Carbon footprint of built features and planting works during construction, maintenance and renewal stages at urban parks in Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Abstract

Carbon emissions in Malaysia are escalating due to rapid urbanisation wherein their sources are claimed to be generated by the construction industry, including urban park development. Upon completion of the urban park project, the vegetation will supposedly function immediately as a carbon sequester. However, the processes of building, maintaining, and renewing built features and plantings can emit additional carbon dioxide (CO2) than the storage. Rigorous CO2 release across the maintenance and renewal stages may be contributed by park management activities, such as planting grooming, built feature rectification, and park maintenance works. This study investigated carbon footprint derived from built features and planting works during the construction, maintenance, and renewal stages of park management. Taman Bandaran Kelana Jaya and Taman Aman Petaling Jaya were chosen as the study sites as they were located at urban areas. Continued use of the parks resulted in a swift deterioration of its facilities, whereby this scenario would ensure recurrent maintenance and renewal works were conducted for them. As-built drawings were utilised to identify the lists of inventories and work breakdown structure for every built feature and planting work to approximate the indirect CO2 emissions, which was aided by EToolLCD software. This study revealed that the amount of CO2 sequestered by the manicured vegetation was only 28.7% out of the total CO2 emission produced since its construction stage. Hence, urban parks can be perceived as a carbon source instead of a carbon sink medium.