One of those stories going the rounds about a month ago concerns a blogger in San Francisco, who worried he was wasting too much time on Facebook and Reddit. As he writes on his blog, he used a software app which tracked what he was doing with his time and found almost 19 hours a week went to these activities.
In 2010, under the nationwide Elementary Education Program called Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), an education committee in Bhagwan Garhi in the Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India completed the construction of an eight classroom school for the cost of $80 per square meter, whereas the cost incurred for a contractor lead construction of a comparable school structure in the nearby district of Lucknow was $124 per square meter.
According to review reports, the Community Beneficiary Committee in Bhagwan Garhi had completed the work drawing labor from the community and buying the required amount of materials at a lower rate with technical guidance from the district level engineer.
How does this happen?
With urbanization in Sri Lanka expected to increase from 20% in 2000 to 60% in 2030, perpetual gridlock, polluted waterways, and smoggy skies could all be potential side effects. However, Managing Cities for Sri Lanka Green Growth, organized by the Urban Development Authority and attended by representatives from all major cities taught me some ways we may mitigate some of the negative effects and create a sustainable urban development through innovative locally driven initiatives.
The workshop introduced the Eco2Cities approach to urban development which looks at helping developing countries achieve ecological and economic sustainability in urban areas. Although all Sri Lankan cities currently face challenges related to poor urban planning, it was enriching to hear some successful and innovative initiatives carried out by certain communities that can be used as examples for others.
