| Summary: | High-rise housing is not our traditional way of living and culture. Even though this form of housing does exist, it can be considered as a borrowed culture from the western world - way of living that has been institutionalised in our society as a new form of living. High-rise housing in the scope of this writing is defined as self-contained residences more than four storeys above the ground. Much adverse publicity has appeared critising high-rise living in innumerable context. It is accused of causing increase in crime, deliquency, suicide etc., of isolating people in depersonalised living spaces, causing loneliness and anxiety, of lowering their interest in community affairs and so on. It is also suggested that the residents lack sufficient privacy, play space for children and for outdoor domestic recreation and the freedom to make noise,mess etc. In short, high-rise living has been accused of reducing 'housing' to 'shelter'. On the positive side, high rise living is credited with being able to provide accomodation for more people at a particular location, enjoying greater centrality of facilities, or environmental amenity as well as providing a low maintenance and a relatively compact living space. It is said to offer a more protective or secure environment to certain extent and probably most important, to provide a relatively cheaper accomodation. On balance, many critics find that the benefits of high-rise living do not outweigh the negative effects on people's well being that are attributted to it. It is understood that the high-rise housing has been built (both by the government and the private sectors) as one of many ways to solve current housing need. Besides its ability to house as many people as quickly and economically as possible, yet there are certain considerations and ill-effects to be noted. A person living high-rise, needs to posses a complex social structure and way of living. This is a consequence of logical relationship between social structure and way of living with the products of technology. Different problems and difficulties may arise due to differences in the way of living, characteristics, perceptions to the use of spaces and social activities of the people living in them. High-rise living can give considerable implications to certain group of society according to their ethnic, age, sex, income and stage of life cycle. Physical form and environment of a housing reflects the structure and culture of the society living in them. This is an important fact, as the suitability of high-rise housing as a form housing with respect to the satisfaction of well being of those living in such housing, is an indicator of the success of any high-rise living in a local high-rise public housing - Perumahan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Pekeliling, Kuala Lumpur. The assessment of this particular housing is with the references to the opinions and response of the occupants towards the facilities and environment provided. It is to be noted that this observation is not an attempt to prove or to determine what emphirical basis for those criticism of high-rise exists, as has been mentioned in the earlier pragraphs. It is also not within the scope of this report to consider the influence of high-rise living on the surrouding social or physical environment in detail and its validitiy. But it is hoped that this observation will draw attention of the authorities concerned to organise a more reliable and i depth study. The informations gathered in this observation can provide a basic reference to the topics which are to be undertaken and emphasized. The findings of the observation can be summarised into these four headings :- Firstly, The dissatisfaction of the residents arised due to inadequate and unsatisfactory condition of the physical facilities especially in the living units and blocks. Amongst other things, these include the provision of living spaces, both interm of space area and articulation, lift system, rubbish disposal
|
|---|