Reader Response on Developing Sustainable Infrastructure in New Cities by Heidi Cho - Final draft 4

In the article “Developing Sustainable Infrastructure in New Cities”, Cho (2014) mentions that enhanced infrastructural development is vital in considering the economic, social and environmental issues in cities.  She further asserts that the key factor of a nation’s competitiveness to unite cities is by having sustainable and competent infrastructure. While emphasizing the goal to achieve sustainable infrastructural development, the writer explains about the Envision Rating System. The rating system is a tool to evaluate the performance of an infrastructure, particularly for its sustainability. Cho mentions about her involvement in the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) project that would bring a positive impact to the Saudis in the future. The writer believes that infrastructure must improve the aspect of life of the society while preserving energy resources as well as considering the natural environment and climate change.
 

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 that 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 the Legrand website (n.d.), 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 the “sustainable development blueprint,” which involves all relevant ministries to analyze urban problems and the ways to manage these. 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 one of 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’s skills in green buildings were featured in prestige multi-national expansions called 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.

Moreover, the government can implement a certification system whereby companies all over the world would need to fulfill international standards on sustainable development. One example is the Green Mark, a rating tool made by the BCA to ensure buildings are environmental friendly. This also could coincide with what Cho had emphasized in her article that both the government and private sector need to be equipped and capable to evaluate sustainable infrastructure development using systems such as the Envision Rating System.

 

References:

Building and Construction Authority. (n.d.). Leading the way for green buildings in the tropics. Retrieved from
https://www.bca.gov.sg/greenmark/others/sg_green_buildings_tropics.pdf

Cho,H. (2014). Developing sustainable infrastructure in new cities. New Cities Foundation. Retrieved from
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

Reyes,E. (2013 September 9). Singapore,Tokyo among top ten best cities for urban sustainability. Eco-Business. Retrieved from
http://www.eco-business.com/news/singapore-tokyo-among-top-ten-best-cities-urban-sustainability/

Legrand. (n.d.). Sustainable development. Retrieved from
http://www.legrand.com/EN/sustainable-development-description_12847.html