Feb 19, 2023

Statistical bias and insufficiency!

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

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The problem with statistics other than it's 1) susceptibility to misinterpretation and 2) confirmation bias is that 3) the moment you try to universalise statistical outcome, it gets diluted and loses its granularity and significance and 4) if you hardly get any robust and substantiated temporal data of a specific region or set of subjects (with its innate challenges, strengths, context and conditions) to support your argument it anyway still remains too remote, meagre or ephemeral to be of any material significance to the other three fourth part of world.

e.g., wrt above numbers

1) #Commercial / #political interest statistics

2) #Agenda / #ideological driven statistics

3) encompassing subjects like #poverty #urbanisation

4) statistics wrt #ecology, #heritage, #bicycleusage

If not true for all sectors, segments or subjects; same has been recurring  theme and daunting issue with majority instances of statistical interpretation/ outcome

Statistics to be presented with a note of caution and to be received with a dash of scepticism.

Author: Anoop Jha

#Statistics  #modeling #projection #urbanplanning #governance #commerce

An inclusive city needs more than smart interventions!

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

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Inclusiveness is not a function of smartness of the city. A city that is labelled intelligent still can't guarantee inclusion across spectrum of inhabitants or equity of service level across range of end users with varying needs.

Talking of smart citizen app for instance, we must deliberate who are the end users and whether digital benefits get distributed across citizens equitably or is it even accessible to all. Thinking of those homeless, those who can't read, those who don't own phone not to speak of smart phone, those who speak a different language, those whose needs are not listed in app, those who are too young or too old to use it, those who cannot access app due to health conditions, those who are not aware that such app exist, those who are running outdated app, those who do not have best data speed plan or access to internet itself and many others - a citizen app may mean different things to different inhabitants of city and meaningless to some.

Likewise in case of smart public infrastructure, how many actually access and uses public wifi other than tourists and few motivated others; who all actually have time and mindspace to switch to public wifi to save a miniscule amount of money and why will they risk malware attack and phishing if they have to use it only once in a while and when their personal telecom provider already gives them enough data and bandwidth. Again benefits reaches to only limited segment, actually those who are already empowered.

Like health equipment market which is skewed in a sense that those who are already fit tends to buy or use it more to be more fit, similarly E-governance for instance is more empowering to those who are already privileged in some sense or other, while the life of most of marginalized or at fringe or having specific or special needs may still remain unchanged by the noble initiatives like E-governance and public wifi network.

A sense of inclusion, belongingness and well being in a city has a different meaning altogether than solving city functionality through digital intervention or otherwise.

So how do we make a city which accommodates everyone's need - digital way or old analog way or with a parallel system of high tech and low tech intervention or on demand digital services or near-omnipresent services delivery or tailored door step governance and service delivery especially for those forgotten, those having limited means, those in dier needs, those marginalized and those at the fringe to make an equitable society.

Author: Anoop Jha

#smartinfrastructure #municipality #digital #future #policy #governance #cityplanning #urbanplanning #townplanning #inclusion #socialscience

Human limitation of multi criteria assessment!

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

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Computers seem to be more reliable and accurate in running algorithm and doing assessment compared to human for the reason that computers are programmed to process  numerous "if this"-"then that"  scenarios, while human being have this innate limitation in processing multiple criteria and  "what if" Scenarios; a dozen criteria and handful of scenarios and most feel this is all that is there which was needed. Until computers completely master the art of attribute selection and scenario building themselves and learn to take judgmental decision on their own, their assessment and outcome shall also be limited as they are still being programmed by very human being having prejudice and limitations of many kinds.

To illustrate, while deliberating with individual client or a family to design their dream home, how many architects  for instance consider the sun sign traits of client, inquire about their past, their medical history, their travel history, their bucket list, their life philosophy, their spiritual inclination, musical preferences, cultural orientation, their sensitivity towards light, their daily routine, sleeping pattern, their food habit, their environmental commitments and children's future aspirations, child's favorite game and comic character, their idea of space and scale  etc. Unfortunately most of these variables are purposefully or by conditioning or out of hesitation being missed out during client's need assessment, but all or any of these can add immense value to architectural design process and outcome. If architects won't ask, client won't tell, then without considering such variables which are integral to one's life and true personality, how will architects  produce truly personalised, holistic and humane design for example.

Likewise, when government is collecting census data or demographic profile about individuals or households, they really don't find it worthwhile to ask about individual's hobbies, their skill sets, their unsettled and future liabilities of various kinds, health issues they are struggling with, their affiliations, what they are engaged in post retirement, areas in which they would like to volunteer given a chance, etc. which are equally tangible and crucial pieces of information and valid criteria of assessment, having potential to create a better society and conditions.

Capability to acknowledge, consider and process multitude of criteria and endless possible scenarios is what differentiates one individual from another, one organization from other, one city administration from other, one governance scheme from other and sometimes may even one nation from another.

Author: Anoop Jha

#Modeling  #financialmodeling #data #assessment  #analysis #algorithm #architecture #architect #governance #administration #nationbuilding #census #demography #survey #urbanplanning

Feb 18, 2023

Why it's high time to revisit architectural tradition, architectural wisdom and architecture education?

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

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When kitchen's purpose, ideal design and it's appropriate space in a house was being concluded century ago or so, then architects actually had no vision of app based food delivery, home based chef, role of kitchen/kitchen products in remote elementary education, working women, gender equality in kitchen, work from home concept, how important kitchen waste reduction and management is and so on; when this matter is being discussed today, we hardly have any realistic idea how robots are going to take over kitchen in near-distant future, how 3D printed food may altar food production/ preferences, how IIOT/ IOT may impact farm-to-plate food supply chain, whether community/ township level bespoke food/ pizza vending machine may even render private kitchen obsolete.

When architects were convinced that there is basic necessity of having lobby, lounge, drawing room and dining room/area as essential elements of a reasonable house, they had no vision that majority of family individuals in future will spend most of their non-working hours/ personal work hours/ recreation hours/ study hours within two to ten feet range from their TV set and/or desktop/ study table/ gaming console; they didn't envisage that "Activity" and "lifestyle" (scrolling phone, tab, working/ entertaining on laptop, yoga mat time - all virtually devoid of space anchorage) will be paramount compared to need of "Formal Space" (drawing room etc.); they had no idea that family members will be doing part of talking/ communication / information exchange virtually (as a routine) even when present under one roof, getting rid of dining table discussion; they missed visualising that in future due to almost autonomous lifestyle of individual family members of a household it will be almost impossible to bring every family member to dining table, that too at same time and also not realising that with plethora of audio-visual choices and modes available, the empowered individuals in a family will lack the time, motivation and patience to gather in front of TV to watch a common channel, defying purpose of drawing room.

And likewise.

Come today- dining room mutating into study room, drawing room reinvented as gym and so on, calls for urgent need of revisiting the inherited architectural values and reinventing ideology of functional space.

Author: Anoop Jha

#architecture #architect #urbanplanning #townplanning #space #interiordesign #decor #studio #design #art #habitat #housing #hfa #housingforall #smartcity #city #bhk #realestate #township #data #future #futurearchitecture #history #lounge #home

Some embedded economic bias in road and transportation planning and policy to ponder.

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

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Speed Breaker experienced differently by different price range cars; flat monetary penalty imposed on breaking any particular traffic rule experienced differently by different income group, one segment better protected while on road due to advanced safety feature of their car compared to not so privileged vehicle owner, VIP and reserved parking spaces in public domain and within public institutions, those opting public transport not out of choice or sense of responsibility but out of economic constraints, those opting private transport not out of ignorance but by choice since they can afford, similar workplace cutoff arrival time or same flexi-hour for those who are insulated from weather while on road (car) and those whose journey is tough and gets Interrupted due to changing weather conditions (bike/ bicycle), those who can afford to take shortcut toll route vs those who cannot, road tax which is not linked to intensity of vehicle usage but type and number of vehicle ownership and some more.

One or many or all may be applicable to any given city and needs a serious thought and deliberation on subject by planners and policy makers.

#transportplanning #urbanplanning #publictransport #tranport #road #design #architecture #economics #carbonfootprint #publicpolicy

Ever-changing Technology Landscape that is making planning, design and life decisions increasingly tough!

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

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While you are thinking of purchasing an advanced EV that goes 396 miles per charge, another startup (Michigan) promises to launch an EV battery With a range of 750miles.

The moment you install a city wide Fast charging infrastructure that charges EV in 30 minutes, the new ultra-fast charging technology or startup (Israel) surfaces that promises to full charge EV in just 5 minutes.

The moment city municipality in one corner of world purchases a fleet of 200 modern buses an autonomous Driving Bus Line Officially Commences Operations in another part of world (Guangzhou).

By the time you sanction a mega hydrogen generation plant that uses fossil fuel based electricity, a new technology or company (California) emerges that uses sunlight to generate green hydrogen using "Sunlight Refinery" that stores solar heat to be used even in night making technology commercially viable.

As soon you clad building glass façade with very distinct conventional checkered blue Building Integrated PV glass, a new higher efficiency transparent PV Glass (California) makes way to renewable market.

By the time you inaugurate new building facility equipped with state of art fixed fire sprinkler system at the same time an auto-targeting fire sprinkler system emerges and provides a better alternative.

Unfortunately you can't change expensive city infrastructure at the pace and frequency that you change mobile devices!

Author: Anoop Jha

#technology #EV #VR #IOT #AR #IIOT #Autonomousvehicle #Urbanplanning #PV #Energy #ClimateChange #SmartCity #smartinfrastructure #BIPV #power #IBMS #Startup #Future #tech

Life-cycle gap in architectural services being offered!

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

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A typical house requires to go through not just periodic renovation but also series of remodeling across it's life cycle as a function of household's life events, lifestyle changes and life adjustment requirements. Home remodeling prompted by changes including but not limited to arrival of kids in life, children going to school, children getting married, parents getting old, realisation of yourself getting old and so on. These changes though obvious and imperative but neither being acknowledged nor getting addressed by architects and one time architectural services being offered, while home owners are left on their own to do the required readjustments to house, think of space planning and redefining space usage.

It's worthwhile that architecture fraternity give a serious thought to this challenge and gap that exists in rendering architectural services. Whether one time architectural service being offered can factor in all above requirements or whether architects can handhold their clients for lifetime or something else.

Author: Anoop Jha

#Architect #architecture #design #building #realestate #urbandesign #urbanplanning #townplanning #city #smartcity #future #profession #corporate #business