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
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