The Mall of the World  

Posted by Editor in Global News on Aug 28th, 2015 | 0 comments

 

We know Dubai as creative, open-minded and aggressive when it comes to infrastructures. Dubai can become the over-the-top tourist destination in the world if they set their mind to it. Given their resources, Dubai can be whatever they hope it would be.

Dubai recently awed the world with their plans of building a climate-controlled city – a first in the world. They will call the project “Mall of the World”. This project would possibly allow visitors and its residents to evade stepping outside for many weeks at a time. This idea is appealing for many residents in Dubai knowing that the temperatures there especially during summer can reach up to 100 degrees.

What should we expect with the city? Here’s a peak:

• Hotels and apartments: The city will feature over one hundred hotels as well as apartments. The people here will want to spend many days thereby the number of places to stay.

• Shopping mall: It wouldn’t be the “Mall of the World” without the mall, right? The mall will be nestled in an eight million square foot of land. This will make it the largest mall in the world.

• Family theme park: Who will forget a family theme park? This is to encourage the family from staying long.

• Districts: There are different districts to be put up like theatre, shopping and wellness. The wellness district will particularly attract medical tourists.

The facilities inside the city will be connected by a four mile long enclosed walkway which will cover the place from harsh summers. Of course there will come a time that it will be opened during winters to air it. This project is expected to attract more than 180 million visitors every year.

Living in the city of the future is a different kind of experience. Perhaps Singapore need to consider this idea for a change.

The Asia Pacific Sustainable Cities Index  

Posted by Editor in Global News on Apr 8th, 2015 | 0 comments

Arcadis, a built and natural asset design consultancy firm, have released their inaugural Sustainable Cities Index. The Index was steered by Center for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). The results are based on different indicators like the property prices, work-life balance, cost of doing business and usage of renewable energy.

Furthermore, Cebr established 3 pillars of sustainability to include environmental, social and economic demands. The report discovers that indeed, no utopian society exists because leaders need to manage and balance the 3 pillars.

Here’s the result of the 2015 Asia Pacific Sustainable Cities Index:

1. Seoul
2. Hong Kong
3. Singapore
4. Sydney
5. Melbourne
6. Tokyo
7. Kuala Lumpur
8. Shanghai
9. Beijing
10. Jakarta
11. Manila
12. Mumbai
13. Wuhan
14. New Delhi

Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore topped the ranking. We must know that the three countries are also included in the top ten of International Cities in the global ranking. While Singapore is included in the top 14 Sustainable Cities Index in Asia Pacific, it ranks lower to Seoul and Hong Kong. Why is this the case?

Experts of the ranking revealed that the score of the city is low when it comes to indicators mentioned above. Indicators like property prices, work-life balance, cost of doing business and usage of renewable energy. However, there is no doubt that the nation is improving.

We should know how we fared in every ranking and why because it makes us aware. It is not enough that we live the day as it is without knowing the underlying causes or effects.