Hamdan Majeed set up Think City, a social purpose organisation based in Penang, Malaysia’s most diverse region, with the mission of making cities more people-friendly, resilient and liveable. A regional city-making agency, Think City provides urban policy thinking, helps manage and implement urban solutions, while acting as a catalyst for change in the way cities are planned, curated, developed, and celebrated.
The dynamic started with NGOs helping reverse decline especially its unique shophouses. Galvanising public support and forming strategic partnerships they achieved UNESCO World Heritage status. This acted as a redevelopment catalyst and to Think City – a ‘think and do tank’ a decade ago with government funding by Khazanah. It grants programme helped guide development protecting and renewing cultural and physical fabrics. It blended the old and new in driving a community driven approach to placemaking. The result: Expats are returning and in a virtuous loop a cycle of revitalization has happened.
Find out more about Think City’s work in this 3-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WQkeDBa1QA