AS the capital city, Kuala Lumpur initially functioned as the nation’s trade, government, financial and judicial hub. However, decentralisation caused people to move out of its inner city area to new townships. Over time, these shifts and the administrative capital moving to Putrajaya led to many of Kuala Lumpur’s historical buildings being left vacant and decaying.
The capital needed rejuvenation and to be repurposed. Regenerated Lorong Bandar 11 with a cute mural (left). With this in mind, urban regeneration organisation Think City started a city restoration project that was formalised in 2019 as the Kuala Lumpur Creative and Cultural District (KLCCD) strategic masterplan.
Think City managing director Datuk Hamdan Abdul Majeed told StarMetro that the masterplan was to give Kuala Lumpur a new purpose as a cultural and creativity hub. Its main focus is to restore historical buildings and introduce new activities in the city. “We get various stakeholders to regenerate the city together, through grants and programmes,” he said.
One initiative spearheaded by Think City is the Creative Kuala Lumpur Grants Programme designed to revitalise and transform the historical city centre into a creative, liveable and thriving hub. Performers entertaining crowds at Pentas Seni Merdeka, one of the highlights of the Kreatif KL Festival. Focus areas The KLCCD unifies various localities in Kuala Lumpur with the downtown area, with major landmarks such as Dataran Merdeka and Masjid Jamek.