Creating Green Built Environment

What is green built environment? In my personal understanding, it can be described as the utilization of green aspect into the built environment such as building and infrastructures. The purpose of the greenery of these elements is of course to create such a sustainable environment where the designing the building for example, not necessary following the old ways. By doing so, the built environment will become much green, sustainable and provide better quality of life for people while we protecting our environment at the same time.

In these days, the term Green Building Index or GBI has become another catchy phrase in the development community; hence it has become one of the major seller points for the new housing or apartment in the big cities. As the people awareness about the environment sustainability increased, the need for such green built environment also has increased over years.

Urban Jungle? 

How do we create the green built environment? Well, to create such thing, we must have the justification to do so. As the world become more polluted and warmer than ever, then we just know that something is not right with the current development trends. The material we used the way we built and the way we maintain the building for example must be changed. To create the green built environment for example not an easy task. A lot of study is needed plus the huge amount of money is necessary to make the “sanctuary” come to live.

In the context of Malaysia, many building especially in Kuala Lumpur has been certified with the GBI certification. It is a proof that the building has been built and maintained sustainably without producing such a huge volume of pollution, namely the carbon dioxide. The other aspect, the infrastructure such as sewerage, roads, parking and the others are soon to be greened as well. The parking space for example, needs to be revolutionized as the current design is very bad in term of its drainage system.

The parking space in Malaysia mainly designed with the bitumen which makes it easier for the wheeled vehicles to get through. However, as the bitumen are really hard it is very difficult for the surface runoff water (during rains) to sip through it. During the heavy rains, the major problem occur as the large amount of water cant go through it, plus the current drainage system is very poorly designed, then the flash flood will happen. This what had happen in Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam and Kuantan as the flash flood will occur in these cities if the rain continues for several hours. Do we need to sustain the current design and maintain of the parking space for example, if we already know that the design is not very suitable in the context of Malaysian weather?

Flash flood in Kuala Lumpur

The green parking solution?

Planning and designing are flexible aspect in development process. It can be changed depending on the suitable to the environment, cultural and the times. We cannot be too rigid and just follow the textbook even though we already know what the consequences are. The by not using the bitumen and replaced them with the grass for example, might changed the situation to become better. Yes, it will be difficult to be implemented in the early stages as many problems will occur (maintenance, not proven and money constraints) but it is very crucial thing to do if we want to revolutionize our built environment to make it become sustainable to suit for the future. =)

“medicine is harsh but the patience may requires it in order to live”