THE TOOL OF URBAN GOVERNANCE EFFICENCY

Land use control mechanism is a tool to guide and control land use development activities mainly in town planning process. In Malaysia, The Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172) states that there must be a development plan system to act as a mechanism to control land use. The development plan system consists of a District Local Plan (DLP) which has the functions of planning, controlling and guiding land development at the district level. Studies done in DLP consists all the sectors in land development including housing. Thus, all parties in land development process, especially the developers must refer to DLP as to refer on land availability for future housing development. However, the effectiveness of the information on land availability stated in the DLP has always being questioned. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to study and improve the effectiveness of DLP in stating the level of land availability for housing development in urban area. A study is done based on literature study on the importance of housing in an urban system and reviews on the factors relating to housing in DLP. The Malaysia Government's strategy for promoting sustainable development identifies an important role for the town and country planning system. The system is to be a key instrument in delivering land use and development objectives that are compatible with the aims of sustainable development. The recent amendment to the planning legislation indicates the concern for better environmental management both at development plan level and development control. For development control purposes, the local planning authority is empowered to grant planning permissions subject to conditions related to resource conservation and measures which enhance environmental quality of the development.