SINGAPORE METROPOLITAN REGION : JOHOR BAHRU

Abstract

The thesis resists the high-rise high density model being a symbolical mean in representing the city’s growth which has been implemented in the Iskandar development in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The thesis took Peter Smithson and Alison’s Golden Lane project and Contants’ New Babylon as precedents for its urban theory. It is an urban prototype which envisions a new way of land consumption which is relevant to Johor Bahru. Agricultural land constitutes the current main use in Johor Bahru covering an area of 119,302.06 hectares or 58.2%. Vacant lands account for the second largest land area of 17,381.85 hectares or 8.48%. Land is the fundamental counterpoint between the developers’ model and the proposed model. While in solely capitalist, land is consumed for individual. In this thesis, the availability of agricultural land and vacant land in Johor Bahru is being seen as the wealth to be shared by the inhabitants in the new town. The proposed Perbandaran Sawit envisions a new way of consuming land. Perbandaran Sawit seeks to rethink the concept of ownership- no one owns the land but only a share in the co-operative. The redefinition provides new opportunities for our agricultural landscape and built environment. In Perbandaran Sawit, cash crops dominate the land consumption, while the new housings make use of the air-space between the palm oil trees. The ground is then free up for the inhabitants which create a sense of community in place of individuality in most current developments. The thesis is an extension of the Golden Lane and New Babylon but it is being localized to the tropical climate and it will be governed separately from the sovereignty by its own local code.