I am preparing a paper entitled Low Carbon City Planning - Public Participation. Well, this is topic of the day since our honorable Prime Minister has committed to cut 40% of carbon emission by year 2020. Everyone from all sectors are trying to explore the possibility of contributing to this target. No exception for the housing and property sector. The players are talking about designing and constructing Low Carbon Township. The architect and engineer have taken the lead in introducing and promoting green building index. The Government is offering tax incentive for capital expenditure on the construction of green building. The planner is helping the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water to prepare a framework tool for assessing the sustainable township. The building material manufacturers are doing their best in producing sustainable building material. The list can go on as it is the emerging business opportunities for everyone.
Having said this, I notice incompleteness of the movement. Everyone is talking about providing hard landscape for creating a low carbon township but the views of users have been neglected. The house buyer will be the one enjoying the facilities and at the same time decide what and how to use it. One of the common disturbance is renovation works on the back portion house will begin once a house has been completed. Work to knock down the wall, shift the toilet further back and remove the pipe of wash basin from sewerage connection to direct discharge to the back drain. This is not only a waste of money, but also wasteful of resources. It will be nice if the desire of buyers has been incorporated during the design stage.
Green infrastructure such as common utility tunnel providing space for all utilities avoiding digging of road, construction of recycling centre encouraging 3R practise and installing rain water harvesting tank with the landscaping features and others will help in sustaining low carbon lifestyle in future. People of present day are the lazy lot in which anything providing convenience and time saving will invite participation and acceptance. So, low carbon also means providing accessibility with low cost in speedy manner.
Low carbon township planning is way forward, but the success of it and sustainability is relied on the buyers, residents and local authority. Without sustainable maintenance and lifestyle, it might be another elephant project in the making.
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The move towards Low Carbon Society is incomplete without proper education. In Japan, children are taught to separate rubbish, and have nature walks and science classes to help them appreciate nature. There are posters and recycling booths at every public event where the public is taught and encouraged to recycle and care for the environment. Most houses are individually designed to the consumers requirements, not mass produced terraces.
I agreed with you in total. Education is important, but equally awareness, skills, action and society norm are critical as well. We might have children receiving education but will never practice it or those practice it during primary school day but "forgot" about it when reaching secondary school. So, at the end of day, society value is paramount important. Knowing Malaysian as very pragmatic people, economic incentive in which dollars and cents count will have better impact. The failure of secondary student to continue practicing 3R although they are actively doing it during primary stage is a classic example.
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