Melasutra Md Dali
@um.edu.my
Deparment of Urban and Regional Planning
University of Malaya
Dr. Melasutra is a Registered Town Planner under the Town Planner Act (Act 538) and also a member of Malaysian Association of Social Impact Assessment. She has 22 years of experience in University Malaya as lecturer at Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Faculty of Built Environment. Her teaching subjects are related to urban land use planning, social planning, planning theory and recreational planning. While serving UM, she also involved in several researches and consultancy services on Social Impact Assessment, Urban Redevelopment, Development Plan studies. She has been appointed as Council Member for Petaling Jaya City Council in 2008-2012 and be part of the One Stop Center committee. During the tenure she was also appointed as Panel Member for Local Agenda 21 of the city. She is now carrying out collaboration research with Nippon Foundation under the preview of Asean University Network- Disbability and Public Policy on research Towards Inclusive Learning Environment. She has pu
EDUCATION
Ph.D in Urban Planning
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Sustainable Urban Planning
Scopus Publications
Scopus Publications
Zhiying Quan, Melasutra Binti Md Dali, and Rosilawati Binti Zainol
Wise Academia Research Solutions
This study conducts a comprehensive analysis of five prominent child-friendly city (CFC) assessment tools, assessing their adherence to UNICEF's criteria. Despite variations influenced by research backgrounds and regional contexts, all tools share the common objective of fostering child-friendly environments. Notably, the research highlights the significant role of child involvement in shaping these tools, underscoring the need for their active participation in both theoretical development and practical application. By identifying shortcomings in existing administrative frameworks, the study emphasizes the urgency of adopting more inclusive urban planning approaches. Integrating children into assessment techniques and implementation strategies is deemed essential for creating cities that authentically address the needs and aspirations of their younger residents.
Jun Li, Nikmatul Adha Nordin, and Melasutra Md Dali
Emerald
PurposeThis study aims to explore the value of pocket parks and associated factors, as well as the differences between pocket parks and other green spaces, and finally to identify the role of pocket parks in cities.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a systematic literature review method to identify 85 articles from the Web of Science and other sources. The Nvivo12plus software was employed to qualitatively analyse the value of pocket parks, and the key associated factors were visualised via the NVivo word cloud function.FindingsAs a result, pocket parks reflected high social, environmental ecological, cultural aesthetic values but low economic value. Compared to other large-scale green spaces, the particularity of pocket parks lies in their ambiguity and temporality of space and high reliance on the surrounding environment. Small and scattered pocket parks in the city are like “convenience stores” and “green magnets”, and connectivity should be strengthened to promote urban regeneration.Originality/valueCompared with previous studies that mostly focused on large urban green spaces, the originality of this study is that it elaborates on the importance and values of pocket parks and proposes the particularity and roles of pocket parks in cities, which enriches the theoretical knowledge of pocket parks. In terms of practical applications, the proposed diverse values and associated factors contribute to guiding the planning, management and operation of pocket parks. Moreover, the roles of pocket parks help enhance park connectivity and establish a park network system.
Mark Edward Tuah, Peter Aning Tedong, and Melasutra Md Dali
Emerald
PurposeThis study investigated the role of community infrastructure planning in Sarawak, Malaysia, by concentrating on the obstacles that hinder effective governance of community infrastructure planning.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative approach via case study design was adopted in this study. The Song District, located in the State of Sarawak, Malaysia, was selected as the case study area. Semi-structured interview sessions were conducted with 21 respondents who belonged to the government agencies involved in rural community infrastructure planning and village community representatives to capture their views on community infrastructure development planning in the selected district. The gathered responses were analysed thematically and the outcomes are discussed.FindingsThe findings revealed that although the development of community infrastructure in Song District has progressed and has exerted transformative impacts on rural livelihood, several challenges were identified in the delivery of community infrastructure. The four main themes of challenges that emerged from the data were location factors, financial resources, cooperation and collaboration of stakeholders, as well as community involvement. The outcomes disclosed that, in terms of governance, the institutional roles of the community, stakeholders and government agencies must be integrated throughout the rural community infrastructure planning process to resolve the emerging challenges effectively so that the demands of the rural community are met meritoriously.Social implicationsAn effective and efficient community infrastructure planning approach ascertains that the community infrastructure development gaps in rural areas are bridged and brings fruition to the rural communities for their livelihood transformation.Originality/valueThis paper delineates a view on the governance aspect of community infrastructure planning in Sarawak, Malaysia, that is largely untapped. The study outcomes may facilitate practitioners and academics to move forward and recommend improvements in the approach to rural community infrastructure planning.
Jun Li, Melasutra Md. Dali, and Nikmatul Adha Nordin
MDPI AG
Although many benefits of urban green space networks have been consistently demonstrated, most of the discussion on space connectivity has concentrated on ecological aspects, such as patch–corridor–matrix connectivity. There are limited systematic studies that have investigated the connectedness between urban parks and people. This study aimed to explore the connectedness among urban parks from the users’ perspective by using a systematic literature review. By following the PRISMA protocol and analyzing 54 studies from Scopus and Web of Science between 2017 and 2022, we proposed the concepts of physical connectedness and perceived connectedness. The “physical connectedness” contained the dimensions of road attributes and park attributes, as well as six categories including physical accessibility, street connectivity, the street environment, spatial scale, facilities and amenities, and natural elements. The “perceived connectedness” mainly referred to people’s perception of the physical environment. The four categories were perceived accessibility, perceived safety, aesthetics, and Kaplan’s perceptual model. Finally, in terms of individual attributes, the impact of sociodemographic factors (age, gender, income, education, and occupation) and the motivation for activity on park connectedness were also taken into account. On the basis of our findings, this study suggested that park connectedness should not only focus on physical connectedness but also perceived connectedness.
Nik Hazwani Nik Hashim, Melasutra Md. Dali, and Anuar Alias
Malaysian Institute of Planners
Sustainable urban regeneration (SUR) represents an advanced and comprehensive approach to urban regeneration, aiming to integrate the three key pillars of sustainable development. While various global framework exist for measuring sustainable urban regeneration performance, a dedicated method tailored to the specificities of the Malaysian context remains absent. This study addresses this gap by developing SUR evaluation method for Malaysia, utilising indicators as a means to gauge sustainability performance. A self-administered questionnaire was employed to solicit assessments from key experts regarding potential SUR criteria and indicators. The resulting data were analysed using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to establish weightage based on priority scales. Results from the study identified ten (10) fundamental criteria and thirty-three (33) indicators, each assigned respective weightage, pivotal in achieving sustainable urban regeneration. This study contributes to the improvement of sustainability performance of urban regeneration initiatives in Malaysia by introducing a novel evaluation method. As a way forward, it is recommended that the practicality and capability of the proposed evaluation method be assessed through real-life case study in Malaysia.
Zakaria Alcheikh Mahmoud, Nikmatul Adha Nordin, Melasutra Md Dali, Yong Adilah SH, Taiseer Mustafa Rawashdeh, and Sara Alcheikh Mahmoud
Malaysian Institute of Planners
There is no international consensus on a comprehensive criterion to classify human settlements into urban and rural settlements. Different national criteria are used for delineating the borders between the two types of settlements. The main components of the criteria are population size, population density, population economic activity, administrative and legal and services and facilities. Whether all these criteria have been used or some of them, an outright socio-cultural and economic distinction between the two categories of settlements have developed over years around the world. The widely used virtual space during the pandemic provided people with access to facilities and services and enabled them to work for places that usually require their physical presence. The literature has not yet covered this point. Therefore, this paper aims at revisiting the classification of urban and rural areas in the COVID-19 aftermath. Through desk work and employing qualitative and quantitative research approaches, secondary data was collected from published relevant journals, reports, books, and websites. Content and comparative analysis for analysing qualitative data and content and quantitative comparative analysis and tabulation were used to carry out the research. This paper suggested that the world is in a transitional period towards full urban status. During this period, accessibility to virtual space can be used as a comprehensive criterion for calcifying human settlements into urban and rural.
Nurfatin Fauzi, Yong Adilah Shamsul Harumain, and Melasutra Md Dali
Malaysian Institute of Planners
The evolution of information technology has formed an information society whereby all activities can be reached by surfing through an online platform. Business organisations have also transformed virtually through which the physical absence of employees is less necessary. There are two types of gig works introduced, which are known as physical gig works (workers need to carry out tasks physically) or digital gig works (tasks will be conducted entirely through online platforms from beginning to end). These so-called gig works offer flexible work arrangements and a more family-friendly work environment that benefits married working women notably in achieving work-life balance. The present study would like to understand the motivational factors influencing women’s participation in physical gig works towards achieving work-life balance. A qualitative method was used whereby nine respondents for interviews were recruited through convenience sampling from the case study. The findings derived from the thematic analysis revealed that flexibility in time management and autonomy in managing the work schedule were recorded as the second highest factors after generating income. As a majority of the participants were single mothers, these factors (income and flexibility) should be the major concerns for future research on the enhancement of policies for an effective gig work system so that these women can have freedom in managing their work-life balance.
Mark Anak Edward Tuah, Peter Aning Tedong, and Melasutra Md. Dali
Malaysian Institute of Planners
Infrastructure development strategies remain an integral part of Malaysia’s rural development policies and strategies. For the state of Sarawak, rural infrastructure development still remains a challenge. By using qualitative approach, relevant government agencies involved in the rural infrastructure planning process were interviewed to gather their insight on the current practice and the challenge that they faced when planning for rural infrastructure in Sarawak. This paper explores the challenges in the rural infrastructure planning practice which needs to be tackled to improve rural infrastructure delivery. The findings shows that location is a prime challenge in the rural infrastructure delivery. While in terms of governance, lack of funding and investments, lack of coordination between stakeholders, and issues in public resistance are recurring challenges. The discussion suggest that these challenges have to be taken into account and indicates that the integration of governance through policies and institutional roles needs to be emphasize in the rural infrastructure planning practice. The results of this paper intend to promote the importance of rural infrastructure planning that enables practitioners and academics to move forward to recommend a better framework for infrastructure planning in rural settlements.
Melasutra Md Dali, Ayyoob Sharifi, and Yasmin Mohd Adnan
Springer International Publishing
Peter Aning Tedong, Muhammad Fuad Abdullah, Rohana Jani, and Melasutra Md Dali
Informa UK Limited
ABSTRACT This study adopted the multidimensional poverty approach as an alternative method of poverty measurement through case study analysis in Song Sarawak, East Malaysia. Using three dimensions of education, health, and living standards, this study found that the Iban community in song is critically deprived in asset indicator and education dimension. However, the community is less deprived in term of health dimension. Therefore, this study proves that additional indicators are necessary to complement the monetary indicator for the poverty measurement. This is important to enhance existing alleviation poverty programmes and provide the necessary assistance for the needy.
Hazreena Hussein, Ahmad Zamil Zakaria and M. Dali
Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Engineering and Sciences Publication - BEIESP
This paper sets out to define and describe the definition of the concept of the Malaysian Garden by referring to the landscape and garden experts in Malaysia. It will focus on the expert's understanding, knowledge and experience about this concept. Researchers used qualitative research methods that involved semi-structured in-depth interviews and observations. The respondents for this study are Malaysian Garden concept experts who have been certified by the National Landscape Department (NLD) of Malaysia, referring to the books published by them in 2009. At present, it is difficult to obtain a strong and firm Malaysian Garden concept definition. As a result of this study, all these experts provide different definitions. It is due to a different profession and work experience factors. In this study, the researchers have also gained their insights on the method of branding the concept, aiming to introduce it to local and global communities. Through this research, it helps the responsible party in creating this concept to understand better and be sensitive to the subject. However, further research should be carried out to enable the concept that has been created to satisfy all stakeholders. The study has stated an argument, why the Malaysian Garden concept is still not going to its branding. If it has been introduced to the public, we need to know how to uphold it as a national identity. This research paper will attract attention from stakeholders in Malaysia, industry players, academics and landscape architecture students.
Saima Kalwar, Melasutra Dali, and Norhaslina Hassan
MDPI AG
The study intended to explore planning strategies gaps in ten-year perspective and medium-term development framework plans for agro-based industrial development in secondary cities of Sindh Province, Pakistan. Document review and key informant interviews survey techniques were used for data collection. A total of 30 interviews were conducted from agro-based officials. The SWOT analysis technique was applied for data analysis. The results revealed the weaknesses of high priority for textile and sugar industries, lack of planning strategies for agro-based development in secondary cities, dependency on federal government for development funds and absence of finances to implement plans. The threats were unavailability of strategic agro-based infrastructure facilities in secondary cities, centralized planning system, cross border threats such as the war in Afghanistan and migration of Afghan refugees, weak law and order situation and diversion of development budget for defense activities. The study suggests decentralization of powers and robust planning strategies in the development plans to strengthen secondary cities of Sindh Province economically.
Nurussaadah Mokhtar and Melasutra Md. Dali
Univ. of Malaya
Research on community-based organisations’ potentials and capacities to mobilise community at grassroots levels are emerging rapidly. Yet, inadequacy in terms of understanding how these grassroots institutions participate within Local Agenda 21 processes persists. Despite the establishment of Local Agenda 21 for sixteen years in Malaysia, research on the development of community leadership and learning in mobilising community remains scarce. This paper thus attempts to assess community leadership and learning through participation in Local Agenda 21 programs. Triangulated data collection methods comprising document analysis, experts’ interviews, and case study approach were undertaken to evaluate the development of local sustainable initiatives implemented by two community-based organisations within the platform of community participation facilitated by the City Council of Petaling Jaya. Building on Purdue’s leadership and trust framework as well as instrumental and communicative learning concepts, this qualitative study finds that continuous participation resulting from a continuous charismatic leadership has caused the local neighbourhoods to keep learning. This finding suggests that neighbourhoods participating actively in sustainability platform may substantially contribute to social dimensions of neighbourhood liveability, depending on the extent of community leadership and learning.
Putri Haryati Ibrahim, Melasutra Md Dali, and Roziha Che Haron
American Scientific Publishers
This study aimed to identify and understand the problems faced by local authorities in the development planning of open spaces in Peninsular Malaysia. The study focused on the issues and problem encountered by 98 local authorities in that are governed under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172). To obtain information on the preparation of open spaces that involves development planning, and policy enforcement, questionnaire survey was distributed to 456 respondents which obtained a response rate of 52.6% (n=240). The study found that the availability of land, lack of funding and policy compliance are the main obstacles hindering local authorities to provide better service to the public. This study recommends several measures to address the issues in the hope that it will help the local authorities to better manage and provide long term sustainable open spaces.
Yasmin Mohd Adnan, Hasniyati Hamzah, Melasutra Md. Dali, Md Nasir Daud, and Anuar Alias
Malaysian Institute of Planners
Smart Cities have grown in prominence due to advancement in ICT and the new paradigm of sustainable city management and development. Whilst many authors have proposed guidelines and framework for Smart City implementation, less attention has been given to the assessment of Smart City performance. The mainstream Smart City assessment framework generally entails the quantitative assessment of factors, elements and initiatives categorised under the Smart City dimensions. However, this approach is problematic and impractical because it requires a large amount of different baseline data that is often at times unavailable due to various reasons. This paper describes an alternative framework for smart city assessment, one that is based on the modification of Giffmger’s to make it amenable to leaner data. The proposed assessment framework was adopted to assess the smart city performances of Seoul, Singapore, and Iskandar Malaysia which were then compared. With the use of the framework for the performance assessment, the city that has performed better than the others is able to be identified.
Zohreh Mahdiar and Melasutra Md Dali
Univ. of Malaya
The fundamentals of urban planning suggest that accessibility to public open spaces, particularly the parks, is supposed to contribute to the increased use of them. Accessibility is a difficult and complex concept to define and measure. Moreover, literature review shows few researches have defined the concept of accessibility from the perspectives of potential park users and its influence on individuals’ behavior. This study aims to define factors adolescents find important in perceiving whether a park is accessible and the influence of accessibility on the use of urban parks for adolescents aged 15-18. This qualitative study’s findings are based on interviews with a group of 17 male and female adolescents. The findings show that the perception of the accessibility concept among adolescents is an outcome of different parameters such as proximity, travel time, presence/non-presence of traffic, availability of transportation, etc. The results of this study contribute to enhancing the understanding of the accessibility concept as a multi-dimensional construct from adolescents’ point of view, and its influence on the use of parks.