FEATURE
T.O.D TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT: ON THE RIGHT TRACK
To Rudyanto it means a more forward Malaysia, where we are able to balance our family, economy, work and play. It also means getting to know your neighbours better, reigniting the sense of community we once had as Malaysians BY: NATASHA GIDEON
T
ransit oriented development, or TOD, is a type of community development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and other amenities integrated into a walkable neighborhood, located within a half-mile of quality public transportation. Booming into a community less dependable on driving, TOD promises to address many social issues and maximize public transport. To quote Gustavo Petro, the Mayor of Bogota, Columbia, “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It’s where the rich use public transportation.” There already are TOD’s in Asia that have benefitted the community. For example, compared to other developed economies, 90% of all trips in Hong Kong are made by public transport thanks to a nationbuilt on the TOD theory. We spoke to Rudyanto Azhar, Group Director of Special Projects, President and Group CEO’s Office for Prasarana. A group that inspires to create a lifestyle of new living conditions where people do not just stay in houses but live happily in their homes. The social aspect of living, culturally should be rich socially and they would have to look into the social, spiritual side of things. We aspire to have hospitals and vertical sub-schools or a mosque within one of our TOD’s to relieve roads of
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DECEMBER 2015 www.propertyinsight.com.my