Think City to Green Downtown KL

If you own a building within a 1-kilometre-radius of Masjid Jamek, Kuala Lumpur, here may be your chance to give your property a ‘roof-lift’ for free.

Urban regeneration organisation Think City has embarked on its Green Transformation Programme—a pilot project to promote the creation of rooftop and vertical gardens in downtown Kuala Lumpur—to improve the urban landscape and contribute to the larger urban regeneration agenda.

“Rooftop gardens are not a new phenomenon and can be seen in many cities across the world from Tokyo to Montreal. In Southeast Asia, we haven’t quite caught on, so there is a lot of potential for growth in this area,” said Think City programme manager Duncan Cave. “Aside from the obvious cityscape benefits, the environmental and quality of life impact these gardens have on cities has been well-documented.”

The pilot programme intends to provide funding and facilitate the transformation of potential walls and rooftops. This is open to all building owners who wish to to reactivate dead spaces with Green initiatives that will soften the urban landscape and increase public exposure to greenery.

Interested building owners can apply for the rooftop and vertical garden grant by submitting details on their building to Think City before 2 July 2017. Think City and a panel of experts will work together with owners to identify, assess, formulate and implement a suitable solution for the site. Preferences will be given to publicly accessible spaces and buildings with sufficient site documentation, suitable access to the rooftop and a potential catalytic impact on the community.

The outcome of this pilot project will determine the expansion of this programme to other cities in which Think City operates.

Think City is a community-focused urban rejuvenation outfit that seeks to create more liveable and sustainable cities in Malaysia. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd and funded by Yayasan Hasanah. The organisation was established in 2009 to rejuvenate the UNESCO heritage core of George Town, Penang. Since then, Think City has expanded to Butterworth, KL and Johor Bahru. Think City works to provide innovative urban solutions and drive urban regeneration in Malaysian cities, anchored by community participation. — Construction+ Online