I agree with Cho that both government and the
private sector need to agree on sustainability. However, she fails to explain
that approaches for policies, strategies and projects from the government is
important for sustainable development while considering the economic, social
and environmental issues.
At the start, sustainable development can be hard to
implement. In order to prevent sustainable ideas from being short-lived, a firm
decision made by government is vital. As stated in the article “Sustainable
Development” from Legrand website, governance is needed in decision making
process so that policies can be implemented with respect to sustainable
development. The author claims that all
members of the society including the private and public sector companies,
associations, unions and citizens need to come to an agreement for sustainable
development to avoid conflict of interest. This links back to what Cho had
mentioned in her article, that government and private sector have to work hand
in hand towards sustainable development.
Clark (2012)
reports that “effective governance is a prerequisite for putting in place the
integrated policymaking capacity which is needed to drive sustainable
development.” To demonstrate good decision making towards sustainable
development, the same author uses Singapore as an example. Singapore has set up
a plan called “sustainable development blueprint” which involve of all relevant
ministries to analyze urban problems and the ways to manage the problems.
Personally, I feel that The Sustainable Singapore Blueprint
project signifies a great effort by the Singapore government to further instill
a positive mindset of the public and private sectors towards sustainable
development.
For example, Singapore
was awarded the intelligent city award for its smart transport system and
became the least congested major cities in the world. The success was led by the Singapore
government, who understood the importance of efficiency and affordable
transportation system (Reyes, 2013). Reyes remarks that the Singapore Land
Transport System Authority will further invest in transport infrastructure. In
my opinion, Singapore’s Ministry of Transport made the right decision to invest
in transport infrastructure so as to achieve “car-lite”. In this way, the
public would not have to rely on cars as they can take the public transport to
get from one place to another conveniently.
Additionally, Singapore skill’s in green buildings
was featured in prestige multi-national expansions like the Sino- Singapore
Tianjin Eco City. In June 2013, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA)
became the first government agency outside North America and Europe to obtain
the Alliance to Save Energy’s International Star Award. On top of that, BCA’s dedication
and leadership in green building development was reflected in other global accolades
such as World Green Building Council’s Government Leadership Award and Aspen
Institute Energy and Environment (Government) Award. (BCA website, n.d.).
In conclusion, I strongly believe that Singapore government plays an important role by setting the first step in sustainable development. The Singapore government should be transparent, open to sustainable ideas and responsible. Not only do infrastructure engineers need to think about an improved approach for infrastructure, they need to communicate to the citizens about what sustainable development can bring to a society. Therefore, I feel that the government can help to convey and convince the public for a good change.
The government can implement a certification system where companies all over the world need to fulfill with international standards on sustainable development. Such example is the Green Mark; a rating tool made by the BCA to ensure buildings is environmental friendly. This also coincide with what Cho had emphasized in her article both the government and private sector need to be equipped and capable to evaluate sustainable infrastructure development using the Envision Rating System.
References:
Cho,H.
(2014). Developing sustainable infrastructure in new cities. New Cities Foundation. Retrieved from
http://www.newcitiesfoundation.org/evaluating-sustainable-infrastructure-development-new-cities/
http://www.newcitiesfoundation.org/evaluating-sustainable-infrastructure-development-new-cities/
Clark,H. (2013 March 13). Helen Clark: The importance of governance for sustainable development. United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved from http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/speeches/2012/03/13/the-importance-of-governance-for-sustainable-development.html
Leading the way for green buildings in the tropics (n.d.) Building and Construction Authority Retrieved from
Reyes,E. (2013 September 9). Singapore,Tokyo among top ten best cities for urban sustainability. Eco-Business. Retrieved from
Sustainable development. (n.d.).Legrand. Retrieved from
http://www.legrand.com/EN/sustainable-development-description_12847.html
http://www.legrand.com/EN/sustainable-development-description_12847.html
Hi Siti,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to read your article.
- I believe that this is your thesis, first paragraph last line, “The writer believes that infrastructure…” but it could have been written as “The writer believes that an infrastructure…”.
- Second paragraph first sentence: agree on sustainability, sounds weird to me. Haha. Maybe, “agree on applying sustainable practices” would be a better phrase.
- Second paragraph second sentence: I believe you meant the approaches instead of that approaches.
- There could be a transition sentence between paragraph three and four.
- I also spotted a few grammar mistakes.
- Additionally, I felt that you could have made it smoother with a sentence that would state the few points that would be mentioned in your reader response.
- Lastly, I believe it’s just me as I felt lost when I read the reader’s response. It might have been easier for me to read it if there were statements which would guide the read at the beginning of the paragraphs.
Overall, it was a pleasure to read your exciting and insightful article. Keep up the good work Siti!
Hi Siti,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to read your article.
- I believe that this is your thesis, first paragraph last line, “The writer believes that infrastructure…” but it could have been written as “The writer believes that an infrastructure…”.
- Second paragraph first sentence: agree on sustainability, sounds weird to me. Haha. Maybe, “agree on applying sustainable practices” would be a better phrase.
- Second paragraph second sentence: I believe you meant the approaches instead of that approaches.
- There could be a transition sentence between paragraph three and four.
- I also spotted a few grammar mistakes.
- Additionally, I felt that you could have made it smoother with a sentence that would state the few points that would be mentioned in your reader response.
- Lastly, I believe it’s just me as I felt lost when I read the reader’s response. It might have been easier for me to read it if there were statements which would guide the read at the beginning of the paragraphs.
Overall, it was a pleasure to read your exciting and insightful article. Keep up the good work Siti!