Chapter 2. The case-studies

2.1 Description of the case-studies
2.2 Problems and solutions identified by the case-studies

2.1 Description of the case-studies

Six Asian municipalities were included in the study as case-studies (figure 2.1). These included the Municipal Government of Bandung in Indonesia, Dhaka City Corporation in Bangladesh, the People's Committee of Hué City in Viet Nam, Municipal Council of Kandy in Sri Lanka, Municipality of Makati in the Philippines and Municipal Council of Penang Island (Pulau Pinang) in Malaysia.

Figure 2.1. Location of the six case-studies

Bandung is the capital of West Java, located 175 kilometres south-east of Jakarta and it is Indonesia's third largest city with a population of about 2.1 million people in 1990 (table 2.1). It is located on the northern edge of a high plateau and the climate is mild and pleasant. Bandung is a centre for textile manufacturing as well as quinine, rubber goods and machinery. The municipality had a notably large built-up area compared with the other case-studies (figure 2.2).

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh with a metropolitan population of about 6.5 million people in 1991. It is one of the world's fastest growing cities and the population of Dhaka city corporation is expected to almost quadruple from 3.6 million in 1991 to 13.5 million in 2010. The city has a complex administrative structure with a number of different local and metropolitan authorities with responsibilities sometimes located at more than one authority. The city is located on a level plain bounded by the Meghna, Padma (Ganges), and Jamuna (Brahmaputra) rivers in the south-central part of the country. The plain itself is criss-crossed by several rivers and streams, and is seasonally partly flooded. Dhaka is the main industrial and commercial centre of Bangladesh. It was the second biggest case-study in terms of land area but had the highest population density. It was also the municipality with lowest per capita household income.

Hué is located in the central part of Viet Nam where the width of the narrow country is at its smallest. It is located on a plain at the foothills of the Annamitique Chain and traversed by the Huong River. Hué's population was estimated at 260,000 people in 1991. Hué has a long history of being a cultural, religious and educational centre, and, therefore, tourism is a growing industry.

Kandy is situated in central Sri Lanka about 116 kilometres north-east of Colombo on the Kandy Plateau (elevation about 500 metres). It is located on the Mahaweli River and about one third of the municipal area was a forest sanctuary. The population of about 130,000 people in 1990 made Kandy the smallest of the case-studies. Kandy is the commercial centre of the surrounding densely populated agricultural area. It produces most of Sri Lanka's internationally renowned tea as well as rice and other crops.

Table 2.1. Basic data for the case-studies

	Bandung	Dhaka1	Hué2	Kandy	Makati3	Penang
Metropolitan population	-	6,537,308	-	-	7,907,386	-
Municipal population	2,056,913	3,637,892	260,127	130,000	452,734	518,419
Annual population increase, 1970-1990 (percentage)	3.23	6.681	-	-	1.963	0.93
Annual projected population increase, 1990-2010 (percentage)	2.68	9.541	-	2.55	1.983	-
Land area (km2)	167.29	227.81	67.90	30.04	29.86	292,64
Built-up area (km2)	100.40	25.43	- 2	8.00	(19.00)6	-
Household income (US dollars)	5104	1245	-	-	2257	-

Sources: Bandung: Local Development Planning Board (1990); Dhaka: Various census reports of the Government of Bangladesh (Bureau of Statistics); Hué: National Institute for Urban and Rural Planning (see sources, 1991); No data available from municipality; Kandy: Source missing (1994); Makati: NCSO (Year missing); Penang: Development Planning Unit, Penang Municipality (1990).

¹ Data for Dhaka refers to 1991. Data on population increase for Dhaka refers to 1974-1991 and 1991-2010.
² Data for 1991. The data book prepared by the National Institute for Urban and Rural Planning also have figures on "inner    area" as follows: Population (210,564), Size (25.5 square kilometres).
³ Data on annual population increase for Makati refers to 1980-1990 and 1990-2000.
⁴ Exchange rate for Indonesia based on operational rates for United Nations programmes (3 October 1994), 1 US dollar=2,144 rupiahs.
⁵ Exchange rate: 1 US dollars=39.09 taka.
⁶ Estimate.
⁷ Exchange rate: 1 US dollar=26.00 pesos.

Makati, which is one of twelve municipalities and five cities in Metropolitan Manila, has a population of about 453,000 people. Metro Manila is situated between the Manila Bay on the west and Laguna de Bay and the Sierra Madre Mountains on the east. Makati, which is nine kilometres from the international airport, is bounded by the Pasig River to the north and the east. It is recognized as the commercial and financial centre of the Philippines. Being located in the middle of Metro Manila, Makati had a high population density and the highest percentage built-up area in relation to total land area (about 65 per cent).

Penang Island is located next to Malaysia's West coast and is part of the State of Pulau Pinang. The main city on the island, Georgetown, is located on a triangular plain on the island's East coast. The central part of the island consist of a mountain range. Penang's population was about 518,000 people in 1990 and it was the slowest growing of the case-studies. The strait between Georgetown and the mainland is a main shipping route of Malaysia. Penang has both an active commercial and industrial sector. Whereas the other case-studies consist of one predominant ethnic group, in Penang there are ethnic Chinese, Indian and Malay. Penang was also the largest of the case-studies.

2.2 Problems and solutions identified by the case-studies

The case-studies were requested to list their major land management problems and propose solutions. Many municipalities considered that unregulated land use was a serious problem. Furthermore, an often indicated problem was the lack of coordination between different national, regional and municipal government bodies and overlapping responsibilities.

Bandung indicated that unregulated and unmonitored land use was the major problem with emerging negative impacts on the environment.

Dhaka City Corporation stated that there was a need for a stronger coordination of various government agencies in order to improve the urban development situation. A large number of national government ministries, directorates and agencies as well as municipal and other government agencies and the private sector were involved in the development of Dhaka. Their responsibilities were often not clearly defined and sometimes they overlapped. Most activities related to land management (such as town planning) were regulated and implemented by national government agencies and Dhaka City Corporation felt that its, presently limited, influence over the development within its borders should be increased.

In Hué, encroachment on public land was considered a major land management problem. It had caused water to be polluted within the inner walls and damaged cultural and historical buildings. The municipality intended to mitigate the problem by improving land-use information through the production of up-to-date maps using national co-ordinates as well as by consolidating Land Management Offices in order to implement national land-use systems in local areas.

In Makati, the scarcity of inexpensive land for low-income housing was considered a major problem and the municipality, therefore, intended to ease the problem by implementing several tenement housing projects. Furthermore, the municipalities and cities in Metropolitan Manila needed some form of coordination. As the zoning ordinance for the capital region had not been revised since its adoption in 1981, several changes in land use had adversely affected neighbouring cities and municipalities causing traffic congestion, for example. The Metro Manila Mayors' Council had formed a committee on land use and zoning to integrate proposed changes to the zoning ordinance which was expected to be more responsive after being revised.

Penang mentioned several key issues which caused land management problems: (1) The city was old and land policies practised previously were often difficult to replace or modify; (2) Conflicts between redevelopment and conservation; (3) Conflicts between modern technology and cultural heritage and traditions; (4) Frequently changing demands for residential developments; and (5) High expectations of the citizenry for an improved quality of life, such as better infrastructure and security, as well as improved recreational facilities. Furthermore, land management could be improved by (a) having a joint master plan of the national, regional and municipal governments; (b) planning and managing land with clear directives and commitment; (c) maintaining and compiling statistics to ensure that objectives were achieved; and (d) realizing that land is scarce and that there is a need for a balanced development.

Figure 2.2. Graphical comparison of some key data

Go to Chapter 3: Responsibilities and roles of government