Balancing tradition and development: preserving the skyline of Kampung Baru Urban Village, Kuala Lumpur

Urban skylines constitute an important dimension of urban identity, functioning not only as visual profiles but also as cultural landscapes where memory, heritage, and development intersect. However, existing scholarship has largely focused on iconic city skylines and high-rise aesthetics, with limited attention to urban village skylines as living heritage environments. This study addresses this gap by examining Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur, a historic Malay enclave where traditional houses, mosques, food streets, vegetation, and village-scale streetscapes coexist with surrounding high-rise development. The aim is to investigate how Kampung Baru’s cultural identity, as expressed through its urban village skyline, can be safeguarded within ongoing urban growth pressures. The objectives are (i) to examine how skyline conditions (traditional, mixed, and modern-dominant) and cultural landscape elements contribute to Kampung Baru’s identity, and (ii) to propose integrated preservation strategies balancing heritage conservation with contemporary urban development. Methodologically, the study adopts a convergent mixed methods design underpinned by convergent triangulation, integrating site observations (VOP1–VOP10), stakeholder interviews (N=4), and a survey (N=55). Data were analysed separately and then integrated to enable cross validation between spatial conditions, institutional perspectives, and community perceptions, strengthening interpretive reliability. The findings reveal three (3) skyline conditions—traditional-dominant, balanced traditional–modern, and modern-dominant—showing how high-rise development reshapes heritage visibility and cultural continuity. The study recommends height control, preservation zoning, restoration of traditional houses, landscape management, and community-based planning. It reframes the urban village skyline as a living cultural archive and supports heritage-sensitive urban development aligned with Sustainable