A Review of the “Urban Village” Concept: An Operational Definition in Malaysia

Abstract

The urban village is an area occupied by the urban community that lives and resides in the urban environment as a group or in certain group which was formed or naturally due to urbanization. The formation of the urban village concept is based on two circumstances, which is due to the effects of urbanization and the result of the urban village formation concept brought about by the planning and strategy of re-developing the urban area. Hence, the urban village formation concept must take into consideration the basic characteristics of the urban village environment, which consist of its geography, background of the village, type of village, the position or status of the village, traditional practices and culture, local organizations, certified status of the land title and the land, distance from the city centre and the community’s intrarelationship. Consideration to define squatter areas and settlement on government land or government reserve land were not included in the definition of the urban village concept because this type of settlement does not have certified characteristics of a land title. The operational definition is important as it determines the scope and study sample that can be used in future.