Cities in search of identity - why its a good idea and where to start from!

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

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Cities as a dynamic entity are not regenerative or replenishing on its own, and the pressure on its infrastructure and resources tend to grow with time due to natural growth reasons. Which also means that left on continued business as usual track city may only last for couple of years until it may require a drastic overhaul to keep pace with new demands and new realities, hence the need of sustainability. Not just that, cities also require to prepare for future and unforeseen challenges like shocks, hence the need of agility and resilience.

Part of cities development is usually already guided by policy mandates form proactive regional and national authorities. Also fuelled by grants, funds and private investments and regular annual budget based on immediate priorities. This is not much different than business as usual case and even considering this scenario, cities may still struggle in long term.

What is noteworthy here is that if cities simply follow the blueprint of someone else, especially just follow top down policy mandates or statutory mandates, it may still do well technically, in terms of economy and operations, but may be at the risk of being an average or mediocre city.

That means cities and city administrations may require to think beyond mandates, to unlock its true potential and taking control of its own fate. This approach i.e. "having its own development plan and own identity" is driven from within, may be result of community based bottom up initiatives, political ambition, regional competitiveness, community ethos etc.

This self driven initiatives of city, in alignment with regional and national directives may be essential for a city to be resilient and distinctive, building on its distinct potential, unique strengths, characteristic resources, peculiar demographic compositions, unique historic and ecological context etc.

Such cities which may act on its own will and motivation, beyond the statutory mandates, are not just able to provide a better quality of life to its inhabitants, but also gain much deserved visibility, harness previously unimagined support, unexpected external aids and attract investments and skillsets like a magnet, while enjoying this new position.

All its takes is either a reinvented leadership or a sufficient build up of bottom-up initiatives or a score card or sometimes a setback.

This process of search for a new identity, for cities, may start with as basic catalyst as creation of a dedicated web portal or social media initiative by city administration, or inviting community members to town hall, or creation of a think tank, for community, professionals from different walks of life, businesses, industry and academia, to share their ideas.

Author: Anoop Jha 

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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 

My LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anoopjha/

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#smartcity #infrastructure #architecture #smartcity #Amsterdam #Utretch #Hague #Delft #Eindhoven #Rotterdam #Netherlands

How to deal with possible confirmation bias and visual bias in professional, social and print media.

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

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Confirmation bias is basically gathering selective evidence or interpreting facts in a manner to support ones idea/ ideology/ argument, in a sense that reinforces ones belief and sometimes propagate certain agenda. On the contrary, unbiased research primarily investigates both side of literary argument, before they continue to investigate/ build on one side of argument for specific disclosed reasons.

What about bias related to choice of visuals or selection of imagery specifically when linked with a piece or page of article/ text/ book/ news/ magazine/ post etc?

Visual that is doubtful or emotionally loaded or showing amplified version of apparent ideological affiliation, sometimes being used to support a text, may qualify for bias, but may not always be a case of deliberate manipulative attempt or confirmation bias. It may also be due to one of the following reasons or more, i.e., ignorance of writer, their misjudgment, hasty accidental choice of image, lack of access of good and wide choices of visual content due to reasons of copyrights or financial constraints etc. 

Whether accidental or due to obvious limitations or by deliberate choice or conscious or unconscious confirmation bias, still we encounter obvious countless text and visual bias everyday in the sensory overdose of profession, social, and print media. 

Challenge is multifaceted. There are also many urgent issues in life and world which require attention of as many as possible to solve it, which somehow also influences accentuated and loaded visual media choices made by many individuals and agencies, on a day to day basis, specifically choosing the image that has potential to garner urgent or due attention. Such cases are obvious especially in area of popular media and some grey literature. Though most manipulations are obvious to even most casual readers, still fact remains that the flow of information is rapid hence the impact of selected image may also be huge in many senses.

While it may be difficult to come to immediate conclusion, one can only remain conscious of the fact of possible bias in collective impact of text/ post/ article/ print media and supporting images; hence picking up the information which may be relevant, contextual and possibly legit, while discarding rest and even better to cross verify if time and motivation permits. One may also apply a certain level of intelligence to decipher if meaning of text is skewed, information presented is asymmetric, whether the image seems representative and factual, or if there is another side of story not represented in the given image, or consciously hidden, or image deliberately distorted/ cropped. There may be merit in taking the digitally morphed, or having unearthly attributes or psychologically intense, or agenda driven text and images of different kinds, with a dash of caution.

Author: Anoop Jha

************************************************

[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 

My LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anoopjha/

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Possible pathway for resilient public transportation system:

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

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A resilient transportation system is one–

a) that is made of entire low capacity to high capacity public transportation system, and has such system under single apex governing entity, for better control, cross-subsidisation, and better access to fund due to critical mass (applicable in both mono and multi-stakeholder arrangement)

b) that includes even last mile connectivity in its project scope, offering matching service experience (often excluded and usually only limited to feasibility studies or sometime complemented with poor last mile fleet services)

c) which still plans for future growth and expansion even when battling with low ridership at any moment

d) mobilises sound instruments beyond transit infrastructure, rolling stock and fleet, like TOD, value capture, rail and metro station real estate lease, advertisement space lease, monetising experience etc.

e) which forms partnership with other forms of complimentary transportation service providers and competitions like app based cab service, rideshare, micromobility services, bicycle rental; especially for seamless connectivity, healthy mutually rewarding competition, and making use of anonymised data for passenger flow modelling, network analysis and empirical predictions

f) which has opted for digitalisation of governance and operations from customer centric services, to network management, to unified cashless ticketing system, to fleet management and tracking, to predictive maintenance, to fleet automation, to on-demand services

g) which focuses on customer service, customer acquisition and customer retention in all separate target age, gender and ability groups and creates channels to actively seek passenger and anonymous feedback

h) which has excellent online and offline information dissemination and audio-visual display system and hence can devise flexible network configuration and flexible coach configuration without disappointing customers, required to respond to fluctuating demand, many a times experienced due to seasonal and diurnal variation, route characteristics and force majeure event; required to stay financially afloat (system that not just focuses on expansion, but one that is able to sequester as well)

i) finally, public transportation system, which may consider to experiment with real time flexible ticket pricing based of fleet occupancy level using gamut of technological aids like sensors and analytical cameras.

Additional thoughts on real time pricing for public transport system can be found in my other Linkedin article here [https://lnkd.in/eaa28zat]

Author: Anoop Jha

************************************************

[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 

My LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anoopjha/

************************************************

#publictransport #metro #tram #bus #transitionpathways #transportplanning #automation #technology #micromobility #bicycle #rideshare #fleetmanagement #networkanalysis #ret #ns #urbanplanning #smartcity #Amsterdam #Utretch #Hague #Delft #Denbosch #Alkmaar #Tilburg #Eindhoven #Rotterdam #Netherlands

How to deal with possible confirmation bias and visual bias in professional, social and print media.

Confirmation bias is basically gathering selective evidence or interpreting facts in a manner to support ones idea/ ideology/ argument, in a sense that reinforces ones belief and sometimes propagate certain agenda. On the contrary, unbiased research primarily investigates both side of literary argument, before they continue to investigate/ build on one side of argument for specific disclosed reasons.

What about bias related to choice of visuals or selection of imagery specifically when linked with a piece or page of article/ text/ book/ news/ magazine/ post etc?

Visual that is doubtful or emotionally loaded or showing amplified version of apparent ideological affiliation, sometimes being used to support a text, may qualify for bias, but may not always be a case of deliberate manipulative attempt or confirmation bias. It may also be due to one of the following reasons or more, i.e., ignorance of writer, their misjudgment, hasty accidental choice of image, lack of access of good and wide choices of visual content due to reasons of copyrights or financial constraints etc.

Whether accidental or due to obvious limitations or by deliberate choice or conscious or unconscious confirmation bias, still we encounter obvious countless text and visual bias everyday in the sensory overdose of profession, social, and print media.

Challenge is multifaceted. There are also many urgent issues in life and world which require attention of as many as possible to solve it, which somehow also influences accentuated and loaded visual media choices made by many individuals and agencies, on a day to day basis, specifically choosing the image that has potential to garner urgent or due attention. Such cases are obvious especially in area of popular media and some grey literature. Though most manipulations are obvious to even most casual readers, still fact remains that the flow of information is rapid hence the impact of selected image may also be huge in many senses.

While it may be difficult to come to immediate conclusion, one can only remain conscious of the fact of possible bias in collective impact of text/ post/ article/ print media and supporting images; hence picking up the information which may be relevant, contextual and possibly legit, while discarding rest and even better to cross verify if time and motivation permits. One may also apply a certain level of intelligence to decipher if meaning of text is skewed, information presented is asymmetric, whether the image seems representative and factual, or if there is another side of story not represented in the given image, or consciously hidden, or image deliberately distorted/ cropped. There may be merit in taking the digitally morphed, or having unearthly attributes or psychologically intense, or agenda driven text and images of different kinds, with a dash of caution.

Author: Anoop Jha

All businesses and services need to support causes equal or more noble than it's own for a better world.

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

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An exemplary case proposal for transportation sector.

Imagine an airline company which offers free public transport day pass in origin and destination city along with it's every flight ticket to encourage use of public transport for last mile connectivity, a car company which gives free bicycle with every car purchase to promote use of bicycle for short distance travel, a motorcycle brand that gives free periodic bike servicing to it's customers on showing particular bicycle-mile earned to enhance use of bicycle as complementary travel mode, a bicycle manufacturing company that offers free outdoor activity accessories and protective gears to senior citizens who regularly walk and pay frequent visits to park.

Above proposal and logic is true and need of time for all sectors and chain of businesses. For example a petrochemical company which meets all it's non-production energy requirement through renewable sources to set example and to contribute for a better world.

Author: Anoop Jha

************************************************

[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 

My LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anoopjha/

************************************************

#business #businessinnovation #bicycle #airline #car #manufacturing #industry #futureofbusiness #forabetterworld #businesssynergy #sharedprosperity