Awareness and barriers in the utilisation of rooftop gardens among the apartment’s occupants
List of Authors
  • Asmalia Che Ahmad , Norakmarwati Ishak

Keyword
  • Apartment’s Occupants, Rooftop Garden, Awareness, Barrier, Benefits

Abstract
  • Rooftop garden can be one of the strategies to address environmental issues such as global environmental pollution, environmental damage, lack of green space in urban areas and climate change. However, despite of many benefits of rooftop gardens, Malaysia is still lagging behind the Western and other Asian countries in the utilisation of rooftop gardens. One of the Malaysia government’s objectives is to increase public awareness and commitment to the adoption and application of green technology since Malaysia is lacking greenery space especially in major cities. Unfortunately, most professional practitioners and the public lack of awareness and knowledge in utilising and managing rooftop gardens. Therefore, the objectives of this research are to determine whether the occupants are aware of the rooftop gardens’ benefits and identify the barriers in the utilisation of the rooftop gardens of apartment buildings from the building occupants’ perspective. Questionnaire surveys were physically and digitally distributed among the occupants of 240 apartment units of Flora Damansara. It was found that the occupants were aware of the factors related to the psychological benefits of the rooftop garden and lack of facilities has become the main barrier in the utilisation of the rooftop garden among the occupants. Lastly, the rooftop garden should be easily accessible by providing sufficient signage and information in order to increase its utilisation.

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