Reader Response Draft 2

In the article “Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment’” by Khanna (2015) mention that Asian cities have become the icon of the world's urban development trend within this decade. Asian cities are having population influx which forces cities to expand. South-east Asia cities tackle this problem with their “flexible governments, resourceful citizens and local infrastructure innovation." It is also a challenge for huge cities to provide essential services like water and housing. Using of technological application like QLUE can help reduce social challenge like water flooding. The author highlights that city governments should be “generative” and not only invest in infrastructure but also use it to produce innovative “business models” that help economy growth.

While I agree to an extent that the both Asia and Southeast Asia government needs to do more for their countries or cities and make use of the opportunity when urbanization takes place, I also feel that the idea that South-east Asia countries can get hold and improve using this urbanization opportunity is inaccessible as many of the South-east Asia countries are poorer in nature and cannot keep up with the stress from the impact of the urbanization in their countries and cities.

Firstly, the article examines Indonesia as one of the case study which follow by the strategy approach that is use to continue to improve. The writer also mentions that Indonesia face overcrowding in their city due to the problem from urbanization. It was also mentions by The Jakarta Post (2010) that it is not hard to see the problem of congestion in Jakarta and you can still see “slums” in many areas in the city which also include the river bank. The Jakarta Post (2010) also reports that the city government issued a bylaw that only allows the “entry of migrants into the city, with only those who have guaranteed jobs allowed to live in the city, while officers of the city public order agency often conduct raids against illegal residents.” But those efforts still failed to solve the problem of overcrowding in the city. With the population growing everyday and the demand of essential need like housing grows, more social challenges may even pop out. Therefore, I can conclude that Indonesia and the other poorer South-east Asia countries will suffer even more as times goes by.

Secondly, he writes in the article that the using of the advance technologies can help decrease the impact of such social issues arises from urbanization. The writer talks about Jakarta as an example in his article in which Jakarta is taking advantage of a “crowd-sourcing mobile application” called QLUE that allows their residents to report to the authorities on any local matters such as flooding, waste collection or traffic to the government immediately. It was report in Jonathan (2014) that accustom of new technology is fast in ASEAN but there is significant difference in “digital readiness and capabilities by country”. For example, Indonesia is ranked 64 in the world of their readiness towards new technology yet Myanmar being another ASEAN country is ranked at 146 in the world. Jonathan (2014) also mentions that there are many differences between countries even when they located near each other. Therefore, not all countries can use these newly advance technologies to their advantages as there are huge differences between countries, in terms of their business economic performance, governance practices and affordability of such advance technology. Therefore, I believe that the using of the advance technologies may not be suitable to all countries especially to those poorer countries like Myanmar or Laos.

In conclusion, the article did emphasize on a few valid point on the way how countries like Indonesia can make use of this opportunity to improve. But the poorer countries like Myanmar or Laos may not be able to do it at all as they are poorer in nature and cannot keep up with the stress from the impact of the urbanization in their countries and cities.

(544 words)

(Edited on 30/9/2015)

References

Article:

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

Resources:

The Jakarta Post. (2010). Overpopulated Jakarta. Retrieved August 21,2011 from  http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/08/21/editorial-overpopulated-jakarta.html

Woetzel, J.,& Tonby, O., & Thompson, F., & Lee, G., & Burtt, P. (2014). Southeast Asia at the crossroads three paths to prosperity. Retrieved October 2, 2015 from Washington, D.C.: McKinsey Global Institute: https://www.google.com.sg/ url?sa= t&rct=j&q= &esrc =s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBsQFjAAahUKEwjS3sTL16HIAhUFC44KHRr_AiI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mckinsey.com%2F~%2Fmedia%2FMcKinsey%2Fdotcom%2FInsights%2FEnergy%2520Resources%2520Materials%2FThree%2520paths%2520to%2520sustained%2520economic%2520growth%2520in%2520Southeast%2520Asia%2FMGI%2520SE%2520Asia_Full%2520report_November%25202014.ashx&usg=AFQjCNHaYlZNobirMywu-P5mZ_651 GM6Q&sig2= 2m 29dNFM3UPHereZd3OdYw&bvm= bv. 104226188,d.c2E&cad=rja

Reader Response to Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment'

In the article “Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment’” by Khanna (2015) mention that Asian cities have become the icon of the world's urban development trend within this decade. Asian cities are having population influx which forces cities to expand and reactive policies to population growth and global warming are insufficient. South-east Asia cities tackle this problem with their “flexible governments, resourceful citizens and local infrastructure innovation." It is also a challenge for huge cities to provide essential services. The author highlights that city governments should be “generative” and not only invest in infrastructure but also use it to produce innovative “business models” that help economy growth. South-east Asia cities are becoming the icon of urban development in this century.

He emphasizes in the article that the both Asia and Southeast Asia government needs to do more for their countries or cities and make use of the opportunity when urbanization takes place. He also acknowledges that Southeast Asia government of their effort in resolving the problem due to the sudden surge of population growth and the rapid urbanization in the cities but the truth is many Southeast countries cannot handle this rapid urbanization. These countries not only do not have the resources but also the man power to handle such situation. Therefore the idea that South-east Asia countries can get hold and improve using this urbanization opportunity is inaccessible as many of the South-east Asia countries are poorer in nature and cannot keep up with the stress from the impact of the urbanization.

Firstly, the article examines three Southeast Asia countries which follow by the different strategies approach that are use to allow the countries to continue to improve. The writer also talks about problems that these countries face due to the problem from urbanization like the need of housing and water. Countries can be seen that they are not capable to handle such social challenges. It will then force the city governments to address these social challenges: to bring about, almost immediately, while mitigating and adapting to the changes. With the population growing everyday and the demand of essential need grows, more social challenges will pop out. Therefore, I believe that these South-east Asia countries without the resources and the man power to handle such challenges; they will suffer even more as times goes by.

Secondly, he writes in the article that the using of the advance technologies can help decrease the impact of such social issues arises from urbanization. The writer uses Jakarta as an example in his article in which Jakarta is taking advantage of a “crowd-sourcing mobile application” called QLUE that allows their residents to report to the authorities on any local matters such as flooding, waste collection or traffic to the government immediately. Another similar mobile application, Cepat Respon Opini Publik, can help notifies the nearest and most relevant government officials to the QLUE reports that were generated by the residents and allows city government officials to respond directly to the public. But not all countries can use these advance technologies to their advantages as there are huge differences between countries, in terms of economic performance, governance practices and cultural behavior. Therefore I believe that the using of the advance technologies may not be suitable to all countries especially to those poorer ones.

Finally, rapid urbanization can lead to serious difference be it in society or the balance in the economy. The raise of population from urbanization may grow faster than the economy to handle; or the economy may grow but it does not mean reducing of the poverty in the country or city. This may due the local governments lacking in “urban management capacity” to make these areas to function efficiently and to protect the citizens from all the problems. 
                      

In conclusion, the article did emphasize on a few valid point on the different way how countries can make use of this opportunity to improve. But the writer mainly talks about the good points that will bring to the Southeast Asia countries yet he did not really touch on the difficult aspect that would bring to the countries when urbanization takes place. Only with government that has good knowledge on how to handle such problem, whether it is with the advance technologies or not, urbanization will not be a bad thing after all.

(599 words without summary)

References

Article:

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

Resources:

Yuen.B & Kong.L. (2009). Climate Change and Urban Planning in Southeast Asia. Sapiens Revues. Retrieved December 18, 2009 from https://sapiens.revues.org/881

Yap , K .S. (2010). Urban Challenges in South-East Asia. ResearchGate. Retrieved September 26, 2015 from http://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 236142386_ Urban_Challenges_in_South-East_Asia

Summary :Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment’”

In the article “Explosive growth in Asian cities: Bright ideas to 'seize the urban moment’” by Khanna(2015) mention that Asian cities have become the icon of the world's urban development trend within this decade. Asian cities are having population influx which forces cities to expand and "reactive policies" to population growth and global warming are insufficient. South-east Asia cities tackle this problem with their “flexible governments, resourceful citizens and local infrastructure innovation." It is also a challenge for huge cities to provide essential services. The author highlight that government should not only invest in infrastructure but also use it to produce innovative "business models" that help economy growth. South-east Asia cities are becoming the icon of urban development in this century.

(122 words)
EDITED on 27/9/2015

My English Learning Journey

English plays an important role in my daily life. The main language of instruction in Singapore is English which was designed to be the first language within all local education system dated from 1987. Children start learning this language by the time they reach preschool and this mode of education is to encourage all types of people to be able to communicate in a common language. I myself was enrolled into this education system created for Singaporean.

I myself come from a Chinese-speaking family where both my parents seldom communicate to me in English. Definitely without any doubt, I have more interest in Chinese. Throughout my basic ten years education journey, I was getting a pass for English only and scored badly for some occasions. One good example was during my ‘O’ level when I got a grade of D7 for my English subject which literally killed my chance of getting into any polytechnic. I went to ITE as a result and I spend an extra 2 years to get to the polytechnic .From that day onwards, I decided to work hard on my English and started to read different kinds of English materials like the newspaper and novel so to improve my situation.

I realize that reading the text aloud has helped me to write English better on my reports during polytechnic; this was often neglected by many students in my course as they simply wrote down whatever that came to their mind and were done with it.

English is a lifelong learning journey. I hope that this module, Effective Communication, can help me understand more about this language.

(EDITED on 16/9/2015)