Transport and Housing Security in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

• Published in: Singapore journal of tropical geography Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. 268 - 287
• Main Author: Barter, Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK and Boston, USA Blackwell Publishers Ltd 01.11.2002
• Subjects: eviction; housing security; Malaysia; relocation; urban poor; urban transport
• ISSN: 0129-7619; 1467-9493
• DOI: 10.1111/1467-9493.00131

This paper explores links between transport and housing security issues for the urban poor using the example of the Klang Valley in Malaysia. The interface between these issues is identified as a gap in the literature, including policy debates, on both housing and transport. A number of linkages are shown to be important and likely to be relevant in many cities of the South, especially those with rapid motorisation and large numbers of “squatters”. A simple framework for understanding these linkages is presented. Key examples include displacement to make way for transport infrastructure and the impact on transport problems for the poor of policies affecting the location of urban poor housing, including relocation sites and transit accommodation. The case study of the Klang Valley is used to illustrate and test the relevance of a focus on this issue and the utility of the conceptual framework. Some policy implications of the investigation and case study are suggested.