Reader Response Essay Draft 2

In the article "Developing Sustainable Infrastructure in New Cities", Cho (2014)  claims that the enhancement in performance and volatility of infrastructure needs to accommodate the 21st century's fast urban growth. She mentions that there are economic, social and environmental challenges for considerations in addition to the conservation of energy resources. The effects of these challenges has to be examined as it can bring about positive or negative results for the community. She argues that overcoming the challenges is crucial in creating a sustainable and efficient infrastructure development. The writer then cites the application of Envision Sustainability Rating System in her Impact King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) Fellowship in Saudi Arabia. 

I do agree with the author that more attention should be paid to overcome the various challenges to create a sustainable infrastructure in addition to the application of Envision Rating System in the project. However, the writer did not analyse the impacts that sustainable infrastructure has on the community.

The first impact is the technology advancement that have developed along with the sustainability of infrastructure. Khanna (2015) writes about the various technological innovations that came about due to the increasing population in the Asian cities. The writer explains the application of a tailored private bus service route that incorporates the demand of the different citizens' needs in Singapore. He also cited an example of a real-time alerts on the natural disasters through crowd-sourced information from the residents in Jakarta, Indonesia. However, Cho's article did not analyse the technology advancement that came along with the sustainable infrastructure despite the enhancements for the cities.

Cho did not mention that sustainable infrastructure has to be managed along with the basic needs of people. In the article “SDG Goal 9—A Sustainable Future of Infrastructure”, the writer also mentions that basic needs of people has to be addressed with sustainable infrastructure. A building cannot function by itself without the various essential systems. Thus, key services in our everyday life has to be something that can be sustained in the long term which creates a well-balanced and blooming society. In Cho’s article, she did not provide considerations to the needs of the people.

Besides, Cho did not analyse the negative impacts that the enhancements have on the infrastructure itself. The enhancements that she presents in her article are the positive effects it has for the community. The writer of the article "Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure" mentions the fourteen challenging factors for Engineering in terms of infrastructure. As the enhancements improve the citizens' quality of life, the problem is to provide an affordable place for them to stay with the increasing demand for the integrated systems. Furthermore, the enhancements will also require a large amount of grant and support from the government for improvement of the infrastructure instead of replacement after the infrastructure wears out. 

In conclusion, while Cho's article presented the challenges and the general advantages of the enhancements on the community, her argument is incomplete due to the inadequate analysis on the impacts of these enhancements within cities. It is important to look at both positive and negative impacts that the enhancements would have on the cities and the citizens. However, overcoming the challenges that were mentioned in Cho's article are is crucial to strive towards the overall goal of creating a sustainable and efficient infrastructure in the community.

(556 words)

References

Cho, H. (2014, December 17). Developing Sustainable Infrastructure in New Cities. New Cities Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.newcitiesfoundation.org/evaluating-sustainable-infrastructure-development-new-cities/

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

Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure.  The National Academics of Sciences . Engineering . Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/9136.aspx

Faremo. G. (2015, August 4). SDG Goal 9—A Sustainable Future of Infrastructure. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved from http://www.my.undp.org/content/malaysia/en/home/presscenter/articles/2015/08/04/sdg-goal-9-a-sustainable-future-of-infrastructure.html

Edited on 2 October 2015, Friday at 4.15pm