Greater Malé RegionChapter 01 · Macro analysis
1.9Three islands, side by side
What this chapter found on each island, topic by topic.
| TOPIC | MALÉ | VILLIMALÉ | HULHUMALÉ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3How it began | Settled before 1153. A trading island that kept clearing itself to make room. | A village, a prison and a resort, then resettled in 1990 to relieve Malé. | Reclaimed from 1997. Its first residents arrived in 2004. |
| 1.5People and land | 137,238 people on 208 ha: 660 to the hectare. | 6,755 people on 36 ha: 190 to the hectare. | 65,714 people on 497 ha: 132 to the hectare. |
| 1.5Where the number is heading | Still rising, on land that cannot grow. | Fell after 2014, when land for homes ran out. About 8,200 by 2050, if new social housing is built. | Planned for 100,000 in Phase 1 and 250,000 in Phase 2. |
| 1.6How it is built | Small plots, subdivided over generations, built to seven storeys and more. | Compact low housing at 246 people a hectare, beside an industrial corner at 88. | A low, open first phase beside tightly grouped towers in the second. |
| 1.7Getting around | Narrow streets shared with parked vehicles, with little shade. | Quiet and easy to walk. Inner roads are unpaved, dusty and flood. | Streets 11 to 21 m wide. Daily needs within 400 m in Phase 1. |
| 1.8Open space per person | 0.77 m² now, about 0.49 m² by 2050. | 18 m² now, about 13.5 m² by 2050. | 2.70 m² now, about 2.55 m² as it fills. |
SourcesSections 1.1 to 1.8 of this chapter.
WHAT EACH ISLAND LEAVES US WITH
One question for each island. Chapter 02 takes it to one area and looks closely.
MALÉ
What happens when an island runs out of land?
Malé has grown upward and inward for a century. It has the least open space per person of the three, and its last open edge, the northern waterfront, is held by the port.
CHAPTER 02 GOES TO
The northern waterfront, where the old lanes meet the port.
VILLIMALÉ
What is worth keeping when growth arrives?
Villimalé is still low, green and easy to walk. People left when there was no room for new homes. Growth returns only with new housing, social housing above all, and the bridge will bring more demand. Both arrive at its least- used corner.
CHAPTER 02 GOES TO
The industrial corner near the bridge landing.
HULHUMALÉ
What does a planned island leave out?
Hulhumalé was built to relieve Malé and is growing fastest. Its first phase kept a human scale. Its second packs people into repeated towers, with little reason to be outdoors.
CHAPTER 02 GOES TO
A block of towers in the second phase.
Each area is chosen and explained in 2.1, Site Selection and Diagnosis.