COMMENT | Imagine lower cost flats, costing RM200,000 each in the city, being redeveloped into fancy new condominiums.

Sure, the residents are compensated, say RM220,000 each, for what they've lost. But there's probably no way they can afford to buy the posh new condominiums priced RM600,000 and above.

So they end up having to move, probably far away from the city in search of cheap housing. They will then be forced to endure long commutes to work.

This is the biggest fear of the proposed Urban Renewal Act (URA), which will lower consent for rebuilding from 100 to 80 percent of owners.

The goals of the new law are good – to rejuvenate the many rundown flats in our cities. Some are even borderline vertical slums.

Reverse suburban sprawl

I support the idea of high density city centre condos near LRT stations. It will reverse endless suburban sprawl that is too car dependent.

As houses are built ever further from the city, traffic jams grow. Pollution and frustration rise while productivity drops.

The conversion of green areas into tar and concrete surfaces leads to more flash floods.

But how the URA operates can lead to problems, like...