Assessing Residents’ Quality of Life in Malaysian New Towns

One of the ultimate aims of a new town development is quality of life. This paper is based on a perception survey that was carried out to evaluate the level of quality of life experienced by the people living in 13 new towns developed by the State Economic Development Corporations in Malaysia. The analysis sought to uncover information relating to community life which was specifically planned to provide a good quality of life for its inhabitants continuously until the completion of the development. The research showed that from the indicators used in the analysis it can deduced that new towns developed by the State Economic Development Corporations were generally accepted by the residents as providing satisfying living environment. The findings of this research could be used to address the future development of new towns. The findings will be useful in determining the physical planning and quality of life indicators for sustainable development.