As a 25-year-old, working with international professionals is a new thing for me. Sure, I’ve interacted with people from other countries back when I was an undergraduate, and maybe occasionally on Facebook and Youtube comment section (OK, maybe when I was playing DOTA too, whatever), but working and collaborating with them is a totally different experience.
For one, I learned that half of the time, we like to talk about our cultures, norms, countries, diversity, history, and politics with each other, and the other half is where we can eat around there.
Last week, I had the chance to fly for the first time in my adult life to the Philippines, and more precisely, the incredible Bonifacio Global City, Manila. As incredible as it is, my first experience flying wasn’t a pleasant one. I had a crushing headache when the altitude decreased and I thought my right eye would come off (should’ve added a disclaimer, sorry). I spent the rest of the day chewing on ibuprofen, if you know what that is.
Well, let’s not get into the boring things such as what we did in the training session or the legal matters discussion. Today, let us talk about the things we learnt from the trip and what we thought our beloved nation can implement here. Yes, the Philippines is in the east, and this is, in a way, in line with the ‘Look East Policy’ (what year is this?)
Grid System for the City
We know, we are not architecture professionals, nor are our diplomas even related to city planning whatsoever. But please indulge us while we give our meagre opinion.
Grid system city planning is done with efficiency in mind. But ‘efficiency’ can be differently interpreted in many ways; is it efficient for movement? For land usage? For water distribution? Thus, one cannot simply say it is ‘efficient to have a grid system city. It may be efficient in one way, but it might also be inefficient in other ways too.
For example, BGC is very convenient and efficient in terms of pedestrians’ movement. Everything is nearby and you can get literally anywhere just by walking; if you have that tenacity (I doubt Malaysians do, hmm). If we decided to stay at the centre of the city, we can just stroll from our Air BnB house to the office, then to the mall, to the market, to the restaurants, to the banks, etc.
But, with a great convenience, comes a great inconvenience. Like any grid system city, BGC is plagued with traffic problems. Grid system means there are numerous intersections in the city. More intersections mean more stops and more stops mean slower traffic. As such, BGC traffic literally never subsides as long as people are still up and about; and they are awake 24/7!.
But, there is no city in the world; grid system or not, that does not face traffic problems. Hence, city planners just have to weigh in the inconveniences against the convenience and efficiency whilst planning the city. For BGC, we say, it’s worth it.
The second advantage of having a grid system is it is very easy for people who are unfamiliar with the city to go around. The streets are named systematically and everyone would understand them in just seconds. For a city that caters for expats especially, BGC had done a good job by adopting the grid system. Foreigners like us had no problem steering around and that little thing in city planning is actually a big thing for its image and thus people’s interests to invest and work in that particular city.
The third advantage is, of course, easy rerouting. Let’s say there is a construction ahead, or an accident, then the authorities have no choice than to close the road. But in a grid system city, that would not be a problem at all. They can just simply reroute the traffic onto another street and nothing would’ve been changed at all. People still know where they are, and where they are going.
But, if you are rerouted in Kuala Lumpur…..hmmm… Our advice is, brace yourself, you’re in for a visit around the city, for free.
So, why can’t Malaysia implement such a system?
Well actually, a number of cities in Malaysia already have such a system. The burning question is, why didn’t Kuala Lumpur planned as such? This is because Kuala Lumpur was not planned to be as it is when it was first constructed. Kuala Lumpur was and still is developed in a piecemeal manner.
In simple words, one area is being developed at a time, depending on the city's economic standing and the purpose of the development. Such development has made streets and area in KL disconnected, making people, even KL people to be disoriented.
So, is there any hope for KL?
We can’t possibly tear down the city and build it up from the rubble, albeit that is the ideal solution. So, what can we do? The first thing that came into our mind is strengthening the public transportation. Make it accessible to people anywhere and everywhere in the city. That way, we can compensate the idiotic walkability (or unwalkability) that is our city.
And of course, people need to be equally educated. There’s no point in building infrastructure but leaving public education behind.
No smoking in public.
Enough said. I personally like this. I cannot say ‘we’, because some of us don’t. Hehe.
Excellent customer service
We have to admit that BGC and all its infrastructure might, is equally good in its customers’ hospitality. Be it the Grab drivers, the waiters, the concierge, even the guards; all of them are well-trained in providing excellent service. So much so that we almost forgot about the bad experience we had with that one immigration officer (but that’s normal anywhere, right?).
We could learn a thing or two from their customer service. But we think our local Mamak's ‘Ane’ is fine already, don’t you dare change.
People might not realise this but good customer service is very valuable in bringing more money to your business, more so if you are a restaurateur. Cracking your head on why your business is at the brink of failure? Well, chances are, your customer service sucks.
If we could write more, we would, but then, nobody wants to read such a long article right guys? If you made it up to this point, then kudos to you. If we were to describe BGC in one word, it would be awe-inspiring.
BGC, you are undoubtedly great, and we look forward to seeing you again.
