Urban development experiences of countries
around the world in the past few decades had made modern-day planners well
aware of the importance of linking physical development with other aspects of
equal importance which are, economic, socio-cultural and environmental
development. The realization of such significant linkages brought about the
birth of new concepts in planning such as the integrated area management
(Better Cities program ) and the paradigm of
sustainable development (Khan, 1995). Built-in to these two concepts is
the basic idea that a good balance of objectives for physical, economic,
socio-cultural and environmental development should carry the economy and
society across turbulent times.
The basic MFP concept is geared towards the development of an urban
area (considering a population ranging from 50,000 to 100,000) which would
provide a springboard for science, technology and advanced technology
enterprise (Yencken, 1989). The emphasis
on high-tech and high touch industries
would bring the development up-to-date with the information and communications technologies
and likewise with economic trends such as globalization of economies,
privatization and deregulation. The jobs created would help
alleviate the unemployment statistics.
The MFP is aimed to
be a model community. It is to be a city of new character (Yencken, 1989), a
place where social opportunities can be maximized and social curtailment can be
minimized if not totally avoided. In the process of developing MFP, it is
intended that social issues in existing urban and developing countries and
special problems of communities that have developed around advanced technology
enterprise zones will be well considered.
As regards the environment, the
MFP also is aimed to be an environmental model for the future. In the MFP
Concept Paper (cited by Yencken, 1989)
it was posed that the development “should demonstrate how a site can be
sensibly chosen, and a community planned
and built in harmony with its natural surroundings in accordance with a basic
ecological policy; how pollution problems can be eliminated or minimized, and
how citizens can be taught a strong environmental ethic”.
The magnet of a model MFP is IT. It is clear that the magnet should be developed first and
therefore, the government has to pump-prime the whole MFP machine by investing
money on physically building a place where businesses can commence
operations with all the necessary
facilities available, e.g. offices, houses,
shopping, recreational
facilities, research facilities, water supply, electricity and communications.
Together with the physical infrastructure, the soft infrastructure should
likewise be there such as, linkage with the universities, linkage with
concerned government institutions and units, linkage with transport operators
e.g. the airport management. To reiterate, all these necessary infrastructure
should be put in place simultaneously in a very incremental but systematic
manner. When investments start to trickle in, then a snowball effect can be
expected while incremental developments are continually being pursued. There is
no point in making available the housing accommodations if the primary reason
for businesses to come over, which is the opportunity to conduct IT-related
enterprise, is not there. Similarly, there is no point in investing too much on
environmental projects now if investments from businesses do not flow in
because that would mean that these environmental projects will not be sustained without the money
pouring in. MFP Administrators should realise that MFP is no less an economic undertaking. It is to be an enterprise zone. Businesses
would come in to MFP with the end-in-view of
conducting business in a very economic standpoint. They will not come in
with the end goal of appreciating environmental achievements only.
Complementary to strengthening
the magnet is widening its sphere of attraction. Development of transport links
to make MFP accessible nationally and internationally is a way to do so. In
this regard, again, the airport extension and upgrade project should be claimed
and be advertised overseas as a part of a larger program for MFP. The
development of transport links is very crucial.
In the context of urban design,
MFP should be flexible and robust. Since technology can change rapidly,
technological devices for buildings and houses
should be add-on and not built in to the structures. In designing work
places for buildings, it should be kept in mind
that change in technology result
in change in operations and consequently, changes in needs for spaces and
facilities within the building.
The MFP should be aimed to be a
strong regional centre. Employees and workers in the MFP will be encouraged to
live close to work only if all of the services and facilities that they need to
access in their day to day living is available in a spitting distance. It should
not be thought that MFP will draw
people and activities e.g.
retailing away from the CBD and therefore contribute to the doughnut effect. The MFP, in terms of activities, will not
compete but rather would complement the activities offered by the CBD. Its
high-tech magnet could work in tandem with arts and cultural activities and would add to the overall attractiveness as a rich and
versatile destination.
The MFP has indeed all the
makings of a model, next generation urban settlement. MFP planners just have to bear in mind that although the traditional locational forces are now
rendered irrelevant (Hall, 1991) and communications technologies had shrunk
physical distances, other centripetal
forces are still at work. The magnet of Silicon Valley in the US and
TechnoParks in Japan are still working. Thus there is no acceptable reason for an MFP’s magnet to fail. It’s a
matter of drawing up the right implementation plan and time table to make the ball start rolling to a sustainable
future.
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