Greater Malé RegionChapter 01 · Macro analysis
1.1Regional context
Malé, Villimalé and Hulhumalé are not three separate cities. They are three islands of one urban region, the Greater Malé Region, tied together by bridges and ferries and by the people who cross between them every day. This spread reads the region as a whole. From the next page on, each island is read on its own.
Ferry routes
- 1Male’ - Villimale’
- 2Male’ - Gulhifalhu
- 3Male’ - Thilafushi
- 4Male’ to Velana
- 5Hulhumale’ - Male’
- 6Hulhumale’ - Gulhifalhu
- 7Hulhumale’ - Thilafushi
Sources: Google Maps.
THE THREE ISLANDS
| Measure | MALÉThe capital. Dense and organically grown, the centre of work and trade for the whole region. | VILLIMALÉThe smallest. Resettled in 1990 to relieve overcrowding in Malé, and still the greenest of the three. | HULHUMALÉThe newest. Reclaimed from 1997 as a planned settlement and still growing, phase by phase. |
|---|---|---|---|
| SETTLED | Before 1153 | Resettled 1990 | First residents 2004 |
| AREA (HA) | 208.03 | 35.52 | 497 |
| POPULATION (CENSUS 2022) | 137,238 | 6,755 | 65,714 |
| POPULATION DENSITY (p/ha) | 660 4.4 times the guide | 190 | 132 |
Guide: UN-Habitat recommends at least 150p/ha for a compact, walkable neighbourhood | |||
| LINKED TO MALÉ BY | The hub: every route starts or ends here | Ferry; Thilamalé bridge from 2026 | Sinamalé bridge through Hulhulé; ferry |
WHERE THEY DIVERGE
One region, three very different islands: one grew for centuries, one was resettled, one was planned and built. The rest of this chapter takes them one at a time, through the same topics in the same order.
SourcesCensus 2022.