Car-centric planning in Malaysia is destroying urban trees, creating an addiction to cars and endangering cities
From Boo Jia Cher Every rainy season, the same thing happens. A tree falls onto a road. A branch crashes onto a parked car. Panic spreads online.
Local councils begin aggressively pruning or cutting roadside trees until entire streets are left with bare trunks. This is presented as public safety. But falling trees are not simply natural disasters. They are symptoms of a deeper problem: Malaysia’s addiction to cars and car-centric planning.
How car-centric planning is destroying urban trees For decades, our cities have been designed around highways, flyovers, parking lots and road widening. Trees are treated as obstacles to traffic flow instead of essential urban infrastructure. In the Klang Valley, it is often easier to cut down a tree than realign a road around existing trees. This mindset is destroying the very things that make cities liveable.
Mature trees that took decades to grow are regularly chopped down in road widening projects. Even when trees remain, they are squeezed into tiny concrete spaces surrounded by asphalt. Their roots become trapped beneath compacted soil, concrete, and carparks. Cars parked illegally beneath trees for shade make the problem worse by compressing the soil even further.
Weak roots make trees unstable during storms, which then becomes the justification for even more tree cutting — a vicious cycl
Environment Climate Change Car-Centric Urban Planning Trees As Urban Infrastructure Urban Forests And Shaded Streets Malaysian Cities Global Warming Worsening Floods Draining Systems And Maintenance Mud Floods In TTDI Clogged Drains And Trees Increasing Urgency For Liveability
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Stocks soar as hopes rise over war's endMay 6 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX said on Wednesday it has signed a deal to give Anthropic access to Colossus 1, a massive AI supercomputer, bringing together two of the most prominent players in the artificial intelligence race.
Read more »
Trump sees swift end to war as Iran reviews US peace proposalMay 6 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's SpaceX said on Wednesday it has signed a deal to give Anthropic access to Colossus 1, a massive AI supercomputer, bringing together two of the most prominent players in the artificial intelligence race.
Read more »
KLIA Aerotrain To Resume 24-Hour Operations By The End Of May, Says LokeAccording to Transport Minister Anthony Loke, the KLIA aerotrain service could resume 24-hour operations by the end of the month.
Read more »
Sultan stands by call for complete end to pig farming in SelangorSultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah says the call to end pig farming in the state was made after considering the ramifications, including pollution.
Read more »