Late 20th Century (1975–2000)

Putrajaya Masterplan (Malaysia)

1993– · Malaysia · Southeast Asia · National modernization and capital-city building · Planned by Perbadanan Putrajaya; planners KL City Hall et al.

Concept master plan sheet for Putrajaya: the government core on the ridge above the man-made lake, the neighbourhood precincts with their populations tabulated, and a detail of the waterfront residential islands. · © Kun Lim — used with credit · Kun Lim — Concept Master Plan for Putrajaya (Federal Government Administrative Centre)

Core idea

Garden city administrative capital

Why it matters

Rebalanced Malaysia’s federal core

Description

Putrajaya (from 1993) was built as Malaysia's new federal administrative capital south of Kuala Lumpur, a planned garden-city of monumental boulevards, a central axis, a lake, and grand government buildings blending Islamic and modern forms.

Significance

Putrajaya is a contemporary example of the purpose-built administrative capital, decanting government from a congested metropolis and projecting national identity through monumental, garden-city-influenced planning.

What shaped it

Garden Cities of To-Morrow (1898 / 1902)
The garden suburb (1903)
The master plan (early 20th c.)
The imperial capital and the central axis (fullest form Ming Beijing, from 1420)
The boulevard (17th–19th c.)

Plans it influenced

Cyberjaya Masterplan (Malaysia) (1995–)

Sources

Open it on the interactive timeline →

hub.toekom.st — History of Urbanism · an interactive timeline of 850 planned cities across 6,000 years.