Sustainable Living (ARC61704)
Tutor: Dr Siti Norzaini Zainal Abidin
Project 1 | Sustainable System in a City
For our first assignment Sustainable System in a City, we were to examine two precedent studies, one of which is our chosen city and another a sustainable city of our choice. Being divided into a group of four, we were required to explain the existing framework of the cities on the economic, social and environmental aspects while also analysing and understanding both cities comprehensively within the scope of red, blue, green and grey infrastructure. Relevancy between both cities are determined and ideas from the sustainable city are identified in proposing solutions for the issues that arose in the chosen city. The cities chosen for my team include Chennai in India and Curitiba in Brazil, and through this assignment, I got to delve deeper and gain a broader perspective on the sustainability issues as well as the commendable features of the respective cities, most of which are innovative and inspiring as they presented more than the basic sustainable approaches we are accustomed to. In-depth comprehension of the subject matter was crucial to avoid the clashing of information, thus it allows for a smoother and more efficient process as we compartmentalise our research findings into their distinctive groups according to the different infrastructures.
Project Outcome
Project 2 | Sustainable City Ideas
As for our second assignment Sustainable City Ideas, we were to envisage and come up with individual proposals of concepts, principles and practices of a chosen sustainable city in the next 20-30 years. Through meticulous research prior to the selection of the city and the analysis of its sustainability issues, I’ve learnt that each city is distinctive in their respective issues and framework. Our approach for the reimagined city model, therefore should not be done thoughtlessly but with both the tangible and intangible contexts in mind. From this project, I have acquired a broader comprehension of sustainability as we are not merely looking at the present issues but also a hypothesis of what is to come, sequentially coming up with solutions congruous to the problems at hand. While the aesthetic aspect of the project is essential, the technicalities of our proposed model were not neglected in ensuring the feasibility of our framework. This entails for deeper research and understanding of the issues and solutions, which aids in the reconceptualisation of a city that benefits both the people and the environment in the long run. Overall, it was an enjoyable process as we tuned into creativity and reimagine a city of the future while being environmentally conscious.
