Several researchers have investigated the energy consumption of office buildings in Malaysia. In this study, energy consumption of low energy buildings, strategies, an overview of electricity usage in buildings, and performance evaluation of green buildings in Malaysia, will be conducted. The Faculty of Design and Architecture (FRSB), University Putra Malaysia (UPM) was selected as a case study for this research. The results of this study will become a reference for UPM, as the owner of the FRSB building, to become a pioneer of energy efficiency programs. These results will be compared with the Malaysian Code of Practice Standard for Energy Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energy for Non-Residential Building (MS 1525:2007); in order to identify compliance with that standard. This study will also identify the factors that contribute towards energy consumption for the FRSB building and provide recommendations for minimizing energy usage for education buildings; particularly in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and create awareness for building designers and occupants alike. The findings will show that the FRSB building complied with MS 1525:2007, in terms of Overall Thermal Transfer Value (OTTV) and overall energy usage. The results presented in this study will confirm that this building’s electricity usage comes mostly from air conditioning and lighting systems. This study will provide suggestions for using a Building Management System (BMS) to control overall energy usage and for the installation of photovoltaic panels; which may help to provide energy by itself. The recommendations provided will attempt to overcome the problems caused by occupant’s behaviour towards energy use.

The facade plays a key role as both a barrier and a filter between the comfortable `indoors` and the uncontrolled `outdoors`. The degree to which the facade of a building embraces maintenance considerations has a major impact on its performance. In Malaysia, new buildings are erected everyday with modern design featuring complex building facade design which has common problems often found in different types of building facades. These problems have implications in the design, constructions and maintenance of buildings. Every building facade should always be maintained to a high standard so that it will look more value in its appearance and a longer life span. The value of buildings depends on the quality of the maintenance invested in them. Maintenance management involves obtaining maximum benefit from the investment made on the maintenance activities. Maintenance in buildings in Malaysia is on the increase regardless of size, type, location, and ownership. It is necessary to rectify building facade defects and for maintenance purposes as facades is exposed to the climatic condition. The study will find out the building facade defects and other maintenance problems that are heavily attributed to design deficiencies, material limitations and lack of maintenance knowledge. To achieve this aim, three objectives have been set: to identify the types of common building facade defects, to identify its effect on maintenance and to relate the facade defects with maintenance and to recommend the appropriate solutions to improve the establishment of standard building facade maintenance in Malaysia. A study was conducted in three government buildings in Putrajaya to identify the facade defects and its effect on maintenance. The data were analyzed using Relative Index formula. The current maintenance management procedures in Malaysia are, however, condition and reactive based. The weaknesses in the current procedures are the primary problems because they do not explicitly link maintenance needs with building performance with respect to the building users. Findings show that main problems that the maintenance contractors are currently facing are caused by building design deficiencies, poor construction quality, and choice of building material which affects maintenance.

Traditional Malay midwifery practices exhibit a wide vanatlon in plant materials selection. This study established that plant materials composition selection differs greatly with respect to stage of Malay midwifery practices, locality, environmental factors and culture. A total of 13 types of Malay midwifery practices were observed in 11 different states of Malaysia from 31 traditional midwives in Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang, Johor, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Perlis, N egeri Sembilan and Sarawak. Two practices were performed during prenatal treatment which is the process of lenggang perut and also prenatal diet confinement. 11 other practices were performed during postnatal treatment which can be classified into 4 categories; herbs treatment, heat treatment, massage and abstinence (pantang). The influence of plant materials composition of east coast over west coast in Malaysia or locality x culture x midwifery process x plant materials selection, in relation of creating Malay garden identity established that each factor had an effect on the composition of plant materials selection. However, the most influential factor appeared to be stage of Malay midwifery practices. Each practice has specific purposes and functions which later determine the accumulation of plant materials selection. Of all the Malay midwifery practices studied in this research we found that mandi serom is the most diverse plant species used which portray the habitat or type of environments in which these plant species origin or found. There may be similarities of some species due to similar knowledge, culture or environment; however the magnitude of these effects is not as great as plant materials composition selection and usaga. By identifying the key factors controlling plant materials selection and usage a greater understanding of how certain midwifery practices influence plant species selection and composition in response to interactions with environmental factors as well as culture, belief and taboos will emerge as potential softscape elements tools and indicator in creating identity of Malay landscape for specific culture and locality. Keywords: Malay midwifery, plant material, Malay landscape

The environmental setting in relation to reading habit causes a deficiency of reading persuasion among Malaysians. The mobile library facility provided by the government has not been fully utilized by the public, which induces the concept to stop operating. The insufficiency of organized reading programmes and activities lead to the reduction of reading interest among Malaysian citizens are the problems encountered by the Malaysian government in inculcating the culture of reading in the country. This research examines the acceptance of the mobile reading kiosk concept, where it supports the public to use their time to read. Self-completed questionnaire surveys were conducted among park visitors of Taman Tasik Titiwangsa aged below 35 years old with a sample of 350 respondents. Three findings have been identified. Firstly, reading preferences influence the reading enthusiasm of the respondents. Reading preferences have a significant relationship with the age and gender of respondents with more than 50% of respondents agreeing on reading at home and time spent on reading. Secondly, the park setting environment gives prompt impact on the reading enthusiasm of the respondents. The environmental setting is encouraged to be used, as it can promote and increase the reading enthusiasm of the public. Lastly, the mobile reading kiosk concept is still relevant and can still be implemented in leisurely manner and cozier environment. The provided facilities, and safe and pleasant environment for reading will attract readers among the park visitors to spend their time reading there. This concept may help inspire and cultivate the interest in reading among members of the community. Further study on exploring other environmental settings, such as the beach and neighbourhood park, can be done to expand research in the habit of reading. The knowledge acquired through this research can contribute to a better understanding of reading habits among Malaysians.

This research discusses the issue of accessibility, connectivity and usability in the facilities used by persons with disabilities (PwDs) in Malaysian shopping malls and the significance of the latest Malaysian Standards (MS 1184:2014), the Universal Design and Accessibility in the Built Environment-Code of Practice in evaluating shopping malls. The study identifies whether the provided facilities accord with the latest Malaysian standards (MS 1184:2014). The sampled shopping malls comprised Ikea in Damansara, Suria Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) in Kuala Lumpur and Alamanda in Putrajaya. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with the visually impaired, hearing impaired person, and wheelchair and crutches users to determine their perception on the level of accessibility of these buildings. Access audit and site observations were also carried out to assess the buildings’ accessibility, connectivity, mobility and reachability. The results show that Suria KLCC scored 80.35% for compliance with the design requirements, followed by Ikea with 74.11%, and Alamanda with 70.58%. It is hoped that the research can benefit people from all walks of life as well as generate more ideas to improve the accessibility of shopping malls for the PwDs.

This research addresses the safety of kindergarten premises in Malaysia due to improper planning of the landscape area. Crimes in Malaysia that revolve around kindergarten premises have repeatedly occurred throughout the years. Hence, this study addresses the issue with reference to Defensible Space theory. This study identifies the presence and absence of landscape principles of Defensible Space theory which are natural surveillance, territoriality, image and milieu, in the chosen effected premises and suggest modifications to the existing guideline for kindergarten landscape development in Malaysia. Through a qualitative research, this research collects data via means of document analysis, case study, interview and observation. Document analysis is adopted to determine the landscape architectural variables of Defensible Space theory and kindergarten outdoor space utilization and its elements. A case study is chosen to identify the physical deficiencies of the premises that contributed to the crime based on the absence and presence of Defensible Space principles. Structured interviews are carried out to determine demographic data. Lastly, observation is carried out at chosen case studies to recognise the spatial form and presence and absence of Defensible Space principles. Two relatively similar kindergartens with history of criminal occurrence are chosen as case studies to observe the presence and absence of the said principles in which Kindergarten 1 shows a presence of only 62.5% of defensible space while Kindergarten 2 shows 70%. The results of both kindergartens are used in the development of a general recommendation for the space utilisation of kindergarten landscape in Malaysia. The outcome will affect landscape designers in creating layouts and providing elements for the kindergarten outdoor areas and kindergarten owners in providing at least the minimum requirement for the outdoor area.

Afghanistan government has put many efforts to rebuild the destruction of 40 years period of war and to provide adequate and affordable housing for all citizens since 2001. In doing so, the government has carried out some public housing projects to reduce the housing shortages especially in the capital city of Kabul. In the past years, studies showed that there is a serious housing issue in terms of accessibility and affordability among Kabul residents. Given the complex nature of housing, it is important to study the housing needs and affordability of citizens to improve the provision of adequate and affordable housing to all. This research sought to undertake a deep study of affordable housing in Kabul city, to explore the issues and problems related to affordable housing, to evaluate the factors that caused the issues and problems, and to identify the challenges facing to the successful development of affordable housing in Kabul city. For this research, Khwaja Rawash Residential Township, located in the east of Kabul city had been selected as the case study. The data was collected by using a self-administrated questionnaire survey from 100 residents in the study area. Besides, unofficial interviews were done with some residents and few government officials in the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MUDH). Different methods and instruments were used for data analysis. The findings show that there is a huge shortage of affordable housing in Kabul, Afghanistan. The housing deficit between housing needs and housing supply is very significant and is getting worse every year. The study also identified that the main factors behind the housing affordability issue among the Kabul residents are; high housing costs, low level of monthly income, and inaccessibility of households to housing finance. Finally, the reasons behind the issues and limitations of affordable housing were determined and the challenges that hinder the successful development of affordable housing were identified. In the end, the study recommended the policy and guidelines for the future improvement, strategies, and development of affordable housing in Kabul city.

Placed as the crown of the mountain, Moss forest or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) are one of Earth’s most imperiled and neglected ecosystems. More than half of these forests are situated within Southeast Asia; those located in Malaysia are considered well studied in the region compared to others. Malaysia is known for its numerous mountains that are exceptionally rich in biodiversity and locally endemic species, but they are also threatened by human expanding activity such are, forestry, agriculture, infrastructure, and global warming. By critically assessing the current state of moist forests—focusing on their biological fingerprints and potentials for a long-term survival—and propose conservation strategies for agricultural, forestry, tourism, and policy sectors of the Biota content as well as the effect that human interference has on it using indigenous moss species as Bio indicators through Bio monitoring, to help conserve these endangered ecosystems. There is no wrong in hoping that decision makers around the region can use the review to evaluate and improve their national strategies related to cloud forest conservation.

Sandcrete block are composite building material produced of sand, cement and water, moulded in different sizes. The recognition and widespread of sandcrete blocks and their general application as walling material in Nigeria and other developing countries cannot be overemphasized. Hence, caused serious demand for it, and oblige its high production. As a result, production industries are expected to put more concern on the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness of labour productivity in the production process due to the increasing demand of the materials. Productivity enhancement in any production industries is powered by the level of increase in labour productivity. The aim of any production company is to realize a higher productivity as it was explained to be cost savings and eventually into manager’s additional benefits. This study aimed at exploring the process of producing sandcrete block and its labour productivity, identifying and ranking the key management and site related factors on factories in Minna, Nigeria. The data was collected from 84 factories registered under standard organization Nigeria (SON), using structured questionnaire. Findings in this study, shows different stages and standards used for the sandcrete block production. It was found that market, management strategies, delay in materials delivery, equipment breakdown, weather and absenteeism/turnover are the main factors affecting labour productivity in sandcrete block making factories in Minna. In addition, some varieties of techniques were identify to mitigate or minimize the effect of the above mentioned factors. Findings from this study is expected to assist the managers on how to efficiently improve labour productivity in other to meet up the growing demand of sandcrete block in the market and will also serve as a reference material in the future regarding how to enhance labour productivity, contributing to the existing body of knowledge. Keywords: Sandcrete block, Labour Productivity, Management related, Site related, Techniques.

There are many types of tourism and one of them is heritage tourism. In order to attract tourists to revisit and prolong their stay in historical sites, the sites must preserve its unique and authentic identity as well as its sense of place. Tourist who tends to revisit to same site or staying longer within the site is a proof of strong sense of place of that particular tourism site. Conflict arose in cultural identity and Islamic identity has caused tourist lack of excitement thus staying less longer in Kelantan tourism site and physical characteristic decrease in authenticity of Kota Bharu has caused tourist revisit number is low. This research assesses the relationship between sense of place and tourists’ frequency of visit and length of stay in Kota Bharu Cultural Heritage Zone based on Bott’s Psychometric Scale. This research’s methodology is based on the mixed method using both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview). The sample consists of 445 respondents among domestic and international tourists. Statistical analysis of descriptive analysis and inferential analysis - ANOVA were the main methods used. 10 interviewees among government agencies officers and tourism businesses were involved in the structured interview as the medium for the validation of quantitative data of this study. In the research, sense of place of Kota Bharu Cultural Heritage Zone is significance in the context of length of stay which are ‘built environment scale’, ‘character scale’, ‘inherent socio-cultural scale’, ‘transactional socio-cultural scale’, ‘significant scale’, ‘aesthetic scale’, ‘informational scale’ and well-being scale’ while all scales of sense of place of Kota Bharu Cultural Heritage Zone are not significance in the context of frequency of visit since the area presents less influence on tourists’ decisions to revisit the heritage zone. The result indicates that the sense of place in Kota Bharu Cultural Heritage Zone has less influence on the tourists’ frequency of visit but does influence tourists’ length of stay in the zone. Hence, this study has identified and explored the gap in tourism research in terms of the relationship between sense of place and tourist behaviors, particularly tourists’ intentions to revisit and their duration of stay in a historical site. The findings are helpful to the government and business owners in planning attractions for tourist and sustaining the social and economic importance of historical areas.

The effort of integrating learning in hospital schools in selected Malaysian public hospital has been implemented by Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Health (MoH) and Nurul Yaqeen Foundation since 26th July 2011. Since then, 1,454 children have utilized the hospital schools muted by the Ministries. This becomes a serious concern of parents and patients on needing to overtake on academic matters during recovering process. The aim of research is to evaluate the physical elements of hospital schools as learning environment in selected public hospitals in Malaysia. The key objectives of this research are (1) to study the key factors of integrating learning environment in hospital; (2) to measure the level of satisfaction of end users which are parents, patients, teachers and staffs towards hospital schools, and (3) to make recommendations of the physical learning environment for hospital schools in Malaysian public hospitals. Qualitative and quantitative methods are adopted in this research are mainly observation and question survey. Three case studies selected are Institute Paediatric Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Ampang Hospital and Serdang Hospital. 51 candidates were randomly selected as respondents during field survey. 10 physical elements which are garden, playground, aroma, space, music, colour, lighting, artwork, accessibility and safety were evaluated as a basis to measure the satisfaction level of end users. Finding shows in three hospital schools, the highest score mean from overall elements is Hospital Serdang with the score of 4.02 out of 5.00 followed by IPHKL, 3.52 and Ampang Hospital with 3.16. Analysis shows in three hospital schools, 86.5% respondents agreed that artwork element as most satisfied elements that have been implement. Meanwhile 61.4% respondents complain the absent of music as it was not implemented in classroom. Most of respondents recommended that the access to outdoor learning and upgrading the current spaces are needed in future. It can be concluded that integrating learning environment in hospital schools has received a good feedback from the public to be an establish research in future.

Hospitals have unique and intensive energy use requirements. In addition to the need for lighting and heating 24 hours a day, hospitals demand extensive energy for ventilation, equipment, sterilization, and laundry and food preparation. Studies on ho.spitals abroad have shown that lighting contributes about 25 percent and HV AC contributing almost 45 percent of a typical hospital's energy bill. Those studies also show that energy saving initiatives have the potential to reduce energy cost significantly. This study aims to compare the Building Energy Index (BEi) and load apportioning performance of different public hospitals in Malaysia with specific focused example of Serdang Hospital which no audit has been done yet. Serdang Hospital was selected for this study since it is one of the recently commissioned and operationalised hospital in the Klang Valley. The data was collected over 24 hour electricity utilisation for a one week period by using datalogger tool to map the energy consumption trend. The detailed audit study was summarised and compared with other BEi's compiled from secondary sources. A comparison is made between the energy use trends of different hospitals. Discussion is done on the possible approach towards increased energy savings in hospitals.

Forests are fundamental resources that provide a significant aesthetic, cultural, biological and economical source for the social community in every country throughout the world. Besides, forest also plays another essential role which it serves as a valuable carbon sink by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing the carbon in a long-term reservoir that contribute to the environmental quality as a whole. Degradation of environmental condition has become a serious issue faced by many countries today. The primary cause of this problem is related to human disturbance towards natural resources. Urbanisation requires lots of land clearing and deforestation for the development process. This situation is very relevant in a fast developed state like Selangor whereby its valuable forested areas are now under continuous development pressure. Therefore, the concern of this research is to assess the condition level of artificial and naturally regenerated forestry area in Forest Research Institute Malaysia Campus, consisting of 54 fields, to see how best it can contribute in balancing the ambient of air quality. For data collection, this research depends on a series of GIS database covering five criteria, namely slope, altitude, crown perimeter, tree height and carbon stock. These data were then analysed using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) through a composite score from eigenvalue of priority ratings and producing a composite map, which classified the site as the healthiest, moderately healthy and less healthy condition. The results indicate that most of the forested areas in FRIM campus lie under the category of healthiest condition with 45.5% in the area of 220.8 hectares whereby the key contributor is the carbon stock. Relating these criteria for ecosystem health will be beneficial toward monitoring forest change in landscapes, assisting in management and planning the urban development in any geographical setting.

Despite the importance of street walkways, it does not receive much attention. The Literature on public spaces mostly focuses on squares, parks, and streets where different people are expected to gather for significant activities. The environmental qualities which facilitate walking determine a pedestrian`s sense of comfort. This paper focuses on the walkability of urban places in the Kurdistan Reconstruction Organization (KRO) Street of Duhok. The objective of this study is to analyse the users’ satisfaction level on KRO street walkways, identification of users’ opinion on the improvement of KRO street walkways and to establish recommendations that will enhance walkway usage and promoting walkability in KRO street. The Mixed method of both quantitative and qualitative was adopted for this study. A total of one hundred and fifty (150) questionnaires were administered among the pedestrians in the study area by employing random systematic sampling technique. Data were processed by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) IBM version 22 and the analysis was presented by the use of descriptive and cross-tabulation statistics. The findings indicated that most of the respondents with 50.0%, 38.7%, and 40.7% respectively were not satisfied with the condition of walkways in the KRO street particularly in terms of pedestrian facilities provided and the accessibility and the connectivity of the walkways. In contrast, field observation revealed that the KRO street walkways had poor maintenance of facilities reflected in the improper condition of walkways and street furniture. However, 94.0% of the respondents which is also the majority highly recommended for appropriate hardscape in the KRO street while 75.0% opted for the appropriate softscape. Thus, the study recommends that for both short term and long term, the allocation of the walkways dimensions for the three zones is important by the local authority, as it not only positively affects the image of the walkway and its usefulness but also benefits the whole user-experience of the community. The installation of the new hardscape and softscape should follow the recommendation above. For example, benches, street light, walkway tiles, proper signage and trash receptacles among other good things for hardscape while for softscape elements the example is, planting of new trees and shrubs. The findings from this study can be used as a benchmark for the improvement of KRO streets walkability through streetscape design elements and partly its accessibility and connectivity for the better pedestrian system in KRO street.

The spatial mismatch between the residential developments at the outskirts and the job concentration in the Centre Business District (CBD) has further contributed to the commuting patterns of morning and evening peak hours. This situation has led to traffic congestion on the major highways leading into and out of the city. Park and ride scheme was introduced in many countries, geared towards encouraging commuters to use public transport especially on their journeys to the city centre. The focus of the research is to evaluate the parking usage and characteristics of park and ride users at the multi-storey and surface parking as well as to identify the factors that influence the usage of the park and ride facility at the Putrajaya public transportation terminal. A parking inventory survey was conducted to acquire data on parking supply and the physical condition of the park and ride facility. Another parking utilization survey was employed to determine the number of parked vehicles at regular intervals over a period of time, and a questionnaire survey was conducted to gather data on the characteristics and perceptions of parking users. A total of 254 samples were required involving 177 samples from multi-storey and 77 samples from surface parking users. From a total of 350 distributed questionnaires, 185 completed questionnaires with usable data were returned, corresponding to a response rate of 52.9%. The findings on parking utilization survey show that parking demand on weekdays was higher than the weekend and surface parking shows a higher demand than multi-storey parking both on weekdays and weekends. The average parking occupancy at the surface parking on weekdays was 84.5% as compared to level 1 (25%), level 2 (50%) and basement (20%) of the multi-storey parking. The parking duration showed that a majority of the weekday users parked for more than 9 hours as they were traveling for work purposes, and the average parking duration at surface parking area was lower than that of the multi-storey parking. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was adopted to explore the principal factors on parking related characteristics and ordinal probit regression model were developed to estimate the effects of the socioeconomic, travel and parking characteristics on the frequency of parking in a month. The factors of monthly income, car ownership and employment sector were among the socioeconomic characteristics that found significant as the parameter estimates of parking demand. The significant factors from the travel characteristics were car occupancy, monthly public transport cost, public transport fare payment method and monthly parking fees. Parking duration, arrival time at the park and ride facility, parking availability, parking charge and operation, and lack of destinations’ parking were among the significant factors of parking characteristics that associated in predicting the monthly parking frequency. One of the recommendations to encourage more people to utilize this facility is the promotion on the park and ride facility should be more comprehensive.

Lembah Bujang is an oldest historical site dated back 2 million years ago and become a starting point to understand the origins and history of civilization in Malaysia. The aim for this research is to identify the potential shrines area in three study areas consist of Lembah Bujang, Sungai Batu, and Kg. Pengkalan Bujang which is using RADARSAT and GIS techniques in conserving the historical site. Satellite Remote Sensing application has been proved efficiently used in various archaeological studies. The multi-temporal images of RADARSAT-1 and RADARSAT-2 are used to identify and spot the shrines area surrounding of sites. The images of multi-temporal in 2003 and 2014 with single microwave frequency 5.3 GHz, in the C-Band; the wavelength of 5.6 cm were interpreted through a specific site to address the research questions. Two techniques in identifying potential shrines consist of Local Adaptive Filtering and Feature Extraction have been used and tested to the RADARSAT images of three selected study areas by using processing software of ENVI and ArcGIS. The finding shows that the Local Adaptive Filtering on GAMMA Map filter is one of the best techniques in identifying potential shrines area due to it`s preserving the pixel values of the images after processing. While edge enhancement improves the appearances of the shrines images to more readily interpret by the researcher.This research also will contribute possible remote sensing techniques in monitoring any expansions of land use developments surrounding the shrines area simultaneously assist in making recommendations in land use planning guidelines for preservation and conservation in the heritage site.

The concept of sustainable development has been in existence since the 1980s. Since adopting Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development in 2015 by the United Nations, Malaysia has taken initiatives to implement this agenda. Local governments are regarded as one of their most crucial implementation partners in implementing Sustainable Development Goals. However, after half a decade of implementing Sustainable Development Goals in a local setting, there are still uncertainties over its comprehension, interpretation, and apprehensions. This research sought to analyse the consciousness, initiatives and challenges of sustainable development at Seremban City Council. The research’s objectives are identifying the sustainability consciousness factors among Seremban City Council employees, assessing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals initiatives and identifying the challenges of executing the Sustainable Development Goals initiatives at the Seremban City Council. This research employed a mixed-method approach to achieve its research objective. A total of 291 Seremban City Council employees were randomly selected to analyse the sustainability consciousness through exploratory factor analysis. The use of exploratory factor analysis was justified as there was a lack of theoretical underpinnings of sustainability consciousness. Additionally, five prominent employees were selected to analyse the challenges of implementing Sustainable Development Goals initiatives at Seremban City Council via thematic analysis, while the sustainable development initiatives were analysed through content analysis. The initiatives were identified from official documents from 2017 to 2019. Two instruments were developed to collect data; the first instrument was a self-administered questionnaire adopted from previous studies, and the second was an interview for the semi-structured interview. The findings indicated three principal sustainability consciousness components; the knowledge and attitude toward sustainable development, the socio-economic behaviour toward sustainable development and the environmental behaviour toward sustainable development. The findings also indicated that 104 sustainable development initiatives were implemented at Seremban City Council, of which 46 were conducted by the Planning Development Department. Also, the Seremban City Council place the most significant concern on Target 11.7 of the SDG11. Finally, this research would assert that Seremban City Council faced four main challenges; sustainability consciousness, project management, financial and governance challenges in implementing these initiatives. These results demonstrate the accomplishment of this research’s aim and objectives.

This study was to analyze the planning effectiveness on open space as a sociable place by using the GIS and Remote Sensing techniques. Since a long time ago, open spaces have always been threatened and sacrificed for the developments which affecting the distribution and the planning of open spaces in an area. The open space is essentially needed by human to perform social activities because it offers numerous advantages for them. Thus, the objectives of the study are; to identify the current planning practice of open space towards the social activities at the study area, to assess the users’ satisfaction regarding the open space quality, to investigate on how GIS and remote sensing can assist in providing spatial data to handle planning problems and to underline some recommendations. The assessment focused on the open space’s hierarchy (size and type), location, accessibility, facilities and vegetation. The study was conducted at four sections in Petaling Jaya; SS 22, SS 23, SS 24 and SS 26. The GIS data was adopted to identify the current open space planning practice towards social activities at the study area in terms of the open space hierarchy, the location and the accessibility. The SPOT 2 (1990) and SPOT 5 (2011) satellite image were used to investigate the land cover changes, open space distribution and the presence of the vegetation at the open space. The face to face questionnaire survey was done at the study area to get the user’s perception and their satisfaction level towards the open space’s size, location, accessibility, facilities and vegetation. However, a general Google online survey was also done to support the findings where it concerned on the general opinion from other open space’s users within Malaysia. These surveys involved 100 respondents. The result indicated, the open space planning in study areas has improved in 2011 and remained until now. This proved that GIS and remote sensing has greatly helped in handling the urban planning matters by providing relevant spatial data. For the assessment, it was found that the effective elements in open space planning towards social activities are; the hierarchy, the location in terms of the visibility and the inviting sense, the accessibility (only at the study area, not for other open spaces in Malaysia) and the vegetation, meanwhile, ineffective elements are; the location aspect in terms of the safety, the accessibility in terms of the distance at other open spaces in Malaysia and the facilities provided. For social activities, the participation of users is reasonably good.

Malaysian government has made biodiversity conservation an essential aspect of sustainable development and a continuous policy component of the country's five-year development plans. This national strategy is reinforced by state policies, particularly in Selangor's Selangor State Structure Plan 2035, which includes a commitment to forest and natural resource preservation. According to most domestic and international research studies, human activities have resulted in various negative consequences as a result of failures to protect forests and natural resources, particularly in Selangor. Thus, this research focusing on the analysis of the relationship between Selangor state structure plan’s policies and land cover changes based on the principles of Maqasid al-Shari’ah. This research aims to develop a natural resource management framework for Selangor River Basin area in ensuring the fulfillers of the main objectives for natural resource management based on the National Forestry Policy 1978 (amendment 1992). In order to achieve the aim, this research analyses land cover changes using remote sensing images toward sustainability of forest management and preservation of natural resources, assesses the policies in Selangor State Structure Plan 2035 in order to maintain the sustainability of natural resources in accordance with the principles of Maqasid al-Shari’ah, identifies issues and problems in current natural resource management of Selangor in ensuring the preservation of natural resources, and then proposes the inject of Maqasid al-Shari’ah in ensuring the comprehensiveness of policy making and natural resources management. This research engages mixed-method research methodologies involving content analysis, interview, and land cover changes analysis. This research found that the increase in Permanent Forest Reserves each year shows a positive trend; however, the focus should be on the Selangor River Basin area as the amount of forest area continues to decline. Plus, the built-up areas and agricultural vegetation in the Selangor River Basin will continue to develop and expand if strict management measures are not implemented, to the point where the area would become congested and overwhelmed. Other than that, the improvements achieved through Selangor’s structural plan policies (2020-2035) will favor urbanization and agricultural activities due to the focus of life and property preservation above other principles. Therefore, this research can be used to inject the idea of Maqasid al-Shari’ah can be successfully embedded in present sustainability indicators through the proposed natural resource management framework.

Dengue is a vector born disease transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito. It has seen an increase in the number of cases in Southeast Asia and Malaysia. The burden of dengue fever outbreaks is causing the loss of lives and unnecessary waste of resources to the authorities. There have been numerous research work studying the variables involved in the life-cycle of the dengue spread. Variables mainly related to the vector elements such as being an “Urban Disease”, weather patterns (temperature and rain), moon phases and land use. In this context, the easy access to internet technology through smartphone`s and lowest cost of devices worldwide opens the way to new possibilities for data collection through volunteered geographic information. The aim of this study is to develop an urban health system to generate an index based on factors influencing the dengue outbreaks and study the interest by the citizens to be involved and transmitting data using smartphones using an App. The data could in a later stage be integrated into the developed system. The developed index was generated by combining spatial and temporal factors consisting of land use, temperature, rainfall, moon phases. The app would transmit the data comprising of the existence of mosquito larvae, rubbish, known dengue cases in the neighborhood, the vector bites pattern including the location and the date. This study was restricted geographically to the areas of Selangor state in Malaysia and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya for using data for the years of 2014. The findings show that, after generating the dengue index for the years of 2014 and 2015, it was observed from the time series that the generated dengue index reflected the fluctuation in the number of cases 52 days in average before the occurrence of the actual number of cases. Finally, the results also show that the number of cases of dengue increased during the new moon phase every lunar month and the cases and sites increased during raining seasons with little rain and high temperatures while they would decrease during raining seasons with lower temperatures. Crowdsourcing data from volunteers were received from users within Malaysia and other countries as well, however, the data was out of the temporal frame with the dengue data used in this research. In conclusion, this research two forewarning cycles that have been identified on upcoming dengue outbreaks; a short cycle coinciding with the moon phases while a longer cycle coinciding with the weather, land use variables. Finally, data obtained from crowdsourcing in this study shows that even if there was no advertising about the developed app, there was an interest drawn in Malaysia and outside the country to contribute voluntarily with information. This data could be integrated with the index in the future to assist relevant authorities to pinpoint spatially the locations to intervene ahead of probable dengue outbreaks.