18 Oktober 2010
Issue : We're Fast Asleep In A Box
Task: In the same group (of 5 from the same major) produce a 1500-word paper
Topic : We cannot alter people's hearts, we can only inspire
Due date : 18 Oktober 2010
Salam.
It was most unfortunate that saya tak punya group disebabkan balik kampung menguruskan some unfinished business di pejabat. I am terribly sorry if I cause many people, especially cik Wan, so much inconvenience. Saya kemudiannya diterima menyertai an all-ladies group, (Boy, do I feel lucky) where I got to do a write-up on economic challenges in creative planning. Check it out below.
Abstract
Planning is the art of ordering the man-made and natural environment in order to support human activities. The topic itself shows that planning is vital for a better order in the future. The man-made and natural environments are interdependent in fulfilling the human activities. This field concerns the maintenance of an essentially harmonious environment and also to ensure that developments never exceed the natural capacity of the system. It is true that planning is a way to support human activity but still we have to respect the indigenous quality of the environment. However, lately there are many issues arise and question the effectiveness of planning activities. Roughly we see that the development of a town for example seemed to be very best ordered with its spatial, perceptual and behavioral context known as the integral relationship. But then why is it people are still questioning about this? These are the issues and challenges we are facing and now we are seeking for the solution.
As a team we have identified some of the major problems we often heard people were talking and complaining about. We have divided them into three main categories. These include the economy, public and developer. Under each of these categories, we will explain more later on the challenges and what actions should be taken to overcome it. We are not forcing the responsible parties to follow all we say, it is up to them. We are inspiring them by suggesting them ways so as to avoid public criticism on the current issues and problems, either the problems were sourced from them or not. Therefore, a more explainable solution will hopefully make better perception on this field. Together we can have more comfortable and sustainable life.
1.0 The Role of Planners
The most essential things that urban planners should do or, in other words, what are the most essential things that other people should expect urban planners to do. Urban planning involves a lot of different things and involves a lot of people, and, therefore, people emphasize a number of different things. And in many cases, people say that urban planning deals with a comprehensive range of things, and the most important thing is to cover all of those. But, of course, comprehensiveness is not the professional activity, and, for example, journalism is comprehensive, and the economic planning is comprehensive. But as a professional, the urban planners probably should provide something unique contribution in the management of the urban development.
In a traditional sense, planning is like a blueprint. It's like an architectural plan or machine drawings or even the plan for some investment projects. Under the command planning economy, the government and urban planners as the planner for the government had full control of a number of things. Therefore, it has been a useful thing to do, and in the case of infrastructure and civic government structures, it still is the case. And this requires a very clear definition of growth and control of its inputs and the planning, programming of those inputs.
2.0 The Challenges
One of the major challenges in physical planning is to strategically link and integrate it to the economic elements of a place or region to be planned. Good planning and design make urban living better. This is the shared ambition of planners, architects and designers alike. But the built environment alone does not define a city; perception is crucial and attitude can be everything when it comes to attracting people and investment to drive the urban economy. The way in which cities are branded and built has a profound impact on the people who live there and the ones that move there.
Basically, planning is concerned with using the local resources in a way that maximizes the benefits of the economy and population of an area. It is not a neatly defined discipline; it draws on perspectives from the broad fields of economics, geography, town planning and organizational developments. Integrated urban/regional economic-cum-environmental development plans are not simply a compilation of economic and environmental plans. They should show linkages between economic development, resource use and the production of residuals and impact on environmental quality and communities. Any development plan should give attention to regional economic consideration so that all proposed projects (environmental or otherwise) will be economically sound.
Whilst physical planning is meant to foster and sustain physical development, the success depends to a great extent upon the effectiveness with which geographic space and spatial configurations are incorporated into development planning and management of the area as a fully integral component. Branded places, like branded products, attract their place users or consumers to enjoy the extra benefit above the bare physical utility of places. Place branding is thus incorporated with building creative cities as one important deliberate creation in the urban planning and design.
Innovative cites do better to attract talented people who can build creative centres to fuel creative economies (Richard Florida 2002). What is less obvious however is how cities can transform themselves, both on how they are perceived as well as in their form and function, to create and stimulate a creative population and economy. Principles from urban planning and design are integrated with those of social economy and place branding, and hence be applied to create more creative, sustainable, livable and safe cities in urban areas under different local contexts and international influence.
Building creative spaces and creative cities is not only about economy. As information and experiences become more widely shared and available between people and nations, people are easily less satisfied with the planned products, places, or even lifestyles than the previous generations. Planning approaches that embrace more involved public participation and deliberate concensus building can help meet increasing demand for the self-expressive, specific-valued and livable city scenarios. To attract the most creative workforce to fuel the places and economy has become a common goal for all the governments, developers, urban planners and designers.
This calls for creative planning as a major challenge towards synchronizing planners efforts not only to plan for today and tomorrow, but to prepare for the aftermath of the much prophecied 2012 polar shift disaster (doomsday?) which is very imminent. Cities and settlements may perish and new cities and settlements need to be rebuilt. Economies of the world may cripple and fall abyss deep. The challenge of urban innovation is perhaps the hardest task for contemporary planners and designers especially at that point of time. They may balance the demand for the new and dramatic with equally pressing mandates to renew existing, quake-ridden or flood-ridden parts of their cities, preserve whatever left of the historic heritage of the area, and integrate city management strategies with architectural design solutions.
Therefore the planners, as for the other professionals, must unite to form a congregation/forum to discuss the best means and methods to rebuild not only cities but perhaps a civilization of mankind!
To consolidate all individuals so that reciprocal cooperating in a thing is not easy thing to do. Many people have not yet become aware about the cooperate especially among the youth group. Youths is the leader of the future. They are the country's pillar. An effective approach need to be taken immediately as abound matter that not desired happened by rampant such as fight. Without youths, so one country unable to stand firmly. One way that suits best to approach this group is through campaign. Case that because of campaign found much influence individual stance. It method used give information and persuasive without compulsion. Although so, stance and human heart not easy to being transformed blink of an eye. We would not be fruitful become a new individual if we still behaving hard to maintain our old way. For example like throw rubbish in public place. Other individual cannot change the attitude individuals that until he change his own. Other individual could only assist in terms of advice only.
In conclusion, heart and stance one unable change easily him. On the other hand, our heart can change if inspired. In order to be one whom useful, we should leave convenience which prevent achievement life that hoping for. We have to be always careful because convenience was one way heading towards failure. Apart from that, we have to be ever positive in accepting changes. We cannot neglect changes just because we are frightened if we lost any that had we dream of. On the other hand, we should always humble with all achievement through the changes. If we can metamorphosed into quality individual, thus we can give an inspiration to others. Individual that want change would often bring closer self with people that objectionable from people that being liked because from them the individual will know new point of view. Our job is only to trying every new business because in our attempt we can learn to cash in on produce something.
That's the most recent news yang saya temukan di Yahoo!. Memang terlalu banyak websites dan blogs yang menceritakan tentang The Mayan Prophecies. With regards this matter, I personally feel that walaupun sebagai seorang Muslim yang dituntut untuk menghayati dan mengimani Al-Quran, an extra reading sebagai pengkayaan ilmu pengetahuan pada saya tidaklah menjadi kesalahan. For full article, please click here.
