While housing is an essential part of human civilisation, many aspects of modern communal living can produce negative side effects on the environment.
Rapid urban development has contributed to the degradation of environmental quality. For example, through the clearance of natural green spaces to build houses, the production of large amounts of household waste, and emissions from cooking, cleaning chemicals, and household appliances.
It breaks our heart to think about how our modern way of living may be unsustainable. To spread awareness and understanding on this very important matter, we have run a series of articles on green condos, building your own eco-home, and green lifestyles.
Here, we are looking into another aspect of how housing can be made more environmentally friendly. Introducing: Sustainable neighbourhoods.
What is a Sustainable Neighbourhood?
The Federal Department of Town and Country Planning defines a sustainable or ‘green’ neighbourhood as “a neighbourhood that is planned to be integrated with priority to the protection and use of natural resources, application of green technology, green practices and recycling, with the aim of preserving the environment, improving public health, safety, and general welfare of city residents”.
This definition is quite a mouthful, but it outlines the importance of how all aspects of a neighbourhood, from the buildings, public spaces, and infrastructure, should be holistically planned with sustainability in mind.
Neighbourhoods are the building blocks of our communities and will continue to be for a long time into the future.
Therefore, with climate change being an increasing concern worldwide, sustainable neighbourhoods can be a key strategy to meaningfully reduce humanity’s negative impact on the climate and environment.
Sustainable Communities in Malaysia
However, not every neighbourhood is planned and built to be sustainable. This is due to a combination of cost factors and demand.
When choosing a residential neighbourhood, most people just don’t think about environmental aspects all that much.
Instead, factors like location, convenience, and of course, cost, are often top-of-mind. The appeal of a sustainable neighbourhood can be less obvious, and can only be truly appreciated after actually living in the area for some time.
And of course, there tend to be higher costs involved in sustainable development, which translates to more expensive units and a smaller market which can afford them.
Thus, it is no surprise that some developers tend to deprioritise environmental aspects when planning neighbourhoods that cater to consumer demand.
Despite this, there have been housing developers who have taken the importance of sustainable living to heart.
These responsible developers have looked beyond immediate gains and have focused on their responsibility to build a more sustainable future for us all.
Sustainable Neighbourhood Checklist
We should support these noble efforts, and this is why we have compiled a simple checklist of green elements to look out for when choosing a neighbourhood to call home.
1) Preserved environment
The natural environment is precious, as it takes time for trees and other flora to grow from scratch. Furthermore, natural greenery maintains the biodiversity of the area, which supports local fauna.
Therefore, neighbourhoods which strive to maintain strategic sections of the natural landscape during development are especially sustainable.
For example, preserving a natural pond for climate control, or maintaining a forest enclave as a recreational area for residents.
2) Conscious landscaping
Even if natural elements cannot be preserved, pay attention to how a neighbourhood is landscaped.
What types of trees are planted? Once again, to support biodiversity, a good variety of trees and shrubs are best, and this should closely mirror native species.
Shady trees are also preferable to tall trees, as this shade provides comfort and promotes outdoor activities among residents, while tall trees may be a hazard during thunderstorms.
3) Gardens and community agriculture
When it comes to home design, does the developer provide space for a garden?
Gardens also support the natural ecosystem, and a home garden helps to clean and circulate the household air.
For housing with limited space, like high rises, balcony gardens are becoming a popular option. Developers can also set aside areas for community agriculture.
Here, residents can grow vegetables to reduce the distance between farm and plate. These plots can also become alternative sources of income for those who can grow more than they need.
4) Building orientation and design
Another sustainable element is designing homes with natural climatic patterns in mind.
A home that does not directly face the rising or setting sun will maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the day.
Strategic use of glazed windows and shaded pergolas can further limit sunlight and heat. Louvred vents placed to optimise to natural wind flow will also moderate temperatures and increase air circulation.
5) Green facilities
A developer with sustainable foresight will include green facilities in neighbourhood planning. For example, a centralised rainwater harvesting system can reduce water consumption across the community.
A district cooling system, which is a network of underground pipes which circulates chilled water or other cooling mediums throughout the neighbourhood, can lessen the need for air conditioning.
Built-in solar panels will limit electricity use, and community sorting centres will encourage recycling.
6) Human-scale infrastructure
We may not realise it, but many of our towns and neighbourhoods are not designed for humans!
For example, roads (for cars) are the centrepiece of our transportation network, while pavements (for humans) are marginalised or non-existent!
This forces us to rely on gas-guzzling vehicles for our convenience and safety.
Neighbourhoods which have human-scaled infrastructure focusing more on safe walking paths and bicycle lanes encourage residents to reduce fossil fuel consumption while embracing a more active lifestyle.
7) Integrated communities
A major problem with urban sprawl is that people often live far away from offices and shops, making it necessary to travel significant distances daily just to fulfill basic needs.
Look out for developers which focus on efficiently integrating housing, work, and recreation spaces within the same neighbourhood. This is also known as a mixed development!
Centralising these elements can reduce reliance on fossil fuels while encouraging localised economic activity and building a stronger sense of community.
8) Inclusiveness for all
A sustainable neighbourhood is also very much about supporting an inclusive, happy, and thriving society.
Research has shown that a happier society tends to display higher environmental consciousness too.
Therefore, take note of infrastructure elements which support the elderly and the differently-abled, like safety railings, wheelchair paths, tactile paving, and guide animal-friendly public spaces.
Sustainable Living For Our Future
If your neighbourhood of choice ticks all of the boxes above, congratulations! You have found a sustainable neighbourhood of the future!
Realistically speaking, it may currently be quite hard to find neighbourhoods in Malaysia which fulfil all the sustainability criteria listed above.
However, many progressive developers have already begun to include several or even most of these environmentally meaningful elements in their neighbourhood projects.
To ensure a brighter and more secure future for our families and future generations, sustainability needs to play an important role in our housing decisions. We hope this checklist can serve as a good starting point!
No plans on moving house? No worries, check out this list for 5 easy ways to make your house more sustainable.
Disclaimer: The information is provided for general information only. PropertyGuru International (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd makes no representations or warranties in relation to the information, including but not limited to any representation or warranty as to the fitness for any particular purpose of the information to the fullest extent permitted by law. While every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided in this article is accurate, reliable, and complete as of the time of writing, the information provided in this article should not be relied upon to make any financial, investment, real estate or legal decisions. Additionally, the information should not substitute advice from a trained professional who can take into account your personal facts and circumstances, and we accept no liability if you use the information to form decisions.