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 consideration in
addition to the conservation of energy resources. The effects of these
challenges have to be examined as they 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. The writer then cites
the application of Envision Sustainability Rating System in her Impact King
Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) Fellowship Project 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, Cho’s article emphasise the application
of the Envision Rating System in her KAEC fellowship project in Saudi Arabia.
However, the writer did not analyse the impacts that sustainable infrastructure
can have on every individuals of the community in KAEC.
Cho's article did not analyse
the technology advancement that came along with the sustainable infrastructure
development in KAEC. Some examples could be the development of mobile
applications and usage of social networking sites within the community. Khanna
(2015) writes, for example, about the various technological innovations that
came about due to the increasing population in the Asian cities like Singapore
and Indonesia. One of these is a mobile application for a tailored private bus
service route that incorporates the demand of the different citizens' needs in
Singapore. He also cites another example as using the social networking site,
Twitter, for residents in Jakarta, Indonesia, to report real-time alerts on potential
natural disasters. These shows sustainable infrastructure in KAEC can influence
the technology advancement within the community which the writer did not
mentioned in her article.
Moreover, 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”,
Faremo (2015) says that basic needs of people have to be addressed with
sustainable infrastructure. Faremo gives an illustration about a building that cannot
function by itself without the various essential systems. Thus, key services such
as healthcare and basic necessities in our everyday life have to be something
that can be sustained in the long term, which creates a well-balanced society.
In Cho’s article, she did not provide considerations to the needs of the people
in KAEC.
Besides that, Cho did not
analyse the increased cost of living due to sustainable infrastructure in KAEC.
The writer of the article "Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure" highlights
the fourteen challenging factors for engineering in terms of infrastructure. As
sustainable infrastructure improves the citizens' quality of life, the problem
is to provide an affordable place for them to stay with the increasing demand
for sustainable infrastructure. The implementation of sustainable
infrastructure requires a large amount of financial grant and support from the
local government for improvements on existing infrastructures. Cho did not
discuss on the increased cost of living within the community in KAEC.
In conclusion, while Cho's
article presents the challenges and the general advantages of sustainable
infrastructure in KAEC, her argument is incomplete due to the inadequate
analysis on the impacts within KAEC. It is important to look at both positive
and negative impacts that sustainable infrastructure would have on the cities
and the citizens. However, overcoming the challenges that were mentioned in
Cho's article is crucial to strive towards the overall goal of creating a
sustainable and efficient infrastructure in the community of KAEC.
(603 words)
Edited on 2 December 2015,
Wednesday at 11.33am
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/
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
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
The National Academy of
Engineering. (2015). Restore and Improve Urban Infrastructure. Retrieved from http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/9136.aspx
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