Has the Peak of Urban Car Culture been Reached?
The author's new apartment in the outskirts of Bukit Bintang is a noisy one. With the open balcony directly facing the train tracks of Kuala Lumpur's Light Rail line, the sounds of each train passing through (at about one train every three minutes during the peak hours) are loud enough to wake a light sleeper in the middle of the night. Along with almost intimate proximity to the constant concert venue that is Stadium Negara, it kind of explains why the place seem to be cheapest one in this pricey neighborhood. Not that the author really cares, considering the romanticism he constantly associate with running of the trains.
And, to be perfectly honest, being a train lover in the middle of Kuala Lumpur is not an easy task. The city is a land of highways, cheap domestically produced cars (thanks for state-owned producers Proton and Perodua), and even cheaper state-subsidized fuel. For its level of income and population density, urban transport in KL remains highly underdeveloped, with one two full-fledged light rail lines running through the city. The car rules here. Anyone who can afford one has one, and the constant rush hour traffic is testament to just how necessary people believe cars are.
Of course, as far as car culture is concerned, nowhere is it more obvious than in the American West Coast, where whole cities were designed to be car-centric. While for the author, the very concept of needing a car for daily necessities often seem greatly inconvenient, it seems that many parts of the developing world is still very much buying into the idea that having and using a car on a daily basis is a symbol of life-style change for the better, a belief that one has "made it" beyond certain state of economic deficiency. The portrayal in popular Hollywood movies of cool guys and girls in cooler cars help to cement such an image.
But things are quietly changing. Just beyond the existing light rail lines in the back of this apartment building is a massive construction site for a new mass transit rail line cutting through the east-west axis of the greater KL urban area. By 2016, it plans to link some rather high-end neighborhoods and malls together, reaching densely populated areas that were previously only accessible by the private car or overpriced special taxi services. What's more, people here seem to be genuinely excited about the prospect of having this new line. They speak of reduced commuting times, of rising housing prices, and of new urban possibilities.
It does puzzle the author how quickly such mentality can come to be. Think about it: the very idea of limiting public transport is to cater creation of exclusive neighborhoods. Because some far-flung residential neighborhoods are not reachable by anything beside cars, they become home to only people who are rich enough to afford one. While that is not saying much in a country where private means of transport are relatively affordable, it does become an invisible barrier to keep out some of the truly shady characters that unfortunately inhabit the most trafficked parts of the city like Bukit Bintang.
Yet now the very residents of these "exclusive neighborhoods" are seemingly embracing the arrival of the new rail lines with open arms, expecting to, counter-intuitively, see a rise of real estate values in their neighborhoods, despite potential influx of the kinds of people that are not part of their own socio-economic circles. And it is difficult to see how either the new rail line to avoid these more exclusive neighborhoods as these are the sources of economic power and larger possible user base that will make the whole project economically viable and sustainable in the long run.
Having lived in the major cities of East Asia where urban rail transport is a fact of everyday life, the author sees frequent rail services not as a nuisance but a necessary complement to a convenience-centered urban environment. Perhaps, after years of focusing on Mega-mall and highway development, the Malaysian government are finally coming to the same view. If the massive increase in the density of 24-hour convenience stores since the last time the author set foot in the city is any indication, the Malaysian people should be supportive of the government initiative to encourage urban rail usage.
Of course, urban transformation does not simply happen overnight. Los Angeles' effort to build up a subway system is met with both low coverage and low usage, given the spread-out, suburban nature of the car-designed city. KL is facing similar situations even as construction site associated with the rail line pop up all over its most densely populated parts. But the residents' mentality can be a harbinger of things to come. If, prior to the inauguration of the new line, people can imagine a high standard of living without the ownership of a private family car, then the author is willing to bet that, in the not-so-distant future, the sweet sound of the train passing through will not just be limited to few places like the back of his apartment building.
And, to be perfectly honest, being a train lover in the middle of Kuala Lumpur is not an easy task. The city is a land of highways, cheap domestically produced cars (thanks for state-owned producers Proton and Perodua), and even cheaper state-subsidized fuel. For its level of income and population density, urban transport in KL remains highly underdeveloped, with one two full-fledged light rail lines running through the city. The car rules here. Anyone who can afford one has one, and the constant rush hour traffic is testament to just how necessary people believe cars are.
Of course, as far as car culture is concerned, nowhere is it more obvious than in the American West Coast, where whole cities were designed to be car-centric. While for the author, the very concept of needing a car for daily necessities often seem greatly inconvenient, it seems that many parts of the developing world is still very much buying into the idea that having and using a car on a daily basis is a symbol of life-style change for the better, a belief that one has "made it" beyond certain state of economic deficiency. The portrayal in popular Hollywood movies of cool guys and girls in cooler cars help to cement such an image.
But things are quietly changing. Just beyond the existing light rail lines in the back of this apartment building is a massive construction site for a new mass transit rail line cutting through the east-west axis of the greater KL urban area. By 2016, it plans to link some rather high-end neighborhoods and malls together, reaching densely populated areas that were previously only accessible by the private car or overpriced special taxi services. What's more, people here seem to be genuinely excited about the prospect of having this new line. They speak of reduced commuting times, of rising housing prices, and of new urban possibilities.
It does puzzle the author how quickly such mentality can come to be. Think about it: the very idea of limiting public transport is to cater creation of exclusive neighborhoods. Because some far-flung residential neighborhoods are not reachable by anything beside cars, they become home to only people who are rich enough to afford one. While that is not saying much in a country where private means of transport are relatively affordable, it does become an invisible barrier to keep out some of the truly shady characters that unfortunately inhabit the most trafficked parts of the city like Bukit Bintang.
Yet now the very residents of these "exclusive neighborhoods" are seemingly embracing the arrival of the new rail lines with open arms, expecting to, counter-intuitively, see a rise of real estate values in their neighborhoods, despite potential influx of the kinds of people that are not part of their own socio-economic circles. And it is difficult to see how either the new rail line to avoid these more exclusive neighborhoods as these are the sources of economic power and larger possible user base that will make the whole project economically viable and sustainable in the long run.
Having lived in the major cities of East Asia where urban rail transport is a fact of everyday life, the author sees frequent rail services not as a nuisance but a necessary complement to a convenience-centered urban environment. Perhaps, after years of focusing on Mega-mall and highway development, the Malaysian government are finally coming to the same view. If the massive increase in the density of 24-hour convenience stores since the last time the author set foot in the city is any indication, the Malaysian people should be supportive of the government initiative to encourage urban rail usage.
Of course, urban transformation does not simply happen overnight. Los Angeles' effort to build up a subway system is met with both low coverage and low usage, given the spread-out, suburban nature of the car-designed city. KL is facing similar situations even as construction site associated with the rail line pop up all over its most densely populated parts. But the residents' mentality can be a harbinger of things to come. If, prior to the inauguration of the new line, people can imagine a high standard of living without the ownership of a private family car, then the author is willing to bet that, in the not-so-distant future, the sweet sound of the train passing through will not just be limited to few places like the back of his apartment building.
Comments
Post a Comment