Cities of the future: Global competition, local leadership

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Mega trends dominate the future development of cities In the course of the year long research for Cities of the future: Global competition, local leadership, senior figures from over 40 cities around the world were interviewed by PwC. From these interviews emerged key trends which cut across the experience of all cities: globalisation, individualism, merging, acceleration, hi-tech, hi-touch, demographics, urbanisation and migration. The urban population explosion which is forecast positions cities as the engines for developing the society of the future and means we are at a defining point in how our urban future unfolds. In this report PwC asks city leaders about the challenges their cities face; international and national, external and internal, how they are responding to them and what their plans are for the future. Building on the responses of the city leaders interviewed the report explores fresh perspectives on cities, their dreams, knowledge, creativity and motivation in order to find new ways to develop strategic city management. PwC has identified six areas of significant challenge that have to be taken into account when creating a strategy for the future:

Intellectual and social capital to compete in the international knowledge economy means ensuring the appropriate people, skills and capabilities are developed. Democratic capital city administrations need to be accountable and transparent in their dialogue with citizens. Culture and leisure capital a strong city brand provides visibility propelling the city into competition for residents, business relocations, tourism and international events. Environmental capital cities consume significant resources and have to provide a clean, green and safe environment. Technical capital technology must be able to support the changing needs of citizens. This includes basic needs like transport, housing, water and energy as well as new demands for effective communication like broadband and electronic networks. Financial capital growing demand for services and diminishing revenues needs creative and flexible financial strategies, often in partnership with the private sector. In this report, PwC looks at the solutions and approaches taken by cities from around the world and presents the insights, successes and good practices to learn from the experiences in various countries and move the debate forward on the important role of cities in our society.

A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse) is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to industrial-sized buildings. A miniature greenhouse is known as a cold frame. A greenhouse is a structural building with different types of covering materials, such as a glass or plastic roof and frequently glass or plastic walls; it heats up because incoming visible solar radiation (for which the glass is transparent) from the sun is absorbed by plants, soil, and other things inside the building. Air warmed by the heat from hot interior surfaces is retained in the building by the roof and wall. In addition, the warmed structures and plants inside the greenhouse re-radiate some of their thermal energy in the infrared spectrum, to which glass is partly opaque, so some of this energy is also trapped inside the glasshouse. However, this latter process is a minor player compared with the former (convective) process. Thus, the primary heating mechanism of a greenhouse is convection. This can be demonstrated by opening a small window near the roof of a greenhouse: the temperature drops considerably. This principle is the basis of the autovent automatic cooling system. Thus, the glass used for a greenhouse works as a barrier to air flow, and its effect is to trap energy within the greenhouse. The air that is warmed near the ground is prevented from rising indefinitely and flowing away. Although heat loss due to thermal conduction through the glass and other building materials occurs, net energy (and therefore temperature) increases inside the greenhouse.

Types[edit source]
Greenhouses can be divided into glass greenhouses and plastic greenhouses. Plastics mostly used are polyethylene film and multiwall sheets ofpolycarbonate material, or PMMA acrylic glass. Commercial glass greenhouses are often high-tech production facilities for vegetables or flowers. The glass greenhouses are filled with equipment such as screening installations, heating, cooling and lighting, and may be automatically controlled by a computer.

Uses[edit source]
Greenhouses allow for greater control over the growing environment of plants. Depending upon the technical specification of a greenhouse, key factors which may be controlled include temperature, levels of light and shade, irrigation, fertilizer application, and atmospheric humidity. Greenhouses may be used to overcome shortcomings in the growing qualities of a piece of land, such as a short growing season or poor light levels, and they can thereby improve food production in marginal environments. As they may enable certain crops to be grown throughout the year, greenhouses are increasingly important in the food supply of high-latitude countries. One of the largest complexes in the world is in 2 [3] Almeria, Spain, where greenhouses cover almost 50,000 acres (200 km ).

Yoga (Sanskrit:

yog

pronunciation (helpinfo)) is a generic term for the physical, mental,

and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India with a view to attain a state of [1][2] permanent peace. Yoga is a Sanskrit word which means "union" and is interpreted as "union with the [3] divine". One of the most detailed and thorough expositions on the subject is the Yoga Stras of [1] Patajali, which defines yoga as "the stilling of the changing states of the mind" (Sanskrit: : :). Yoga is also interpreted as the yoke that connects beings to the machine of existence. Various traditions of yoga are found in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. [8] of the six stika ("orthodox") schools of Hindu philosophy.
[5][6][7][6] [4]

In Hinduism, yoga is one

Post-classical traditions consider Hiranyagarbha as the originator of yoga. Prephilosophical speculations and diverse ascetic practices of first millennium BCE were systematized into a formal [11] philosophy in early centuries CE by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. By the turn of the first [12][13] millennium, hatha yoga emerged from tantra. It along with its many modern variations, is the style that many people associate with the word yoga today. Vajrayana Buddhism, founded by the [14] [15] Indian Mahasiddhas, has a parallel series of asanas and pranayamas, such as cal and yantra [16] yoga. Hindu monks, beginning with Swami Vivekananda, brought yoga to the West in the late 19th century. In the 1980s, yoga became popular as a system of physical exercise across the Western world. This form of yoga is often called Hatha yoga. Many studies have tried to determine the effectiveness of yoga as a [17][18][19][20] complementary intervention for cancer, schizophrenia, asthma and heart patients. In a national survey, long-term yoga practitioners in the United States reported musculo skeletal and mental health [2 improvements. In Vedic Sanskrit, the more commonly used, literal meaning of the Sanskrit word yoga which is "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach" from the root yuj, already had a much more figurative sense, where the yoking or harnessing of oxen or horses takes on broader meanings such as "employment, use, application, performance" (compare the figurative uses of "to harness" as in "to put something to some use"). All further developments of the sense of this word are post-Vedic. More prosaic moods such as [citation needed] "exertion", "endeavour", "zeal" and "diligence" are also found in Epic Sanskrit. There are very many compound words containing yog in Sanskrit. Yoga can take on meanings such as "connection", "contact", "method", "application", "addition" and "performance". For example, guyoga means "contact with a cord"; chakr-yoga has a medical sense of "applying a splint or similar instrument by means of pulleys (in case of dislocation of the thigh)"; chandr-yoga has the astronomical sense of "conjunction of the moon with a constellation"; pu-yoga is a grammatical term expressing "connection or relation with a man", etc. Thus, bhakti-yoga means "devoted attachment" in the monotheistic Bhakti movement. The term kriy-yoga has a grammatical sense, meaning "connection with a verb". But the same compound is also given a technical meaning in the Yoga Sutras (2.1), designating the "practical" aspects of the philosophy, i.e. the "union with the Supreme" due to [22] performance of duties in everyday life In Hindu philosophy, the word yoga is used to refer to one of the six orthodox (stika) schools of Hindu [note 1] [24] philosophy. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are often labelled as Rja yoga. According to Pini, a 6th-century BCE Sanskrit grammarian, the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots, yujir [25] yoga (to yoke) or yuj samdhau(to concentrate). In the context of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the root yuj samdhau (to concentrate) is considered by traditional commentators as the correct [26] etymology. In accordance with Pini, Vyasa (c. 4th or 5th century CE), who wrote the first [27] [28] commentary on the Yoga Sutras, states that yoga means samdhi(concentration). In other texts and

[9][10]

contexts, such as the Bhagavad Gt and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the word yoga has been used in [29] conformity with yujir yoge (to yoke). Someone who practices yoga or follows the yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment is called [30] a yogi or yogini.

Purpose[edit]
Generally put, yoga is a disciplined method utilized for attaining a goal. The ultimate goal of Yoga is moksha (liberation) though the exact definition of what form this takes depends on the philosophical or theological system with which it is conjugated. In Shaiva theology, yoga is used to [31] unite kundalini with Shiva. Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as the experience [32] of Brahman or tman pervading all things. In the specific sense of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, yoga is defined as citta-vtti-nirodha (the cessation of [23] the perturbations of the mind). This is described by Patanjali as the necessary condition for transcending discursive knowledge and to be one with the divinely understood "spirit" ("purusha"): [33] "Absolute freedom occurs when the lucidity of material nature and spirit are in pure equilibrium." In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali indicates that the ultimate goal of yoga is a state of permanent peace [2] or Kaivalya. Apart from the spiritual goals the physical postures of yoga are used to alleviate health problems, reduce stress and make the spine supple in contemporary times. Yoga is also used as a complete exercise [34] program and physical therapy routine.
[23]

History[edit]
Prehistory[edit]
Several seals discovered at Indus Valley Civilization sites, dating to the mid 3rd millennium BCE, depict figures in positions resembling a common yoga or meditation pose, showing "a form of ritual discipline, [35] suggesting a precursor of yoga," according to archaeologist Gregory Possehl. Ramaprasad Chanda, who supervised Indus Valley Civilization excavations, states that, "Not only the seated deities on some of the Indus seals are in yoga posture and bear witness to the prevalence of yoga in the Indus Valley Civilization in that remote age, the standing deities on the seals also show Kayotsarga (a standing [36] posture of meditation) position. It is a posture not of sitting but of standing." Some type of connection between the Indus Valley seals and later yoga and meditation practices is speculated upon by many [note 2] scholars, though there is no conclusive evidence. Many scholars such as Marshall associated Pashupati seal with Shiva because We would discuss these features under the following heads : (1) three faces (2) the attitude of yoga (3) ithyphallicism (4) [44] connection with animals (5) pair of horns. The standing yogic position in Hindu scriptures is associated with Shiva and has in earliest occurrences been mentioned as the sthanu asana. Shiva has repeatedly been called Sthanu in several [45] scriptures. That Shiva's standing pose is a meditative penance is clear from the pose being associated [46] in Kalidas' literature as "Tapasvinah Sthanu" and tapasvin is the term for a mendicant. Also Shiva as Sthanu in Kalidas' literature has been described as "Sthanu sthira-bhakti-yoga-sulabha" meaning [47] "attainable through devotion yoga." In modern Hindu yoga too the standing yoga asana is applied and [48] called samabhanga asana and tadasana.