Mainstreaming the attributes of resilence in local develoipment plans for the adaptation to climate change induced flooding : a study of Shah Alam City, Malaysia | |
| Author | Khailani, Dzul Khaimi Bin |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.UE-12-05 |
| Subject(s) | Climatic changes--Malaysia--Shah Alam Flood damage prevention--Maylaysia--Shah Alam |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Environmental Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Mainstreaming climate change related scenarios in urban development planning is a significant knowledge gap in existing literature. The main research question in this study is; how local development plans are utilized and should be utilized by local authorities to improve resilience of urban areas against climate change induced disasters. Accordingly, the overall objective of this study is to develop an understanding on civil society's perceptions and needs to enhance the resilience of urban areas, and the gaps in responses by urban authorities in general and urban planners in particular, in order to comprehend the appropriate mechanism to mainstream disaster resilient attributes in local development plans for the adaptation to climate change. The study progressed through the following method to achieve the overall objectives. Firstly parameters of vulnerability and resilience to disasters were understood through face to face interview in eight settlement areas mostly affected by floods in Shah Alam city .. The questionnaire was distributed among 250 local residents randomly to identify contributing factors to the vulnerability of their settlements and the existing qualities of resilience against hazards. Secondly, the results of the survey was used to shortlist the most important factors of vulnerability and resilience, and used to prepare a structured questionnaire to interview policy makers and professional urban planners in Shah Alam city. Concurrently, the content analysis method was used to determine how listed factors feature and functions in the local development plan. Thirdly, the principal components analysis technique was used to reduce the number of parameters and indicators identified in the first two steps in order to detennine the disaster resilient strategies that need to be mainstreamed in the local development plan of Shah Alam. Lastly, the adaptation efficiency index was constructed to establish a relationship between disaster resilient groups and the improvement of disaster resilient strategies attributes for mainstreaming and adaptation in local plan. The analysis leads to revealed three significant findings. Firstly, the disaster resilient attributes in the study were found to be in line with the limited references. Secondly, the people's sensitivity to hazards and perception on probable hazard risks impacts and the adaptive capacity were revealed as important attribute factors that explain the current status of their disaster resilience but they are inherent attributes of resilience was not induced by planning and development intervention by authorities. This is confirmed by the third finding from the content analysis that the supply side (i.e. planning intervention) has not been effective in catering the demand side (i.e. needs of the civil societies). Conventional planning intervention of land use control was found to be the only measure pertaining to disaster preparedness in the local level development planning. Integrating disaster resilient strategies in local plans and improving understanding for all urban stakeholders in Shah Alam seems logical policy implication of these findings. The study justifies the need of mainstreaming disaster resilience strategies in local development planning as a response to the contemporary challenges of creating safer and resilient cities. The study also make a knowledge contribution to the fields of urban planning and disaster preparedness by bridging the gap between the rational planning process commonly practices by the professional planners and the community based disaster management process practiced by other development practitioners. Key words: Adaptation to climate change, Flood hazard, Attributes of resilience, Local development plan, Mainstreaming, Shah Alam city |
| Year | 2012 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Perera, Ranjith |
| Examination Committee(s) | Vilas Nitivattananon ;Samarakoon, Lal ;Shaw, Rajib |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Public Service Department of Malaysia |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph. D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012 |