems ......................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Rationale for the study ............................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Research aim and questions .................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Structure of Thesis .................................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER 2 Theoretical development: Ecological and sustainable approaches to landscape design and management of urban parks 2.0 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Definitions of keywords and concepts .................................................................................... 11 2.1.3 Stakeholders and their attitudes towards ecologically sustainable landscape.................. 11 2.1.1 Urban park management ............................................................................................ 12 2.1.2 Sustainable urban parks, ecosystem services and ecologically sustainable landscape practice .................................................................................................................... 13 2.2 The evolution of urban parks and changes to their design and management ............................. 15 2.2.1 The key drivers influencing the changing role of urban parks ......................................... 15 2.2.2 The impact of environmental problems and climate change on urban parks’ design and management ............................................................................................................. 16 2.2.3 Financial implications for urban park design, management and maintenance ................. 17 2.3 Ecologically sustainable practice in relation to urban park management ................................... 17 2.3.1 Ecological approaches for managing urban landscapes: How inputs and perspectives from various fields of studies inform research in landscape architecture. ....................... 18 2.3.2 The role of urban parks in adopting more ecologically sustainable landscape design and management practices ......................................................................................... 23 2.4 The attributes