Reader Response: "Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment' Draft 2

Khanna (2015), in the article of "Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment'", stated that Asian cities are experiencing a swell in population in recent years, resulting in the need for cities to expand. He highlighted that in order to counteract the intensive growth, it is essential to have a city that has flexible governance, self-service and is generative. "Flexibility and adaptability" are paramount in flexible governing. An example of which would be Jakarta utilizing a smartphone application to obtain first-hand information from citizens with regards to their concerns. Due to the hefty size of cities, self-service is vital in the provision of basic necessities like housing and transport. Khanna noted that cities like Manila and Bangkok are struggling with insufficient housing and severe pollution issues respectively. Therefore, self-service would grant citizens the ability to directly notify and or feedback to the government upon encountering issues such as natural disasters. Lastly, he pointed out the need for cities to be generative in the form of yielding new business models through investment in infrastructure, thereby incurring growth in economy. Khanna foresaw Southeast Asian cities to be the model of urban development due to their exponential growth in the recent years. I agree with the author that Southeast Asian cities will be the model of urban development in the future. However, in present, the growth in recent yeas had shown its negative impact, such as bad traffic, poverty and pollution. The government and people in cities like Jakarta and Manila were not prepared for such sudden growth.

Analysis of the implementation of QLUE, a mobile application was insufficient as the article lacked in-depth explanation with regards to success of its implementation, whereby there were no significant changes observed. QLUE, a platform meant for citizens to voice their concerns to the government, was developed to assist citizens and the government in the rapid growth and constant changes Jakarta was experiencing. One of the targeted areas to improve was traffic conditions. However, even with the use of QLUE, Jakarta was still listed as the city in Indonesia that experienced the worst traffic conditions (Wardhani & Budiari, 2015). Notwithstanding that, it was noted that there was insufficient effort put in with regards to the enforcement of traffic laws and regulations (Budiari, 2015). Therefore, the government defeated the purpose of the creation and implementation of QLUE, since it was meant to bridge and facilitate better communications within the government and its citizens, however, citizens' concerns were not heard and or resolved. Therefore, Khanna would have better explained the situation at hand if had he discussed the after effects and success rate of the mobile application with statistics and details.

Manila have been experiencing bad air quality with no signs of improvement due to increase in pollution caused by the exponential growth of population. According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), motor vehicles and industrial process are a few of the many means of emission of particulate matter (Macas, 2015). Also, statistics in National Emission Inventory 2012 reflected that 71 percent of air pollution were caused by motorized vehicles. Due to the inclining population Manila is facing, quantity of motor vehicles on the road increased as well, inducing bad traffic and an increase in air pollution as a whole. Although Philippines is a fast-growing country, it is still unable to cope with the changes of population resulting in a rise air pollution related issues. The article would have been more complete if details and causes of problems Manila is experiencing such as air population and poverty were discussed in detail to aid the audience's understanding of the article. 

It will be impossible for all the changes and improvement to take place in an instance. Hence, to be the model of urban development in the future, adequate planning and management by the government will be the key for all to happen.

Original Article

• Khanna, P. (2015, June 11). Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment'. Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/explosive-growth-in-asian-cities-bright-ideas-to-seize-the-urban-moment

Reference

Wardhani, D. A. & Budiari, I. (2015, February 05). Jakarta has ‘worst traffic in the world’. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/02/05/jakarta-has-worst-traffic-world.html Budiari, I. (2015, June 16). Jakarta traffic chaos crying out for tougher rules. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/16/jakarta-traffic-chaos-crying-out-tougher-rules.html Macas, T. (2015, June 23). Metro Manila’s air quality even worse this year – data. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from ttp://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/509142/lifestyle/healthandwellness/metro-manila-s-air-quality-even-worse-this-year-data

[Edited: 3 Oct 2015]
- Word count deleted
- Additional bullet points of reference deleted.

Reader Response: "Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment" Draft 1

Khanna (2015), in the article of "Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment'", stated that Asian cities are experiencing a swell in population in recent years, resulting in the need for cities to expand. He highlighted that in order to counteract the intensive growth, it is essential to have a flexible governance, self-service and generative cities . "Flexibility and adaptability" are paramount in flexible governing. An example of which would be Jakarta utilizing a smart phone application to obtain first-hand information from citizens with regards to their concerns. Due to the hefty size of cities, self-service is vital in the provision of basic necessities like housing and transport. Khanna noted that cities like Manila and Bangkok are struggling with insufficient housing and severe pollution issues respectively. Therefore, self-service would grant citizens the ability to directly notify and or feedback to the government upon encountering issues such as natural disasters. Lastly, he pointed out the need for cities to be generative in the form of yielding new business models through investment in infrastructure, thereby incurring growth in economy. 

Khanna foresaw South-east Asian cities to be the model of urban development due to their exponential growth in the recent years. I agree with the author to a certain extent, as great ideas had been developed for the growth of the countries, and these were signs of future urban cities.

In the article Khanna mentioned a few examples in Jakarta in regards to smart ideas, such as QLUE mobile application, improve the life of people in the cities. The “flexibility and adaptability” in governance were developed in urban cities to assist the citizens in the rapid growth and changes in the society. Such interaction with the government officials had proven to garner support from the citizens, “with over 30,000 users and 100 daily reports”. As many parts of the country are still undergoing changes for urbanization, there are chances that investors and companies would seize the chance to produce new product or new ideas that could improve the life of the developing cities. This will definitely leads to the progression of economy in the developing countries.

Furthermore, stable regional relationships between ASEAN had help to ensure South-east Asia countries to keep peace and promote economic development. This gives investors the confidence in investing in developing countries, where military war or other forms of boycott will not be presence. Singapore offered scholarships to students in ASEAN countries, where these students could be an asset as they returned to their countries.

However, not only South-east Asia had been growing and becoming a smart urban country, Asia countries such as Hong Kong had also caught the international attention. Doherty (2015), in the article “We need a smart urban revolution, and Asia is just the place to do it”, stated that “Hong Kong is the evolving model for Asian urbanization”. The land management of the cities attracted investors and developers to make the city to be in the “central role” for creating sustainable environment for the people. In the article “Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure”, by National Academy of Engineering (2015), it mentions the convenience of Hong Kong transportation smart card which had multi-uses including the payment for “all the services” and “gas and parking”.

In conclusion, not only South-east Asia cities, but the Asia cities will be the model of urban development.

Original Article

• PARAG KHANNA/ The Straits Times (2015, June 11). Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment'. Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/explosive-growth-in-asian-cities-bright-ideas-to-seize-the-urban-moment

Reference

National Academy of Engineering. (2015). Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure. Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/9136.aspx   Doherty, P. (2015, June 23). We need a smart urban revolution, and Asia is just the place to do it. Retrieved September 24, 2015, from http://www.eco-business.com/opinion/we-need-a-smart-urban-revolution-and-asia-is-just-the-place-to-do-it/

Summary for Reader Response

Khanna (2015), in the article of "Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment'", stated that Asian cities are experiencing a swell in population in recent years, resulting in the need for cities to expand. He highlighted that in order to counteract the intensive growth, flexible governance, self-service and generative cities are essential. "Flexibility and adaptability" are paramount in flexible governing. An example of which would be Jakarta utilizing a smart phone application to obtain first hand information from citizens with regards to their concerns. Due to the hefty size of cities, self-service is vital in the provision of basic necessities like housing and transport. Khanna noted that cities like Manila and Bangkok are struggling with insufficient housing and severe pollution issues respectively. Therefore, self-service would grant citizens the ability to directly notify and or feedback to the government upon encountering issues such as natural disasters. Lastly, he pointed out the need for cities to be generative in the form of yielding new business models through investment in infrastructure, thereby incurring growth in economy.


Khanna foresaw South-east Asian cities to be the model of urban development due to their exponential growth in the recent years.

My English Learning Journey (Edited)

Born in a family without any foundation in English, I came in touch with the basics in kindergarten, followed by Primary School and Secondary School. 

Stating the fact, I always had more interest towards Chinese, since my family speaks mainly Chinese and the teachers that taught me gave me lots of wonderful memories. My English on other hand, usually just manage to pass, or should I say I never do well in the subject.

It was until Primary5, where the exam papers and things taught were linked to PSLE, I noticed the importance of English. I have to do well in order to be promoted to Secondary level. Being one of those that had English remedial, my teacher spent time answering to every doubts that I had. It was all those efforts of my teacher that makes me motivated, it was also all these supports that I receive, it was my first time I felt that there was still hope with English. And I am glad to say, I managed to pass and did well with PSLE.

I was confident with English when I entered Secondary school, however, it was shortly after, and I noticed that I’m back to zero again. It seems like what I was taught in Primary was different from what were taught in Secondary.  Compositions that were submitted came back to me filled with red inks. Grammar error, sentence structure, until today, these are still haunting me. Even with extra lessons given, my results never improve.

With efforts, luckily, I manage to pass O’Levels too. English language have always been my weakness, a polar opposite of my Chinese language. With the effective communication module, I hope I would understand and improve my language.


Edited: 11/9/15 23:05

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I separated my original post with the edited version so as to compare and see the differences between the two.


EDITED VER


Born in a family without any foundation in English, I came in touch with the basics in kindergarten, followed by primary school and secondary school.

I always had more interest towards Mandarin, as compared to English, since my family speaks mainly Mandarin and the teachers that taught me gave me lots of wonderful memories. On other hand, I usually managed to get a just pass for English and never did well in the subject.

It was not until primary 5, where the things taught were linked to PSLE, that I noticed the importance of English. I had to pass in order to be promoted to secondary level. I was selected to be in the English remedial class, where my teacher spent extra time with me to answer to the doubts that I had. It was all those efforts and supports that I receive from my teacher which made me motivated. It was my first time that I felt that there was still hope with English. I am glad to say, in the end, I did managed to pass and did well for PSLE.

I was confident with English when I entered Secondary school. However, it was shortly after, where I noticed that I am back to zero again. The things which I had learnt in primary school were different from what were taught in secondary. Compositions that were submitted always came back to me filled with red inks. All sorts of possible errors such as grammar, sentence structure, fragments and etcetera, these are still haunting me today. Even though I had attended remedial lessons, my results never improved. With efforts, luckily, I managed to pass O’Levels too.

English language has always been my weakness, which is a polar opposite of my Mandarin language. With the effective communication module, I hope I could improve in my writing skills and also build up my confidence with the language.

Edited: 20/9/15

This is Fang Ying xD

This is blog is for SIE2016 effective communication. Post will mainly be for the module?

Quick sum up of my English standard or level... C6 in O's... Yup. I barely make it.
So thanks for leaving comments, do state any errors like vocab, grammar, sentence structure etc.

ありがとうございます。谢谢。

Bye Bye.