WALKABLE CITY CENTRE AS A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO VEHICLE FREE CITY Assoc. Prof. Dr. Shuhana Binti Shamsuddin 1 and Siti Fatimah Ilani Binti Bilyamin 2 1. Department of Civil Engineering (Built Environment), Razak School of UTM in Engineering and Advance Technology, University Technology Malaysia 2. Department of Architecture, Faculty of Built Environment, University Technology Malaysia. ABSTRACT Malaysia is witnessing rapid urbanization especially in Kuala Lumpur city centre where the nation‟s capital cit y is seen as the engine for economic growth with a vital role to achieve the national vision of being a developed country in 2020. The projected increase in population through total increase in employment from 2.5 million in 2010 to 4.2 million by 2020 will be concentrating in major conurbations such as Kuala Lumpur. The growth in population is also accompanied by a growth in car ownership where since 19th century, the urban planning of Malaysian cities give more priority to automobiles and private transportation. Although recent pattern of urbanization have brought many benefits they have also created many negative effects as people become more dependent on the automobiles. This is exacerbated with the lack of concern in creating walkable environment especially in the city centers. Hence, one of the alternative approach is to change from the traditional „traffic oriented approach‟ to the more sustainable „people oriented approach‟ also known as walking. Walking is one of the oldest and major transportation mode that is forgotten and losing its function as one of the major contributing factor to the creation of successful urban space for human interaction. As a result, lack of pedestrians and public realm is identified as one of the urban design issues concerning the city of Kuala Lumpur. Therefore, this paper investigates the problems that influence people choose to walk in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur. The city centre of Kuala Lumpur is chosen as a case study because it plays a significant role and function as a major activity setting in Kuala Lumpur. This study uses questionnaire as the main data collection techniques. The findings from the study demonstrate that the city centre in Kuala Lumpur will have a vehicle free environment when city centre is walkable. Finally, a walkable city will help to create a sustainable and livable city by enhancing and enriching the urban environment in terms of economic, social and cultural aspects. Keywords: Walkability, city centre, sustainable city, urban design and public realm INTRODUCTION Over the past 20 years, Malaysia has seen an increase of automobiles circulation in the city centre where more priority is given to automobiles as a means of transportation. As people becomes dependent on the automobiles even for a short distance travelling, walking, which is the oldest and most basic form of transportation is now being forgotten. According to the Government‟s Economic Transformation Program (ETP), 2010), since the 19th century, transportation development was concerned with solving the vehicular traffic problems and providing more car parks. Currently, one of the global alternative approaches in city design is to change from the traditional car oriented approach to the more sustainable and people-