• International Journal of Technology (IJTech)
  • Vol 2, No 1 (2011)

Sustainable Housing Practices in Malaysian Housing Development: Towards Establishing Sustainability Index

Sustainable Housing Practices in Malaysian Housing Development: Towards Establishing Sustainability Index

Title: Sustainable Housing Practices in Malaysian Housing Development: Towards Establishing Sustainability Index
Abu Hassan Abu Bakar, Khor Soo Cheen, Rahmawaty

Corresponding email:


Published at : 17 Jan 2014
Volume : IJtech Vol 2, No 1 (2011)
DOI : https://doi.org/10.14716/ijtech.v2i1.49

Cite this article as:
Bakar, A.H.A., Cheen, K.S., Rahmawaty, 2011. Sustainable Housing Practices in Malaysian Housing Development: Towards Establishing Sustainability Index. International Journal of Technology. Volume 2(1), pp. 84-93

3,088
Downloads
Abu Hassan Abu Bakar School of Housing, Building and Planning Universiti Sains Malaysia(USM) 11800 Pulau Pinang
Khor Soo Cheen School of Housing, Building and Planning Universiti Sains Malaysia(USM) 11800 Pulau Pinang
Rahmawaty School of Housing, Building and Planning Universiti Sains Malaysia(USM) 11800 Pulau Pinang
Email to Corresponding Author

Abstract
Sustainable Housing Practices in Malaysian Housing Development: Towards Establishing Sustainability Index

This paper presents a study of sustainable rating systems for sustainable housing that have been developed by various countries around the world. The objective of this study is to develop a framework for a rating system for housing development by taking into account local requirements. There are numerous sustainable rating systems for buildings and groups of buildings that have been developed and rating tools like Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), British Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), Green Building (GB) Tool and Green Star influential in the development of other rating systems. Malaysia has recently launched a rating system for buildings called the Green Building Index (GBI). However, Malaysia has yet to introduce a rating system for measuring sustainable practices in housing development. Hence, this paper reviews some available tools related to the rating of housing developments for the purpose of developing one for Malaysia. Important factors for developing a tool for measuring sustainability practices should include sustainability criteria that relates to the environment, society, economics, site/land use, communication, and transportation. An index for measuring sustainability in housing development will be developed to suit the local context. The formulated index will take into consideration the parameters in sustainable housing developed by various systems around the world. The index, called A Comprehensive Assessment System for Sustainable Housing (CASSH), will be available for further testing.

Sustainable housing development, Urban development, Building (housing), Sustainability index, Malaysia

Introduction

A Sustainable Housing Forum Report, 2003. Building Sustainability: How to Plan and Construct New Housing for the 21st Century, October 2003. Publication by WWF-UK and Town & Country Planning Association (TCPA). Available at:
[January 2010].
Bell, S. & Morse, S., 1999. Sustainability Indicators, London: Earthscan Publications Ltd. Berke, P. R. & Conroy, M. M., 2000. Are We Planning for Sustainable Development, Journal of the American Planning Association, Winter, Vol. 66, No.1, pp.21-33.
CASBEE for Urban Area+Building, 2007. JSBC (Japan Sustainable Building Consortium), Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation (IBEC), Tokyo. Available at: [3 March 2009
CASBEE for Building (Detached House), 2007. JSBC, IBEC, Tokyo. Available at: [3 March 2009]
Chan, E.H.W. & Lee, G.K.L., 2007. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Approach for Assessment of Urban Renewal Proposals, Journal of Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007, Vol. 89:155–168
Chan, E.H.W. & Lee, G.K.L., 2008. A Sustainability Evaluation of Government-led Urban Renewal Projects, Journal of Facilities, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Vol. 26 No. 13/14, pp. 526-541.
Chougill, C.L., 1994. Sustainable Housing Programme in a World of Adjustment, Habitat International, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp 1-11.
DDC Method, prepared for NYC Department of Design & Construction Office of Sustainable Design by Gruzen Samton Architects LLP with Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects P, published on June 2008. Available at: [June 2009]
Edwards, B., & Turrent, D., 2000. Sustainable Housing: Principles and Practice, London: E&FN Spon. FGBC, Green Development Design Standard Version 6 Reference Guide, published on January 2009. Available at: [June 2009]
Forman, E. H. & Selly, M. A., 2002. Decision by Objectives, World Scientific Publishing Company.
Gibberd J., 2005. Assessing Sustainable Buildings in Developing Countries – The Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) and The Ssustainable Building Lifecycle (SBL). In: Proceedings of the World Sustainable Building Conference. Tokyo: 2005. p. 1605–12.
Gray, N.F & Carton-Kenney, M., 2004. A Rural Housing Sustainability Index: Background to Development, Proceedings of the institution of Civil Engineers, Municipal Engineer 157 issue ME4.
Green Building Index (GBI), Malaysia System Developed by Pertumbuhan Arkitek Malaysia (PAM) and the Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM). Available at [6 May 2009]
Herbert, Y., 2009. Towards Green Buildings: Calgary, Sustainable Community Development, Royal Roads University. Available at: [May 2009].
Hikmat H. Ali, Saba F. Al Nsairat, 2009. Developing a green building assessment tool for developing countries – Case of Jordan. Journal of Building and Environment, Elsevier Ltd., Vol. 44. p. 1053–1064
Huby, M., 1998. Social Policy and the Environment, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Islam, N., 1996. Sustainability Issues in Urban Housing in a Low Income Country: Bangladesh, Habitat International, Elsevier, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 377-388.
Joseph S.L. Yip, 2000. New Directions of Environmental Management in Construction: Accepted Levels of Pollution, Structural Survey, Vol. 18 Iss: 2, pp.89-98.
Kibert, C. J., 2005. Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
LEED (n.d.), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development Rating System, US Green Building Council. Available at: [15 May 2009]
Mohd Jasan, Ministry of Housing and Local Government Malaysia, given Forum Speech Title “Global and Local – The Malaysian Response to The Urban Challenge” on 6 July 2004. Available at: [16 September 2008].
Tosics, I., 2004. European Urban Development: Sustainability and the Role of Housing, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Vol.19, pp.67-90.
United Nations Environment Program-UNEP, 2007. Buildings and Climate Change: Status, Challenges and Opportunities. Available at: [March 20, 2007].