Yusfida Ayu Abdullah

HOUSING AND TRANSPORT EXPENDITURE: AN ASSESSMENT OF LOCATION HOUSING AFFORDABILITY

In every country, the ability to own a house is vital for the housing market. During the past five years, housing prices in the urban area in Malaysia are becoming severely unaffordable. Housing affordability ensures that housing provided is affordable for every income groups, especially the low and middle income group. The measurement of housing affordability uses household income and housing cost but disregards transportation expenditure which is a substantial amount of household expenditure. Location of housing influences transportation expenditure. The research determines the Location Housing Affordability for the low and middle income group in an urban area. This study quantitatively examines Putra Height as one of the mature residential neighbourhoods in Selangor as well as due to the availability of public transit in the area. Housing affordability and transportation affordability create an integrated Location Housing Affordability Index. Data analysis utilizes the measurement of Location Housing Affordability Index. The findings showed that Location Housing Affordability Index recognizes location as influential factor to housing affordability of 179 respondents from low and middle income group. The findings also suggested that the houses in the urban area were seriously unaffordable for the low and middle income groups. The contribution of the research is the emphasis on location as a part of housing affordability measurement.

PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL BEHAVIOR THROUGH TRANSPORT POLICY MEASURES

This paper examines how transport policy measures have influenced travel behaviour to promote sustainable transportation. Data were collected through a survey on 384 vehicle users to represent the 36 sections of Shah Alam, Selangor. This paper also studied the readiness of an urban population to reduce car usage. Majority of the respondents stated that the increase in petrol and toll prices would be the key factors to reduce car use, and more provision of public transport would encourage them to use public transport. However, Chi-square test showed that the willingness of the respondents to use public transport has a strong relationship with the frequency of driving a vehicle. The level of willingness to use public transport is lower when a car is used more frequently. Results also suggested that the majority of the respondents were not ready to consider cycling and walking as alternatives.

Street as Public Space - Measuring Street Life of Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur has envisioning in becoming World Class City by the year 2020. Essential elements of form and function of the urban environment are streets. Streets showcase the community and connect people. Its one of the most comfortable social environment that provides aesthetical and interaction pleasure for everyone. Classified as main shopping streets in the local Kuala Lumpur urban design guidelines, Jalan Masjid India (JMI) has its uniqueness of shopping experience and social interaction. This conceptual paper will study the physical and cultural characteristics of the street that will generate the street character by mapping its original characters. The findings will focus on strengthening the methodology applied to promote improvements in evaluating it as a great public space. Results will also contribute to understanding the overall site context, the street connectivity, and urban dynamics. This paper is part of a larger study that addresses on transforming the sociability of public space.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF HUMAN HAPPINESS AND NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING: CASE STUDY PUCHONG INDAH HOUSING ESTATE, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA

People living in urban area are always linked to stressful life and less happiness. One of the symptoms is the increasing number of people experiencing depression. Besides, there is also the feeling of fear (unsafe) within the community. To overcome the problems, neighbourhood planning should take into consideration the elements of happiness. A study was carried out at Puchong Indah Housing Estate, with the objectives to examine the level of happiness of residents and to analyse the relationship between happiness and neighbourhood planning aspects. Questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the level of happiness and satisfaction among the residents. The Spearman correlation was applied for the relationship analysis. The main findings demonstrate that the people in Puchong Indah are happy. The residential area planning aspects, i.e. community relationship, accessibility to public areas, transportation and safety aspects were significantly related to happiness of respondents. Recommendations were constructed based on the findings.