PlanningUrbanORegional

 What makes a great city?
 

Please visit my web page "Urban Tenets" at https://urbantenets.nl/

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Luck, inheritance, coincidence, distinct leadership, resourcefulness, and experimentation

LUCK

·      Geographic positioning – less susceptible to seasonal and weather extremities, and diurnal variations

·      Environmentally guarded geography – less vulnerability to climate change catastrophe

·      Regional positioning (sea coast, river bank, hills, valley) - economic and ecological potential

·      Natural resources (minerals, ecological assets)

COINCIDENCE

·      On a trade route – economic edge

·      Twin city or polycentric regional setting – symbiotic advantage

INHERITANCE

·      Heritage – something to nurture and to build on

·      Legacy institutions (industries/ businesses/ hub of public and private institutions)

DISTINCTIVE LEADERSHIP

·      Transformative vision (planned spatial growth and development blueprint, policy formulation, sectoral roadmap, city branding)

·      Creating economic and knowledge ecosystems (anchor industries and MSME, commerce, startups, universities)

·      Tackling socio-economic challenges (poverty, inequality, crime)

·      Controlling demographic indicators (education, gender ratio, vocation, etc)

·      Mitigating environmental impact

·      Preparing for climate resilience

RESOURCEFULNESS

·      Finding means of revenue generation

·      Attracting investments

·      Assuring funding

·      Attracting human capital

·      Attracting footfall

·      Creating a network of global and regional partnerships and a support system

EXPERIMENTATION

·      Living labs

·      Districts of experimentation

The above factors and possibly a few others, dictate the present and future of metropolitans, cities, towns, and “would-be cities”; these are interdependent factors. While luck, inheritance, and coincidence have their own place, and sometimes cities have no choice; going beyond, theoretically and technically any city can be a great city if it decides to be one, if it focuses on leveraging what is coincidental, building on what has been inherited, finding right leadership, being resourceful and experimentative!

Author: Anoop Jha

Image: Author

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[Recent update

Starting 2024, launching urban management, interior design, home decor and commissioned artwork services in the Netherlands, serving local as well as international remote clients.

Please Note, that I am also conducting a FREE 45-minute online individual consultation on your interior design and home decor needs and aspirations if you are in the Netherlands or even internationally. Drop me an email at anoop.jha@gmail.com 

Please visit my web page "Urban Tenets" at https://urbantenets.nl/

Instagram interior design page @urbantenets 

Instagram fine art and illustration page @urbanoregional 

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