11.4.7 : Local authority collaboration regarding planning and development
iNUPC 2024: Bridging Academia and Industry for Sustainable Urban Planning Innovations
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) actively works with local authorities to address planning issues and development, formalizing collaborative efforts with key government bodies to advance innovative and inclusive urban sustainability, which inherently includes the challenge of affordable housing access.
- Formalized Government Partnership: The 1st International Urban Planning Conference (iNUPC 2024), organized by UTM's Urban and Regional Planning students, was significantly co-organized with the Town and Country Planning Department (PLANMalaysia) and featured strong participation from the Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP). This high-level, formal collaboration directly links academic expertise with the nation’s chief statutory planning agency, ensuring UTM's research and discourse are immediately relevant to real-world development challenges.
- Addressing Planning Issues Through Keynote Discourse: The involvement of the Director General of PLANMalaysia, YBhg. Adjunct Professor Datuk TPr Dr. Alias bin Rameli, who delivered the inaugural and keynote speeches, indicates the seriousness of this collaboration. His speech, "Empowering Futures: Collaboration and Partnership for Inclusive and Innovative Sustainable Development," provided a comprehensive discussion on current urban planning issues, serving as a mandate to bridge the academic-practice divide on critical development matters.
- Focus on Inclusive and Resilient Development: The main conference theme, "Advancing Inclusion and Innovation for Sustainable Development Planning," is directly relevant to the affordable housing mandate. Inclusive development, by definition, requires addressing the needs of all community members, including equitable access to shelter. The conference served as a platform for experts and practitioners from government agencies and industry to present innovative approaches and best practices for creating inclusive and resilient urban development.
- Facilitating Knowledge Exchange: The event's High-Level Panel Discussion included the Director of Corporate Office PLANMalaysia, providing a forum for dialogue on strengthening planning fundamentals between education and practice. This ongoing intellectual exchange confirms UTM's role as a vital partner for government agencies in formulating strategic responses to complex planning challenges like infrastructure, transportation, and ensuring local residents can access affordable, sustainable living conditions.
Source :
https://news.utm.my/2024/07/1st-international-urban-planning-conference-inupc/
UTM Academic Shares Insights at Hanoi Seminar on Sustainable Construction Methods
UTM’s recent participation in the international seminar in Hanoi on advanced construction methods for sustainable development serves as a catalyst for strengthening collaboration with local planning and development authorities, particularly in the context of affordable housing for local communities. By equipping its staff with cutting-edge knowledge in modern construction techniques, UTM positions itself as a partner in translating global best practices into local policy and built-environment interventions. Such engagement reinforces UTM’s role not only as an academic institution but as a strategic collaborator with municipal and regional authorities tasked with housing and infrastructure development. In this way, UTM helps bridge the gap between research innovation and practical urban planning – enabling authorities to deploy advanced, cost-effective construction methods that can reduce housing costs, expedite delivery, and enhance the quality of homes for local residents. Through its academic-practice nexus, UTM supports local authorities in shaping development frameworks that prioritise accessibility, inclusivity and affordability, thus advancing the methodology’s requirement to work with local authorities on planning and ensuring access to affordable housing. This initiative underscores UTM’s capacity to mobilise institutional knowledge and resources in partnership with external stakeholders, fostering a built environment where local residents benefit from collaboratively planned and sustainably executed development-projects. Ultimately, by aligning academic research with public-sector housing challenges, UTM strengthens local authority planning efforts and advances the goal of inclusive, affordable housing for the community.
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