Proponents of ?a new urban lifestyle? regularly launch innovative concepts they claim will offer congestion-riddled city dwellers a taste of rural freedom, but without infringing on their enduring need to generate the necessary income to sustain such a rare and pleasant existence.
To achieve such a harmonious balance, regional developers in major cities across Asia have invested huge sums in vast land plots on the fringes of their respective metropolitan capitals. They have crafting inland waterways, re-planting trees, built paths that meander lazily through flowerbeds, and used reassuring natural materials liberally in their home designs to offer a sense of connection to the earth for buyers in need of gentle rehabilitation, after hours spent commuting to and from neon lit offices with controlled climates and glowing screens.
The urge for a green and healthy lifestyle is also transforming inner city areas, with a new breed of sky reaching condominiums now planned and in some cases already built around manicured parklands with ponds, swimming pools and running tracks ? benches strategically placed for the older generation to rest on in the fresh air or mothers to sit and observe while their contented kids frolic on the communal lawn.
In order to make these green enclaves practical, however, governments are also being called upon to invest ever increasing sums in infrastructure improvements and fast public transport systems to ensure the wheels of economic progress continue to turn, and that all hands remain on deck at the towering CBD mother ships of capital growth.
If anything, the urge to live cleaner, greener lives is putting even more pressure on Asia?s fast expanding cities as the volume of mobile human traffic increases and gas guzzling, expensive solutions are needed to ensure people reach ?B? swiftly and smoothly to maximise economic efficiency.
According to the Asian Development Bank, unchecked practices in transportation and urban growth lead to pollution, decreased quality of life and increased demand for energy. Even in Singapore, known as one of the region?s most environmentally aware pillars of success, the transport sector is projected to contribute 14.5 per cent to greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 and private cars contribute some 35 per cent of such emissions, followed by commercial vehicles, buses, taxis and the rapid transit rail system.
Despite such worrying figures, the development and introduction of energy efficient transport alternatives remains slow. Japan?s Sanyo Electric only announced what it said was the world?s first solar-cell-equipped public bus, the Solarve, in 2010, while over in crammed, congested yet booming India, the first train in the country to have coaches operating on a solar-based power system was only launched this year, and is, it seems, more of a fairground ride than a practical solution ? the Kalka-Shimla toy train a.k.a the Himalayan Queen.
Such inventions are, of course, highly commendable in their own right, and may even offer blueprints for wider reaching green transport initiatives, but at the same time, billions of dollars is still being spent on six lane highways to connect major cities in the region and metro line extensions to expand the urban sprawl ever wider.
The vision of idyllic and convenient tree-lined living environments for the burgeoning middle classes may seem appealing as an escape from the stresses and poisons of the city squeeze, but if gridlock and smog bellowing delivery vehicles form a buzzing backdrop beyond the immediate leafy view, such concepts, however well designed, are but a placebo for a far more inveterate malaise.
Source: http://www.property-report.com/the-battle-for-better-living-26044
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