[COLUMNIST] MY Bamboo Project: Sustainability of community farms in suburban neighborhoods

MORE than half of us live in cities. By 2050, two-thirds of all humanity, approximately 6.5 billion people, will be urban. Sustainable development cannot be achieved without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces.

The rapid growth of cities - a result of rising populations and increasing migration - has led to a boom in mega-cities, especially in the developing world, and slums are becoming a more significant feature of urban life.

Making cities sustainable means creating career and business opportunities, safe and affordable housing, and building resilient societies and economies. It involves investment in public transport, creating green public spaces, and improving urban planning and management in participatory and inclusive ways.

Armed with this idea which is also supported by the Sustainable Development Goals [UN Sustainable Design Goals (SDG)] to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable; is what Project: Urban Placemaking/Neighborhood Project (Hub: socially inclusive and accessible urban spaces) is all about.

The Urban Placemaking project advocates for socially inclusive and accessible urban spaces - making the urban place a campus. The project targets neighborhoods and places in need of improvement and works with them to create or re-create “places”. Placemaking is an idea, hands-on and collaborative approach for improving places through reimagining public spaces. It facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.

With community-based participation at its center, an effective placemaking process capitalizes on a local community's assets, inspiration, and potential, and it results in the creation of quality public spaces that contribute to people's health, happiness, and wellbeing. It helps them to re-imagine everyday spaces, and to see anew the potential of parks, downtowns, waterfronts, plazas, neighborhoods, streets, markets, campuses, and public buildings.

The Liveable Urban Communities Impact Lab or also known as the LUC-Lab (luck-lab) is a transdisciplinary ecosystem with the mission to improve the lives of urban communities and to be an Agent of Change! It aims to develop the capacity of students to be the future change-agents, by linking education, research, and advocacy. Within the Impact Lab, project MY Bamboo was conceived and executed. Led by Ar. Chang Yan Yee, Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture, Building & Design, Taylor’s University, an academic team of 6 and 100 students worked together with experts and partners to create five bamboo structures from conception to inception.

MY Bamboo Project

But why bamboo? Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world, taking up incredible amounts of carbon from the air as it matures. MY Bamboo advocates for the use of bamboo - a sustainable material - to activate urban public spaces, with the aim to develop the mindset of students as a place-maker and change-maker. The public structures provide an anchor to create places for the public in squares, parks, schools, children's spaces and so on.

The main purpose of MY Bamboo Project is for communities to build a strong sense of belonging and community spirit, and to improve neighbors’ wellbeing. The project that was undertaken was to activate the use of a community farm - Kebun Komuniti USJ 2 (KKUSJ2) - as a public realm. The farms were not used as green space as there were no seating areas.

Collaborated with bamboo experts - SEAD Build, and Iramo Bamboo Resources - on the design and construction of the bamboo structures for the KKUSJ2 proved to be fruitful. The university grounds were used as a living lab for exploration of ideas and construction of the structures in a span of five weeks while the students and lecturers worked towards their goals.

“Prior to this, students produced bamboo structures as part of their assessments without real-life users. As we are moving towards impact-driven learning, the university is taking on the role of a living lab for creative productions, and their works are taken outside of the university to make a positive impact on the community,” explained Associate Professor Dr. Veronica Ng, Director, Liveable Urban Communities Impact Lab.

According to Ar. Chang, “When I first met Katherina Wong, the liaison for KKUSJ2, all she asked for was seats for her members to use for resting. As architects however, we wanted to do more - we wanted to give them delightful spaces that could impact their days at the kebun. The main theme of the five structures was envisioned based on the conditions and activities that took place at KKUSJ2. To See was born from the ritual of watching the sunsets on the hilltop. To Rest was devised from the practical need of a place to rest in-between physical gardening. To snooze was designed as a respite for the mind, to introduce a pause between frantic mental attention. To safekeep was formulated based on the observation that tools were hung on one of the trees due to lack of storage space. And To Celebrate was conceived based on the wishes of the members of KKUSJ2, to give them a place where they can host gatherings and celebrations.

Subang Jaya City Council started their Kebun Komuniti programs in 2013 with only a few locations but after more than five years, there are now more than 70 Kebun Komuniti’s there.

Ar. Kamarul Hisham Bin Hj. Yeop Hashim, highlighted that, “bamboo is a highly sustainable material and has enormous positive benefits for the environment. Bamboo absorbs twice more carbon dioxide than trees, which is why they are known to act as carbon sinks. It also generates a vast amount of oxygen, totaling to 30% more than most plants and trees. As such this project really encompasses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that Subang Jaya City Council has been proudly embracing for the last five years. Being an architect myself, I am in awe with the achievement of the students on this My Bamboo project and looking forward to more projects and collaboration between Taylor's University and the Subang Jaya community.”

Creating green urban places, creating happiness

The finished structures were handed over with a launching event to the Kebun Komuniti in October 2022, attended by MP Subang Jaya YB Wong Chen, Subang Jaya Assemblywoman YB Michelle Ng Mei Sze, MPP4 MBSJ - Ar Kamarul Hisham Hj Yeop Hashim, and Head of Landscape Azlina Binti Mat Salim. A guided tour was curated by Ar. Chang, accompanied by Professor Dr David Asirvatham, Executive Dean, Faculty of Innovation and Technology, Associate Professor Dr Veronica Ng and several lecturers from the university.

The Handover Event

In the handover ceremony, Y.B. Michelle Ng said, “I’m very impressed by how the students are putting architectural elements into real life which are bringing great impact to the community with the main goal to develop urban green spaces.”

According to Katherina Wong, the representative of KKUSJ2, “there have been more residents and visitors coming up to our Hilltop Community Garden enjoying themselves by relaxing, resting, and napping using these eco-friendly structures. It is great that children and parents love them too. Parents spent time there watching their children doing homework, drawing, studying, and connecting with nature, bird watching and enjoying the sunset.”

Ar. Chang commented, “Someone once remarked to me that architecture is a happy profession. When I asked why, I was told that, people go to doctors when they are sick, but people seek architects when they want to build their homes, so in fact, an architect is building happiness.” Seeing our bamboo structures so well-received by the members of KKUSJ2 does make us feel that we are indeed building happiness.”

And that is what we will continue to do.

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Dr Lina Latif is an Associate Professor and Dr Roslina Abdul Latif is the Co-Editor of SEARCH Journal of Media and communication Research, School of Media and Communication, Taylor’s University Lakeside Campus.

** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.