City

The article “Statement Bottled Water” is about the International Bottled Water Association opposing the law passed in Concord, Massachusetts to ban water bottles. On the other hand, the article called “Goodbye Bottled Water” by Gail Hennessey is about how water bottles harms in the environment and the action the leaders are taking to fight against the water bottle consumption. Culver City Middle School sells water bottles during lunch and events and it is a staple for all schools around the nation. Even though there is a controversy surrounding water bottles, there is something called going way too far. Culver City Middle must tolerate the use of plastic water bottles within campus grounds.

Culver City Middle School should allow its students to use plastic water bottles on campus grounds for many reasons. First of all, it states in the article that supports water bottles that “The consumption of water, whether from the bottle or tap, is a good thing and supports the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle”(“International Bottle Water”).

This is extremely important to America today where a healthy lifestyle is become less common. Obesity and other diseases such as diabetes and heart disease have become a common reality for so many American citizens. Carbonated drinks are known as the bad guys in the health world as they deprive the body of essential nutrients and it contains lots of sugar and calories where as bottled water is a much healthier and guilt-free drink.

Another reason why there shouldn’t be a ban on water bottles in CCMS is that when there is a possible emergency in CCMS, most likely an earthquake, the water supply will become too contaminated to drink so then anyone who is hurt could use water bottles before it is too late for paramedics and help to arrive (“International Bottled Water”).

The bottled water could be a life saving source of hydration and sanitation in that scary scenario. Last of the many reasons there shouldn’t be a ban of water bottles at CCMS is that it would make the local economy dependent on water bottle sales falter (“International Bottled Water”).

Lots of grocery stores make a lot of money from water bottle sales and without that their profits would diminish and also their support for local schools as they are preventing their businesses from growing. Therefore, there shouldn’t be a ban on plastic water bottles at Culver City Middle School.

There should not be a ban of water bottles in Culver City Middle School because the reasons against it are not reasonable. First of all, in the article “Goodbye Bottled Water” it states that bottled water takes one thousand years to break down and they leak chemicals into the ground (“Goodbye Bottled Water”).

Even though water bottles may cause chemical contamination of the groundwater, most other trash also are made with chemicals equally or even worse than the chemicals found in plastic bottles, such as chemical cleaners. Also, landfills can find new ways using the technology today to help decrease chemical seepage.

Although landfills take up lots of space, water bottles can be crushed on recycled to very small sizes to where it takes very little space at all which will prevent the need to build more landfills. Also, another statement that supports the ban of water bottles is that plastic bottled water producers use upwards of 1.5 million barrels of oil a year to make the bottles (“Goodbye Bottled Water”).

Even though 1.5 million barrels of oil is a lot, the production of a lot of products in factories require a lot of oil even though they might be good for the environment, such as solar panels, as making them requires a lot of energy. Also, using oil can help the economies of countries which depend on their oil supply to run. These reasons clearly support the idea that there shouldn’t be a ban of plastic water bottles at Culver City Middle School.

Water bottles have stirred up a bit of controversy, but the facts show that the banning of water bottles at any school will clearly lead to larger consequences than if there isn’t a ban. Also, plastic water bottles are convenient where a lot of other alternatives require more time to prepare and are also less reliable.

The final point is that plastic water bottles are such a part of people’s daily lives that if they were going to stop using them, it would require a large lifestyle change. Water bottles help people live healthy, have a sustainable water source, and lastly work in a strong economy, Water bottles should not be banned at Culver City Middle School or at any other school in the United States of America.

Even decades after independence, India is replete with inequality so much so that it is often said there are the two countries, one that is Bharat and the other, India. It speaks of the two different realities that prevail in rural and urban parts of the country. But, it is essential that the residents of both rural and urban areas live in harmony with each other.

According to the National Survey Organization, the average monthly per capita expenditure in a rural area of ​​the country was Rs 1054, while in urban areas it was Rs 1984 in 2009-10, that means the per capita expenditure of urban dwellers was more than 88% as compared to those living in the villages. This is not the only difference in the lives of villagers and city dwellers.

Long and Short Essays on City Life Vs Village Life in English

Here we are providing essays on village life vs. city life in a very simple and easy to understand language for students so that they can select any village life vs. city life essay as per their needs.

Essay on City Life Vs Village Life 1 (100 words)

India is said to be a land of villages. Sixty-seven percent of the country’s population still lives in villages. To people who live in villages, life in urban areas is full of difficulties. What they do not like is vehicular pollution, crowd, constant noise, and smoke rampant in cities, which make them feel uneasy.

But those raised in cities love the hectic pace of life. They love to chase their dreams of money, power and social status. Each day brings to them new problems and complications for which they struggle to adjust to survive the rat-race of life.

Definitely, there is a great difference in the lifestyle of people living in villages and cities. The need is to balance both kinds of lifestyles by incorporating good aspects from each other.

Essay on City Life Vs Village Life 2 (150 words)

Facilities and opportunities to move forward are greater in urban life than what we find in rural existence but there is an acute problem of pollution, noise, lack of adequate water supply, traffic jam, overcrowding and crime in cities. Similarly, though there is a lack of modern facilities in rural areas, but the clean air and peace are beneficial for the health of the people living there.

Villages hold a mirror to Indian culture and heritage. India’s centuries-long traditions still exist there. You can enjoy sunshine, greenery and tranquillity, and the people here are found to be very warm and friendly.

On the other hand, urban life is filled with tough challenges. Mostly, the people living in cities can avail latest amenities and cutting-edge facilities. They are always pre-occupied and busy with one thing or the other all the time. Sadly, they do not have time to even meet their neighbours, friends and relatives. Thus, there are advantages as well as drawbacks to live in both rural and urban areas.

Essay on Village Life Vs City Life 3 (200 words)

India is largely an agriculture-based country. Farmers are the backbone of rural economy.  They work very hard in agricultural fields where they grow grains and vegetables. They conserve water in ponds and canals to irrigate crops. The life of farmers is close to nature, away from the hustle and bustle of cities. There is peace and tranquillity everywhere, except for conflicts over land and caste prejudices and the prevailing taboos and superstitions.

On the other hand, people in cities are always racing against time. There is always great pressure to perform leading to stress and other health problems related to the hectic lifestyle of urban life. The urban dwellers have little time for friends, neighbours, relatives, or even their own family members. As the cost of living in cities is constantly going up, the chase of money becomes an inevitable part of life in cities. Yet despite accumulating wealth, peace still eludes the urban habitants.

But life in villages has its own problems. There are frequent clashes related to ownership of land and caste. Many villages do not even have basic facilities of education, employment, healthcare, transport and electricity. Ultimately, there is need for restoring true balance and purpose in your life, whether you are living in a village or a city.

Essay on Village Life Vs City Life 4 (250 words)

Rural life is quite peaceful as people here do not lead a hectic lifestyle. They wake up early in the morning and fall asleep timely at night. Here the air is not polluted, as is the case with cities. There is also less pollution and crowd. Villagers are accustomed to easy-going life in villages as opposed to the hectic life in cities that leads to great amount of stress for them.

But villages mostly lack basic facilities such as electricity, schools, nursing homes and factories to employ people. Villagers have to walk on foot for several miles, if they do not have their own transport. Villages only provide seasonal employment and mostly people there are not gainfully employed. All these factors lead to large-scale migration of people from rural to urban areas in search of good education, employment and comforts of life.

But life in cities has its own negative side – it’s full of pressure, stress and anxiety. People here have several material comforts and amenities but no mental peace. They are always busy in executing various tasks related to their personal and professional life so much so that they sometimes they do not even know their next-door neighbour. The pressure to constantly perform takes a heavy toll on their health and they become prone to various ailments or lifestyle diseases even at a young age. Some of them even spend sleepless nights and their mental equilibrium takes a beating. So, life in rural and urban areas is poles apart but both are integral to the development of India.

Essay on Village Life Vs City Life 5 (300 words)

More than half of India’s population lives in villages. Gandhi had said “the real India lives in villages”. Rustic simplicity and natural beauty is emblematic of Indian culture and heritage.

Lives of most of the people in villages mostly depend on agriculture. Some people earn their living from animal husbandry and agro-based cottage industries. Most of the villagers are farmers. They are hardworking, unassuming and generous. When farmers plough their fields in the morning sun, the chirping of birds that accompanies the movement of the oxen seems to hum a melody of hard work. Farmers are innocent by nature unlike some of their urban counterparts who lose their inner goodness in the cut-throat world of materialism in cities.

Life in urban India is marked by wide-ranging disparity. There are residents who have unlimited means of enjoyment but some people are so poor that they have to live in slums. Economic inequality, pollution and garbage are the bane of urban existence. People also have to face lack of adequate water supply. Yet people want to live in cities because they get facilities for good education, healthcare, transport and so many modes of comforts and entertainment. There are also good opportunities for employment in cities unlike villages where very few people are gainfully employed.

City life is a boon in many ways, but on the other hand it is also a curse. Every year the population of cities is growing by leaps and bounds, increasing pressure on their infrastructure and reducing life to a dehumanized rat race.

Thus, life in villages and in cities presents two contrasting pictures. There are positive as well as negative aspects to the both and it is up to the individuals to make the most of it irrespective of the rural or urban setting that one lives in.

Essay on Village Life Vs City Life 6 (400 words)

Life in both rural and urban areas has its own plus points and problems. One is quite different from each other. Traditionally, India is a predominantly rural country as Mahatma Gandhi had said, “The real India lives in villages”.

There is a splash of festivals and fairs in villages. Here festivals are celebrated with a sense of brotherhood in a traditional way. The whole village dances to folk tunes at the time of festival whether it is Holi, Baisakhi, Pongal, Onam, Dussehra, Diwali, or Eid. All the people in the village live in bonds of fraternity. They share mutual happiness as well as sorrow with each other as per the circumstances of life. Though their lifestyle is not as advanced as what you see in the cities, rural people are warmer, and more cordial. They are more considerate and know each other in the village. They do not live in a state of isolation as is the case with metropolitan cities.

The natural beauty of the villages in India is simply eye-catching. The lush green fields capped around by flowers and spread an intoxicating fragrance. Birds chirp around merrily in fields, barns and village homes. Simplicity is the hallmark of life in villages.

Unfortunately, the search for jobs and the glare of material comforts and facilities is leading to large-scale migration of people from rural to urban areas. Though, now villages in the country are now also advancing in terms of standard of living. Urbanisation is taking place at a fast pace; electricity, piped water, concrete roads, telephone/mobile phone, computers, education and medical care are accessible facilities in many parts of rural India these days. Farmers are now using modern agricultural implements, and in place of oxen, they are ploughing the fields with tractors.

But life is not without troubles in villages too. There are frequent disputes over land and same-gotra love marriages, which all result in bloodshed and violence. The village panchayats when deliberating on disputes pronounce very harsh and uncalled-for judgements which make people’s life a tale of misery and pain.

Villagers depend on the sale of their agricultural produce on urban markets and city dwellers cannot survive without the supply of essential commodities such as grain, fruits and vegetables from rural regions. People from villages daily commute to cities to buy latest articles of modern life, watch movies, relax and enjoy themselves or do jobs in urban establishment. In fact, development of India is unthinkable without the harmonious development of villages and cities. Both of them complement each other.

A hypothesis is a theory or idea, which is then examined and tested. Sometimes you will agree with it, and sometimes you will disagree with it. Quality of life is what makes a persons life better or easier. Different people have different needs and so what makes their quality of life better is also different.

I am a teenager and my needs are very different to my grandmothers for example. I would prefer to live in the Inner City Zone or Inner Suburb Zone. This is because I would have easy access to shops, restaurants, clubs, cinemas, heath clubs and other amenities that young people prefer. Living in the CBD would not be appropriate for me however as there tends to be fewer parks and open spaces. I do not want to have to travel for hours to get to and from school every day, so a good local school would help improve my quality of life immensely.

My grandmother is 69. She has a quieter life than me and only goes into the city centre when is most necessary. For the majority of things like food, daily paper and toiletries she can shop at her local independent shops. The makes her quality of life better. Low crime rate also improves her quality of life as she is more venerable than me. However because of her physical condition a large garden is not very practical as she could not be able to look after it. She does love being outside however and so to improve her quality of life she would need parks and public open areas near to her. She would also prefer quieter neighbours and few incidents of graffiti and vandalism. Her breathing is not ‘what it was’ due to smoking for many years and so low pollutions levels would help her general health levels too.

Because she lives on her own, it would not be very easy for her to get someone to come and repair walls or roofs, so good housing conditions would also be a necessity. My grandmother is also quite religious and likes to attend church every weeks or so, so for her it would be very important that there was a church very close by, or on a major bus route, as she would not be able to afford a taxi every week. As she lives alone, it would also be good for her if her family and friends lived near buy too. She could catch a bus to get there, but not of a great distance as it would be inconvenient for her because of medical conditions.

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There are some factors that would improve both hers and my quality of life however. For example, good public transport. This would benefit both of us as neither has a car or licence. For this reason also, being near to a hospital, doctor or dentist would improve the quality of both our lives.

CBD stands for Central Business District. This area is in the centre of towns and is usually one of the oldest parts. There tends to be Victorian buildings which may have been modernised as well as modern buildings. The main land use tends to be commercial, with lots of shops, banks and restaurants. In some CBDs as a result of new developments there are sometimes new houses or apartments. The general sky-line tends to be higher towards the CBD as there are generally more high-rise buildings as land is more expensive.

Moving away from the CBD, the next major zone is the Inner City. This zone is just outside the CBD, and old industry. In the last century factories have been built but the majority of these factories have been closed down as industry moved away from the CBD. The small terraced houses that were originally built for the factory workers are, in most cities and Birmingham still there. At this time however, land was expensive and so gardens and houses were small. Some of these houses have been knocked down and made into apartments or high-rise flats. This has helped encourage business workers to move to the CBS. The majority of these workers have large amounts of money, no children and that enjoy a good night life! This has encouraged bars, restaurants and clubs to open in the centre of most major cities. However it has also encouraged drug use and high crime rates.

Moving outward from the CBD, the next zone is the Inner City. In the last century this land would also be used for factory building, however with modernisation, of these cities, industry has moved away and the old buildings converted. The majority of land is used as residential and most houses are terraced. Like the CBD, land was, and is, quite expensive in these areas and so most of the houses and gardens were small.

The next major zone is the Inner Suburbs. This land is almost all residential. The majority of houses built here are from the 1920s and 1930s. The houses tend to be bigger as there is more land, and so it is cheaper to build on it. The general crime rate tends to be lower in these areas. These qualities attract families and so there also tends to be a lot more primary and secondary schools.

After this zone, the next is the Outer Suburbs. The main land use is residential and there tends to be more large modern houses. Councils have also bought this land and many council estates are built here too. Because of the distance from these areas to the CBD, land is cheaper here. Recently small modern industries and large shops have developed here.

Birmingham is the second largest city in England. It has a population of 965,928 in city and 2,555,596 in the West Midlands. Despite its’ current size, Birmingham grew late in relation to other British cities and was a market town right up until the Industrial Revolution. At this time, luminaries such as Matthew Bolton ; James Watt (inventors of the steam engine), William Murdock (inventor of gas lighting) and Joseph Priestley (who discovered oxygen) put Birmingham on the map. A massive system of canals was built to cope with the influx of traffic, so that Birmingham now has a more extensive canal network than Venice.

World War II saw heavy damage inflicted upon the city, and an equally brutal reconstruction program that earned Birmingham’s inner ring road the nickname ‘the concrete collar’. However, Birmingham’s relationship with the car goes deeper than this; it saw the building of the first four-wheeled petrol driven car by F W Lancaster in 1895, and now acts as the UK’s motor-manufacturing hub (earning it the nickname Brum). Birmingham has since been reborn as a business and conference centre, and is busy rebuilding itself into the sub-capital it always should have been.

Burgess model

In 1925, E.W. Burgess presented an urban land use model, which divided cities in a set of concentric circles expanding from the CBD to the suburbs. This representation was built from Burgess’s observations of a number of American cities, particularly Chicago.

According to this model, a large city is divided in concentric zones with a tendency of each inner zone to expand in the other zone. Urban growth is there for a process of expansion of land uses.

For this study I am going to be following a transect along the Alcester Road, A435. This road is an A type road and runs from the centre of town to the outskirts in a southern direction. Because of the size pf Birmingham, if the hypotenuse is correct it will most likely apply to the majority of large towns and cities in England.

My chosen areas of study are:

• Balsall Heath
• Kings Heath
• Alcester Lanes End
• Druids Heath

Balsall Heath

Balsall Heath is situated in the Inner city zone of Birmingham. From the centre of the CBD it is 2.75 kilometres. It has been calculated that 4,000 people out of Balsall Heath’s population of 12,000 regularly participate in a caring activity designed to improve the quality of life of the neighbourhood.

Kings Heath

Kings Heath is in the Inner suburb zone of Birmingham. From the centre of the CBD, Kings Heath is 5.5kilometres. According to the 2001 Population Census there were 24,273 people resident in Kings Heath.

Alcester Lanes End

Alcester Lanes End is situated in the Outer suburb zone of Birmingham. From the CBD, Alcester Lances End is 6.25 kilometres.

Druids Heath

Druids Heath is an area situated on an Outer City Council Estate. From the CBD, Druids Heath is 8 kilometres away. This is the area furthest away form the CBD that I will be studying.

Everybody knows the old saying that ‘you never really know a person until you live with them’. Well, this also applies to visiting other countries, because I have always had an idea in my head about what kind of city San Francisco would be. I have seen various pictures in holiday brochures of the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf and of course, the famous Powell and Mason line Cable Cars. Not only is the city about the famous landmarks and sites everybody has heard of, to me it was about a whole lot more and I do not think that anybody truly knows a place until they have lived in the heart of it for more than two weeks.

Regretfully, I only spent two weeks in the city, and I felt as though there was still plenty I had to learn about it. People always seem to associate the state of California with plenty of sunshine, hardly any rain and generally being a warm if not hot climate. I was no different. Therefore, when I stepped off of the aeroplane and felt a cold blast of wind as I walked through the courtesy tunnel, I was fairly shocked. I did not expect to feel the cold whilst I was in California, but that was just the beginning of unexpected things to come.

In all honesty I should have begun my travels with an open mind, but I thought I knew what San Francisco would be like and through fault of my own I did not expect anything else. I had visited the United States on three separate occasions before I decided to embark on San Francisco and I had never actually travelled to the western coast of America so this was new territory for me. There is supposed to be a clear divide between the East and West coasts of America and thus knowing this, it was up to me to distinguish what these factors were. The fact that I had been to the country before certainly helped me a lot, especially at the airport.

Many visitors from Europe who have not visited the United States before, would be alarmed at the amount of questions security ask whilst getting their passport stamped. This just goes to show that the American’s do not just let anybody into their country and they have got to be certain that everybody who has not got a visa to live and work in the country has visited for recreational purposes only. I know that security has been stepped up since the attacks on September 11th, but when the passport control officer asked me, ‘Why are you visiting the USA? , ‘How long will you be staying? ‘, and ‘Have you visited before? ‘, it made me feel like a criminal for being in their country.

At the time I felt like I had been interrogated for no reason, but looking back on it, I see that it was only for my increased safety whilst I was visiting that they had to ask those questions and they did ask everybody. Ever since I can remember, I have always thought it was only the English that constantly talked about the weather. I was not expecting to hear about it non-stop whilst I was in San Francisco.

However, I soon found out the reason behind it; I was actually visiting the city in the hottest weeks it had ever seen, I could not believe my luck. The cold blast of air I had felt whilst stepping off of the plane must have been the air conditioning, I breathed a big sigh of relief as I realised that the California I had been dreaming of might actually become a reality. I had booked into a youth hostel for the first three nights of my stay and having never stayed in one before I really had no idea what it would be like. As soon as I realised the taxi had pulled up outside the hostel, I began to worry.

It looked nothing like the pictures I had seen on the internet, it was situated in a desolate street and a man was sitting on the steps outside with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. I honestly would have used all my spending money to stay in a respectable hotel for the rest of the trip if it had meant that I did not have to stay in the hostel. However, I was persuaded to give it a try for one night and I was given the chance to decide what to do after that. Keen to get out of the hostel I went for a walk on that first night to get an idea of how far we were from all the places I wanted to visit.

To my horror, it seemed that nobody went for walks in the city, especially not at night anyhow. We were not staying far from Market Street, which is the main street in the city and it literally ps from one end of the city to the other and eventually ends at the Ferry Building next to the Bay Bridge. Having read about Market Street whilst doing my research, I was glad I was staying within walking distance, because that is the street where you can catch the streetcars and the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transport), which is the equivalent to the London Underground.

Knowing that I was within walking distance of all the major transport links made me feel better and I decided that the next day I would take the Cable Car to Fisherman’s Wharf and see what that had to offer. The Cable Cars are the only vehicles of their kind still in operation and are considered to be National Landmarks. Travelling on a Cable Car was at the top of my list of things to see and do whilst I was visiting San Francisco, therefore it had to be one of the first things I did. Seeing the city the next day, when the sun was beaming and more people were walking the streets made all the difference.

I just could not believe how many homeless people there were on the streets though, with all of their worldly possessions packed into a shopping trolley they wandered up and down market street begging for money. Compared to London and New York, it seemed to me that San Francisco had a serious problem with the amount of homeless people living on the city’s streets. It was not until the end of my trip that I found out, that the council of San Francisco actually gives each and every registered homeless person four hundred dollars a month, so that they can afford shelter and food.

Although, hardly any of the money the city gives them is actually spent of shelter and food, it goes on alcohol and drugs, which is not helping anybody. There has been uproar from the public about the situation and there have been many petitions to stop the council from giving the homeless any more money. I soon began to realise that even though I was in California, I was still in a city and all city’s have their good parts and their bad parts, even more so the tourist attractions and the lived in areas.

At that point I was ready to be a tourist with the rest of them, so I headed to Powell Street for a ride on one of the famous Cable Cars. It was a beautiful day so I sat on an outside seat and I did not have to fight for it and I soon realised why. I could not believe how steep the hills actually were, at one point we were so high up that I could see Alcatraz Island all the way at the bottom and the red cables of the Golden Gate Bridge just rising above the buildings in the distance.

As the Cable Car descended down the hill, it went at a fairly high speed and I certainly felt the wind as it blew against us. The driver pointed out famous sites along the way, such as Chinatown on the right hand side, the famous Lombard Street as featured in many movies and then finally we came to our destination that was Fisherman’s Wharf. Built in 1900, Fisherman’s Wharf is the most popular tourist attraction in San Francisco. I was not disappointed in the least when I finally arrived.

I think the smell of crab and other seafood delights probably hit me before I had actually reached the Wharf, but that was just part of the experience at being there. Fisherman’s Wharf was heaving with tourists, it was an unusually hot day and it seemed as though everybody had had the same idea. I had not expected the place to be so big; there were so many different piers I was not quite sure which one to visit first. However, it was soon decided that we should visit the San Francisco museum at Pier 45, which was also home to the US submarine USS Pampanito.

The museum was no ordinary museum, since it was made out to look like an old Victorian arcade. It was crammed full of old wooden machines that worked if a quarter was dropped in and once the money had been collected the machines would come to life, considering the age of the contraptions it was quite amazing that they still worked. Unfortunately the trip around the USS Pampanito was not scheduled for that particular day so we then headed on to Pier 39. This was a thoroughly modern area of Fisherman’s Wharf and to me it seemed as if it had only been designed with tourists in mind.

According to the guidebook, Pier 39 is San Francisco’s number one attraction and I can actually see why the book would say this, since it certainly does have a lot to offer to keep both adults and children entertained. There were the usual boutiques and memorabilia stores and of course no American city would be complete without a famous Hard Rock Cafi??, but the one thing that could have kept me entertained for hours was just around the corner. I could not believe my eyes when all I could see there in the water right in front of me was more than one hundred sea lions sunbathing on floating rafts.

It was like nothing I had ever seen before, not even Sea World could compete with the sea lions at Pier 39. It seemed unimaginable that just a few hours previous and not even 5 miles away I had been alarmed by the amount of homeless people and street beggars, yet there I was staring at over one hundred sea lions housed within a small dock and I was not sure what surprised me the most. Being Saint Patrick’ day the very next day, I prepared myself for a long day. I had heard on the grapevine that the American’s love to celebrate on Saint Patrick’s Day and I was certain that this one would not be any different.

I think that the American people are very open-minded when it comes to culture, race and sexuality, but I found even more so in San Francisco. There are so many different cultures within the city and they even have designated areas of the city in which they live. The obvious one being Chinatown, but the North Beach area is home to many Italian-American’s, the Castro area is renowned for its Gay and Lesbian scene, Ocean Beach is known for its Japanese culture and the Irish fit in anywhere in between.

That is why it did not surprise me that on Saint Patrick’s Day, a day that the Irish would be doing the most celebrating it would seem, the American’s were doing their best to outdo them. After talking to many people who actually work in San Francisco, the current trend is to live elsewhere and travel into work each day. The most popular areas to live are either Oakland, which is over the eight and a half mile long Bay Bridge, or Sausalito that is in the other direction and across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Having taken a trip over the Golden Gate Bridge and seeing the city from a different angle, I could certainly see why it might be tempting to live in the quieter towns and enjoy the hustle and bustle of going to work each morning. It was like entering a different country as soon as we had crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and drove through Marin County. Even the weather had changed so drastically in that short distance; the temperature must have risen by twenty degrees Fahrenheit at least. We were heading towards the town of Sonoma and Napa Valley for some wine tasting, a far cry from the busy city that was San Francisco.

Sonoma is regarded as the birthplace of California viticulture and the wine industry there is closely tied to the Spanish Missionaries that found San Francisco in 1823 and in fact it used to be the state capital for a while. The town itself was built around a square and it looked so clean and pristine, it was hard to comprehend that the city that never stands still was only forty miles away. Back on the road again and heading towards Napa Valley, I just sat there taking in the beautiful scenery, I really could not believe that a place could be so different.

The divide between city and country really stood out in California and it was hard for me to decide which I liked the most. Just one main road went from Sonoma to Napa, with huge vineyards either side of the road it was easy to see why it was called ‘Wine Country’. The size of the vineyards amazed me; the plots of land and the size of their houses were huge. It really was something I had never seen before, well the English are not really well known wine makers so I suppose there has never been a chance for me to see it.

A trip to Napa would not have been complete without a touch of wine tasting so our first stop was at the Sequoia Grove Ranch, a huge working ranch where you can pay five dollars for four tastes; two whites and two reds. The price of wine by the bottle anywhere in California is so expensive compared to England, even the Californian wine; therefore I did not make a purchase. The next visit was to the film director Francis Ford Coppola’s ranch, named Niebaum-Coppola. The sheer size of this vineyard was one to blow you away, the elegance and style which pour out of the buildings is remarkable.

It was clear that somebody extremely rich owned this vineyard and it was also a small museum in honour of the film director since there were a lot of exhibits in the hallway. Lots of memorabilia from his films were hung in cabinets around the galleries and this to me made the experience of wine tasting more exciting, just knowing I was visiting in Francis Ford Coppola’s vineyard. It seems that the man has a lot to do with the state of California, obviously he has done a lot of work in Hollywood, but with his ranch in Napa and he has also shot one of his films in a downtown San Francisco diner which I visited later on in my trip.

The film was called, ‘American Graffiti’, and was about teenagers growing up in the rock and roll era, but some of the scenes were set in Mel’s Diner on Mission Street, San Francisco. After leaving Napa we headed for the outlet stores. If there were something the American’s know how to do properly, it would be shopping. Because, there in the middle of the countryside was a huge outlet shopping mall, with every brand name you could ever imagine at extremely good prices.

I thought it was just San Francisco that was built around shopping malls and boutiques, but I was wrong, since even in the country they still have time to build a huge mall. That is what I found whilst being in San Francisco for two weeks, most American’s do not like to stay at home, and they tend to go out more. Even after , it seems that they would rather go out for a meal than cook it at home and this was just the way of life for people in the city. Although according to some locals, American’s do not walk anywhere they drive to their destination or they travel on the local transport system.

Not me though, I walked everywhere and I did not see the problem with it, I thought at first it may be because of the people on the streets, but they were no problem to me. I decided that it must be because American’s have got used to being lazy and taking the easy option, which in my view was probably more accurate. One thing was for sure; they certainly know good food when they taste it. That same night I headed into Chinatown for something to eat and I seriously could have been in China for all I knew, even the street signs were in Chinese. It was a very lively place, lights and noise wherever you turned.

We were going to a restaurant called the ‘House of Nung Ho’ and the food was supposed to be out of this world. Whenever I have been to a Chinese restaurant in the past, there has always been a candle of the table, knives and forks wrapped up in a napkin, but when I arrived at the ‘House of Nung Ho’, I was not expecting it to be a cafi?? lit up with strip flourecsent lights. There was even a queue outside for this tiny back street cafi??, a good sign I thought, but I was still a bit concerned that this was not the type of restaurant I had been expecting it to be.

Once inside however, we had ordered our food and they cooked it right in front of me, with a bottle of ‘Tsingtao’ Chinese beer in my hand, I was looking forward to the food. After talking with the owner, he pointed out a framed picture on the wall of Jamie Oliver, the English chef. He had visited the ‘House of Nung Ho’ and had written a glorious review of the place in the local good food guide, and he was right, the food was delicious and it made me see that first appearances are not always what they seem.

I am glad I decided to queue to get into the restaurant; it was well worth the wait. Unfortunately the good weather looked as though it had passed by the second week and it was clear that I was going to have to find something to do which meant that I would not be caught out in the rain. It had been suggested to me that I make a visit to the ‘Metreon’, which is a Sony Entertainment Centre. Home to a twelve screen cinema, an IMAX theatre and several gadget shops and restaurants, it did not even seem possible that I had walked past the building many time not realising what it was.

Set within the financial district of San Francisco, the building is fairly inconspicuous surrounded by huge skyscrapers. Yet, once inside the building it is not easy imagining how I missed it. Hundreds of people crowding around games consoles waiting to try out a brand new game, a mile long queue for the cinema and the IMAX theatre, the place was heaving. I had never seen a place so busy, yet from the outside the building did not look like anything special. Those that wanted to escape the hubbub that was going on inside the ‘Metreon’, were sat quietly in the gardens that surrounded it.

The Yerba Buena gardens provide tranquillity for the people who want to escape the noise of the city and just relax for an hour on their dinner break. I was beginning to see a likeness to New York within San Francisco, since the intercultural relations were more or less the same and Central Park offers New York the same sort of tranquillity that the Yerba Buena Gardens do to San Francisco. Yet, all the while that I was making these comparisons and finding similarities between the two, I found that San Francisco is far more relaxed and laid back than New York or any other city that I have visited.

I do not know whether it is the people that live there or the way the city is governed, but for some reason laid back nature works for the city. Even the homeless make ends meet, they have their own community and get on with the life they lead, that is the one thing I wish had not bothered me if the first few days in the city. In the end I learnt not to expect anything during my trip, because it always turned out to surprise me and mainly in a good way. Previous visits to America had led me to believe that the American’s were extremely fake and narrow minded, yet whilst visiting San Francisco I saw no evidence of that.

Maybe that is where the east and west coast divide tends to lie, since many holidaymakers from Europe mainly visit the eastern coast of America because it is closer. Tourism brings in a lot of money to the United States from Europe and maybe that is why they try so hard in places like Florida and New York to make you feel welcome; but it just comes across as being too pushy and fake. However, a city like San Francisco with its open-mindedness to sexuality, race and religion was going to be entirely different from the beginning and it certainly was.

The whole temperament of the city flows like the water around it, calm and gentle yet perhaps a little rough around the edges. Overall, If I could have changed my trip for the better, I would have become a commuter for two weeks and stayed across from the city and travelled in if and when I wanted to. However, I am glad that I stayed right within the heart of the city and witnessed the good things and the bad, yet most of the time there was hardly any bad. From what I saw of California, I liked very much and would not hesitate to go back at any given chance.

I think it is important to see more than one aspect of a country and given the chance I would like to explore the state much more thoroughly, perhaps visiting Steinbeck Country and Yosemite Valley. With enough time and money I think if you really want to explore California it can be done, but finding the above is not easy unfortunately. I recommend that San Francisco should be on everybody’s list of places to see before they die, it truly is a remarkable city and if its variety that you want, this place has it.

Currently, for the selected route, there are shared taxi services which are costly impersonal and may require vehicle transfers, public transportation which is rather inconvenient and unpredictable and limousine/private car service which can also be pretty costly, but nothing in between. City to City services are a hybrid of a public bus system and a private limousine service, utilizing the bus capacity and the personalized services of a limousine whilst avoiding the high price which limousines and other private carriers would charge.

For most of the market, people appreciate the limousine services but cannot afford the price point. The session of City to City Transportation Services is to provide the customer the finest transportation service available at a reasonable price. We exist to attract and maintain customers. When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers. The company will be led to profitability by Ms. Alma-Lee Gordon, a veteran of the transportation business. Alma-Lee has a degree in Business Administration with a strong background in accounting.

Also forming a part of the management team is Mr.. Brian Gordon who possesses a Bachelors’ Degree in Information Technology and Marketing, n addition to twelve years of service in the hospitality industry as marketer, trainer and guest relations coordinator. Having spent years in two industries which factor greatly into the core business practices, Alma-Lee and Brian both bring to City to City, industry insight and the required skill-set to make it a thriving company. City to City will be focusing on airline passengers, leisure and business travelers. All three groups will likely demand our company’s services.

The target customers will utilize the service because it is convenient and less expensive than if they drove themselves ND hired a personal car. Business travelers will use City to City because it offers a limousine-like service where the traveler has a scheduled ride waiting for them to get to their destination. Since our company will be offering a premium service as a more economical option to the available alternatives, companies will encourage their workers and travel agents will recommend their customers to utilize City to City Transportation Services as a cost-saving measure.

City to City will easily gain market share by utilizing our competitive advantages, which are based on a sophisticated, et purposeful, incentive system for our frontline associates. The system incentives team behavior to build new clients, turn one-time clients into long-term customers, receive positive feedback, and develop a team atmosphere among the employees in the company. City to City Transportation Services is entering its first year of business. The basic market need is for a professional, reliable, transportation service offering a premium transportation experience at a reasonable price point.

There are two distinct segments that are in need of these services. These are: Leisure travelers Business travelers The company will meet the market need by offering a professionalism, cost effective and dependable ground shuttle service between both coasts. Market Summary City to City Transportation possesses good information about the market and knows a great deal about the common attributes of our prized and loyal customers. We will leverage this information to better understand who we serve, meet and exceed their specific needs as well as how our organization can best communicate with them.

We will utilize the internet to widen our reach internationally, as well as participate in co-advertising activities with airlines, travel agencies and online travel site such as Expedite, Traceability and Hotels. Com. Airport services will be offered for delivery of delay/lost luggage at prescribed stops along our route. The leisure segment of our business will not be limited to international passengers but also local travelers which include University students and other students who are in short term housing and return home for weekends, social events such as themed parties and holidays.

Demographics There is no disparity between men and women however we anticipate a higher male readership, as males do not readily give up their independence, should they already own a motor vehicle. Ages 12 years and over are targeted and the clustering of individuals between 18 to 35 years, will be expected to represent approximately 54% of our business. This group covers all college aged students, leisure travelers and business people most prone to utilize the transport solution we are offering to the general public.

Travelers of European decent will also be targeted as they are less likely inclined to explore alternative means of transport from the airport. This customer segment is familiar with this option in the more developed countries they hail from and may not have local knowledge on how to secure an alternative means of getting to their destination. Situational Factors Potential customers have safety concerns in traveling the busy route by themselves. Potential customers have luggage capacity which exceeds that which can be handled by competitors. Affordable.

Market Needs City to City Transportation is providing customers with a safe, reliable, convenient, quality and dedicated professional transportation service for all travelers. City to City seeks to fulfill the following benefits that are important to customers. Convenience: Eliminating the need to utilize many transport options for a destination not in the urban areas. Cost Savings: Round-trip fares along the route are cheaper than using ones own vehicle. Reliability: The service is such, that customers’ schedules may be planned around our service.

Professionalism: The targeted customers have a high expectation for customer service and we intend to exceed these expectations. Market Trends Within the last five years, the transportation industry has seen the trend of customers moving from driving themselves, to utilizing other forms of transportation such as public transportation and other private transportation services. Two factors of this changing trend are the fact that Jamaica depends on international partners to provide it with fossil fuel and the volatility within that market has caused an increase in gasoline prices on a weekly basis.

Likewise, corporate entities more readily have their associates moving among their various operation branches around the island and services such as ours, not only represent a cost saving method, but also reduces rocker fatigue due to long commute while operating a vehicle. Market Growth The growth rate for this area within the transportation sector has been 6% for the last three years and is forecasted to reach 8. 2% for the next four years. The increase in growth is forecasted due to several factors: An increase in travel due to business. Dissatisfaction with the public transport system and the existing alternatives.

Consumers needing to feel safe while they commute. Employers realizing that work can be accomplished during commute. Increased hassles associated with driving, especially long distances. Forecasted increase in overseas airport arrivals The recognition of the ever-decreasing amount of free time, and the time that is saved by utilizing transportation service like ours. SOOT Analysts The following SOOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses within the company, and describes the opportunities and threats facing City to City Transportation Services.

Strengths Exclusive customer service delivery system, through Tools and electronic CRM systems Ground breaking safety policy and emergency training Personal oversight from directors with field knowledge Well-trained employees. An innovative staff compensation system that prizes customer satisfaction, customer feral, and repeat business. A strong, market-driven business model. Weaknesses Lack of possibility for upward mobility may discourage workers. A lack of brand amounts of capital. The difficulty to find above average employees.

All communications technologies are from outside the organization Opportunities Expansion of route to western cities like Montage Bay Participation in a high-demand industry. Corporate alliances with transportation, education, tourism and finance industries. Increase and maximize profits via operational efficiency. Steady future demand. Ability to build brand equity. Threats Future/potential competition from a franchise from another market. A catastrophic event that has a significant, negative effect on the travel industry.

Unexpected governmental regulation of the private ground transportation industry. Poor road infrastructure Lack of alternate routes which do not deviate far from planned routing Volatile fuel prices Fleet servicing is done by outside company thus our success is linked to theirs Competition The desired route currently has several competing transportation systems: Public Transportation: The Government does not offer transportation services from our chosen starting point to destination. This is left up to private individuals, some of whom are not registered, or insured to transport the general public.

While this is an inexpensive alternative, there are several disadvantages. The service is unreliable and safety is an issue when unregulated vehicles are used. Comfort is compromised as service is disregarded; rather focus is placed on maximizing the passenger load per trip. There is also a limit to how much can be taken onboard with you and there is little or no extra room except you lap to accommodate your belongings. Taxi Service: Taxis do provide service to and from both cities however, customers cannot kook the trip in advance. Taxis can also be quite expensive due to the distance.

Other Private Bus Services: This is a less expensive option, similar to our operations, however, it fails to realize the unique experience each customer requires. Additionally, you lose out on the personalized service relative to City to City Transportation Services’ offerings. The buying patterns of these services vary based on the length of the trip, who is paying for it, and if it is a last minute or planned trip. The longer the trip, the more economical a transportation option is relative to driving ourselves or trying to compensate for variables due to uncertainty.

A large percentage of business travelers prefer to use an upscale transportation solution like City to City Transportation Services or a limousine service for their employees. If the trip is planned at the last minute, taxi services might be the only option, however, City to City Transportation Services will offer last minute bookings if seats are available. Service Offering City to City Transportation Services provides a transportation solution for the travel along this route on short notice, but they generally work with a reservation yester.

A customer would call or submit reservations online in advance and provide the company with flight information for us to determine which shuttle would be best to facilitate flights. Our schedules presently seek to facilitate our business travelers more than our other customers. This will be reviewed should we see shifts in demand. For pick up at the airport, City to City Transportation Services would meet the customer outside of the baggage claim area after the customer has picked up their luggage and would drive them to their destination along the route.

Power strips o facilitate charging electronic devices and headphones are available to persons who wish to listen to the onboard video or guided tour while in transit. Free wife, in addition to an onboard lavatory are available for passenger convenience. An onboard courtesy phone provides complimentary three minute calls to passengers wishing to contact their hotels and family members overseas to advise of their safe arrival. The operations are similar to an airline in that a Transit Liaison Officer (TOOL) will accompany the driver on each trip. This individual will handle the onboard manifests and ensure passenger comfort.

They will also tag luggage and arrange for taxi services should they be required at the next stop. In addition, they chaperone unaccompanied minors who may be onboard and ensure they are safely received by a guardian at their destination. Tools are also all certified in Cardiac Pulmonary Respiration (CPRM) and can effectively operate the onboard defibrillator and oxygen tank. Keys to Success The keys to success are the factors that make the difference between a successful business and a failed operation. Aiming for total customer satisfaction is paramount to our success. City to City’s keys are: Safety. Reliability. Convenience.

Professionalism. Critical Issues City to City is still in the speculative stages as a service provider. The critical issues that it faces are the following: Build a loyal customer base that regularly uses City to City. Develop convenient ways for bookings and payments to be handled. Monitor growth and ensure that expenses do not exceed revenues. Ensuring service is not compromised through growth. Train the employee drivers to offer outstanding service. This issue will be addressed by developing a unique compensation structure that incentives this type of behavior. Marketing Strategy one to address each of our segmented targeted groups: 1.

Leisure Travelers: City to City Transportation Services will be using advertisements as a way to increase visibility for the company. The advertisements will be placed in University Publications and boarding school welcome packets in Kingston, local newspapers with the highest readership level in the Echo Iris and Kingston areas. Other ads will appear on the Jamaica Tourist Board’s website, as well as that of the Norman Manley International Airport’s (ANIMA) transportation page. City to City will also be working tit associations such as the Chamber of Commerce and other community groups to try to build up a network of users.

City to City Transportation Services believes that working with these groups will provide them with a steady flow of customers. Additionally, since a lot of these groups are close knit among members, referrals will be quite powerful when they are coming from a member who already has established a trust bond with the other organizational member. 2. Business Travelers: City to City Transportation Services will be contacting the human resources department of many of the different companies among the route hat have employees traveling and tell them about City to City Transportation Services ‘ offerings and offer them an introductory discount.

This will be an important segment to win over, as companies routinely have employees traveling throughout the year for training, seminars and temporary assignments. Businesses are also valuable because once the initial contact is made, the relationship can be turned into a steady stream of business. Additionally, there will be advertisements targeted for this market segment in the Business Observer and Gleaner. Mission The mission of City to City Transportation is to provide the customer the finest lace. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

Marketing Objectives Steadily gain in market share. Increase repeat customers by 3% per quarter. Decrease customer acquisition costs, measured by a decrease in marketing costs divided by the number of new customers. Financial Objectives 1. Increase the profit margin by 1% per quarter. 2. Decrease training costs of employees every two quarters while simultaneously improving service quality. 3. Decrease the operation costs of the leased vehicles through improved preventive maintenance and behavior modification. Target Marketing

The customers can be divided into two groups: families/individuals on pleasure trips, and business travelers. The first group is taking a trip for pleasure and will either be an individual or a family. Their choices are to drive, use public transportation, take a taxi, or use a limousine service. This group does not typically mind paying a bit more for a solution that takes care of their transportation to and from their destination. Since they are leisure/pleasure travelers, they appreciate having a service that gets them to their destination in a seamless way, so they do not have to worry about pickup point.

The second group is the business traveler. In the past the company would typically hire a private car service to pick up their worker or have them drive their own or a rented vehicle. With CO Transportation Services as an alternative, there is a transportation service that functions like a private car service, but without the overly fancy car and the high price. As companies are always looking at ways to cut costs, CO Transportation Services offers a very reasonable solution in terms of comfort and cost.

Positioning City to City will position itself as the premiere, most professional and reliable express hutted service terminating at the Norman Manley International Airport from the north coast. Its rates will be akin to services offered and the company will achieve the desired positioning by leveraging its competitive edge. The company’s competitive advantage will be based on an incentive system that rewards the driver economically when they achieve good service, develop repeat customers and act in a team fashion instead of competing against other company drivers. This incentive system will reward drivers when: 1 .

The company receives positive feedback about the onboard service team (a feedback system will be set up). . The customer is turned into a repeat customer. 3. The Tools and drivers develop new customers. 4. The Tools and drivers act in manner that is team based instead of individual gain. Through this complicated but purposeful system, City to City Transportation Services is incentives behavior that it believes will help the company succeed. Strategy Pyramids The single objective for City to City is to position itself as the market leading transportation service.

The marketing strategy will seek to first create customer awareness regarding the company and the services offered, develop its customer ease, and work toward building strong customer loyalty and new customer referrals. The message that City to City seeks to communicate is that it offers a first-class shuttle service without a premium price. This will appeal to both business travelers as well as families that use shuttles like ours for their travels. This message will be communicated through a variety of methods. The first method of communication will be advertisements.

Two different sources will be used for the advertisements, The Jamaica Gleaner and the Jamaica Observer. Within both publications, ads will be placed in their business section as well as the travel section. The second method of communication will be visibility generated through relationships cultivated with organizations such as Chambers of Commerce and associations such as the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association OATH) in particular have an active, loyal membership base and visibility in its membership newsletters and display posters at their offices will help position City to City.

The last method of communication will be networking with different companies’ travel departments. Alma-Lee and Brian are well connected within the community and will leverage these contacts to gain “entry” into the larger nannies in hopes of generating a constant stream of business from the travel departments. City to City Transportation’s marketing mix is comprised of the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. Pricing: The pricing model will be based on a per-trip rate with a slight discount offered for round trip service.

Distribution: By virtue of the type of service offered, distribution will occur where ever the customer requires it to be. Presently e-commerce and retail partners are the ones being utilized. Promotion and Advertising: City to City will use arioso activities to achieve positioning and visibility including advertisements and strategic relationships. Customer Service: The business model has been premised on the assumption that outstanding customer service is required in order to build a sustainable business based on repeat customers and new customer referrals.

Marketing Research City to City Transportation used a survey to gain insight into prospective customers’ preferences, needs and desires. The surveys were given out to travelers at the airport as well as persons who traveled the route via hotels and banks. The surveys were composed of a total of 1 5 questions. The number of questions was kept low to encourage people to complete the survey. Alma-Lee developed the surveys. The careful construction of surveys is imperative to achieve a statistically significant result that is meaningful.

A total of 1 55 surveys were completed electronically and returned, from the 250 emails sent, representing a fairly high return rate. The results of the survey ultimately served two functions: 1 . Confirm/validate previously held assumptions; 2. Provide insight into prospective customers’ preferences and thought processes. The surveys provided copious amount of information for both functions. Due to the argue amount of information that was mined, City to City plans to conduct more primary research in semi annually.

This will help in identifying trends as well as continually evaluate our performance based on customer expectations. Financial, Budgets, and Forecasts This section will offer a financial overview of City to City Transportation as it relates to the marketing activities. City to City will address break-even analysis, sales forecasts, expense forecasts, and how they link to the marketing strategy. Break-even Analysis The break-even analysis indicates that $3,281,283 is needed in monthly revenue to reach the break-even point.

In India, we can easily get an Uber or Ola at the click of our hand. However, what will you do when the cab you booked is stuck in traffic? We can bring the finest system from across the world, which would and are bringing ease and comfort in life, but these have no point when the base structure is missing.

This is the digital foundational infrastructure India needs at the moment, says Ravinder Pal Singh, Senior Industry Consultant and Expert in Digital infrastructure solutions, to create sustainable and Smart Business processes. As an empaneled consultant for India Smart City Mission and Delhi Mumbai Infrastructure Corridor (DMIC) projects, Singh shared his wisdom with us at our Entrepreneur India Annual Convention 2016 about the immediate need to have a strong foundation to build a Smart India.

What makes a city smart?

The biggest problem in Indian cities is the rate at which the infrastructure is deteriorating. You can very well guess the situation, by looking at all the water-logging that happens even when it rains only for 20 minutes in Delhi or any other major cities of India. The roads and the sewage go under the water and are hardly commutable. Now when you talk of smart cities, they will be built on digital foundation. Again the same logic applies, if we don’t think of the base of digital infrastructure in the right way, having lot of applications in a smart city will not make a city smart. It’s good that we have a lot of apps like Uber, Oyo, on top of you to make things easier. But until you have a strong digital foundational infrastructure, you cannot have a smart city. We’ll end up having the same problems after four or five years of setting a smart city. So my take is that if you are creating a smart city today, start with a strong infrastructure, which has to be purely digital, and then build on top of that doing the reverse which is happening right now.

What should be the mindset behind building a smart city?

Mindset is one of the biggest issues. We have a tendency to look at what other countries are doing and then try to copy that culture here. Now the problem we don’t foresee is this – in Europe for example, you can go and set up a waste management system or garbage tracking system and it works fine. If we bring the same solution to India, it won’t work because your base infrastructure is missing. When you don’t even have sufficient number of garbage cans in the city, then how can you follow the system that is completely based on such facilities being in place? You don’t have the right sewage drains in the city. And you don’t have the people behavior, while in Europe nobody throws waste outside, in India, we do the reverse. So it has to have a combination of two things. See what developed countries are doing, it’s good to look at that, but don’t copy it as it is. Look at our basic problems and again as I said, you start with the basic foundation and then build on top of that. In developed nations the base foundation is beautiful. Their roads and networks are beautiful, so you put applications on top of it, and then it works. Here you can’t do the same.

What kind of technology do you think can help in building smart cities?

Various! As a technologist, I will say that in every respect you structure the city, technology has and will have a big play. For instance, we are always cribbing that we may never have good roads or good traffic signals, so how can we manage your traffic? Let me tell you, there are cities where roads are much narrower and traffic density is much higher, but in spite of that, they don’t suffer from the kind of traffic jams that we do. That for me, is the management problem. With technology what we can do is we can do better and intelligent management of traffic and we can enforce some of the behavior, which ideally people should do themselves, like not driving in the wrong lane. If we put video analytics in a city it can actually track people who are trying to subvert that. That will be a forced behavior which actually helps to bring out a discipline in people here.

Abstract

Investment is the employment of funds on assets with the aim of earning income or capital appreciation. Investment is the most important things today. People are earning more, but they do not know where, when and how to invest it. A proper understanding of money, its value, the available avenues for investment, various financial institutions, the rate of return/risk etc., are essential to successfully manage one’s finance for achieving life’s goal. Through this study, an analysis has been made into preferred investment avenues among high net worth individuals in the city of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. Indore a hub for business class.

The result s highlight that certain factors like education level, awareness about the current financial system, age of investors etc… make significant impact while deciding the investment avenues. The study is based on personal interviews with high net worth individuals, using a structured questionnaire. Actually, the present study identifies the preferred investment avenues among the individual investors using self assessment test. The study is based on primary sources of data which are collected by distribution of a close ended questionnaire. The data will be analyzed using percentage and chi-square test with the help of statistical software. There are large numbers of investment opportunities available today. In this study it will be examined how the HNI investors managing their investments.

Introduction

The developing countries like India face the enormous task of finding sufficient capital in their development efforts. Most of these countries find it difficult to get out of the vicious circle of poverty of low income, low saving, low investment, low employment etc. With high capital output ratio, India needs very high rates of investments to make a leap forward in her efforts of attaining high levels of growth. Since the beginning of planning, the emphasis was on investment as the primary instruments of economic growth and increase in . In order to have production as per target, investment was considered the crucial determinant and capital formation had to be supported by appropriate volume of saving.

HNI Inventors:

The respondents of this study consist only the people, those who are rich business class although precise classification of his wealth cannot be commented upon. It is observed that the business class having ample wealth invest differently considering high risk high return basis other than salaried class investors who are believed to invest in safe investment with

Definition of ‘High Net Worth Individual

A classification used by the financial services industry to denote an individual or a family with high net worth. Although there is no precise definition of how rich somebody must be to fit into this category, high net worth is generally quoted in terms of liquid assets over a certain figure. The exact amount differs by financial institution and region. The categorization is relevant because high net worth individuals generally qualify for separately managed investment accounts instead of regular mutual funds. HNIs are in high demand by private wealth managers. The more money a person has, the more work it takes to maintain and preserve those assets. These individuals generally demand (and can justify) personalized services in investment management, estate planning, tax planning etc.

Investment Options Available

There are a large number of investment instruments available today. To make our lives easier we would classify or group them. In India, numbers of investment avenues are available for the investors. Some of them are marketable and liquid while others are non marketable and some of them also highly risky while others are almost ris k less. The people has to choose Proper Avenue among them, depending upon his specific need, risk preference, and return expected Investment avenues can broadly categories under the following heads.

• Equity
• FI Bonds
• Corporate Debenture
• Company Fixed
• Bank Fixed
• PPF
• Life Insurance
• Post Office-NSC
• Gold/Sliver
• Real Estate
• Mutual Fund
• Hedge fund & Others

Objectives:

Primary objective

• To study the various investment avenues and the investors risk preference towards it.

Secondary objectives

• To study the dependence/independence of the demographic factors of the investor and his/her risk tolerance..
• To analyze the investment pattern (i.e the type of financial instrument they and duration for which they prefer to invest) among the HNI investors.
• To find the problems being faced by the investors and type of risk considered by them.
• To know the mode of investments of the HNI respondent in various investment avenues.

Scope of the Study:

This study is focusing on the preference of Investments by HNI investors and it will be helpful to identify the better investment options in the market.Their level of awareness about the various aspects of investment avenues available in the study area is considered.

Rationale of the Study:

Indian economy is growing significantly. It has various investment options. The study has been undertaken to analyze whether the investment avenues have gained importance among the people (or) not. This analysis on individual investors behavior is an attempt to know the profile of the investor and also know the characteristics of the investors so as to know their preference w.r.t their investment. The study also tries to explore the influence of demographic factors like age, income, gender on risk tolerance level of the investor.

Review of Literature:

Avinash Kumar Singh (2006)

The study entitled “Investment Pattern of People” has been undertaken with the objective, to analyze the investment pattern of people in Bangalore city and Bhubaneswar analysis of the study was undertaken with the help of survey conducted .After analysis and interpretation of data it is concluded that in Bangalore investors are more aware about various investment avenues & the risk associated with that. All the age groups give more important to invest in equity & except people those who are above 50 give important to insurance, fixed deposits and tax saving benefits. Generally those investors who are invested in equity, are personally follow the stock market frequently i.e. in daily basis. But those who are invested in mutual funds are watch stock market weekly or fortnightly. In Bangalore, investors are more aware about various investment avenues and the risk associated with that. But in Bhubaneswar, investors are more conservative in nature and they prefer to invest in those avenues where risk is less like bank deposits, small savings, post office savings etc.

Sudalaimuthu and Senthil Kumar (2008)

Mutual fund is the one of investment avenues the researcher research in this area about investors perception towards mutual fund investments has been analyzed effectively taking into account the investors reference towards the mutual fund sector, scheme type, purchase of mutual fund units, level of risks undertaken by investors, source of information about the market value of the units, investors opinion on factors influenced to invest in mutual funds, the investors satisfaction level towards various motivating factors, source of awareness of mutual fund schemes, types of plan held by the investors, awareness of risk category by investors, problems faced by mutual fund investors.

Running a successful mutual fund requires complete understanding of the peculiarities of the Indian Stock Market and also the awareness of the small investor. The study has made an attempt to understand the financial behavior of mutual fund investors in connection with the scheme preference and selection. An important element in the success of a marketing strategy is the ability to fulfill investor expectation. The result of these studies through satisfactory on the investor’s perception about the mutual funds and the factors determining their investment decisions and preferences. The study will be useful to the mutual fund industry to understand the investor’s perception towards mutual funds investments and the study would also be informative to the investors.

Sunil Gupta (2008)

The investment pattern among different groups in Shimla had revealed a clear as well as a complex picture. The complex picture means that the people are not aware about the different investment avenues and they did not respond positively, probably it was difficult for them to understand the different avenues. The study showed that the more investors in the city prefer to deposit their surplus in banks, post offices, fixed deposits, saving accounts and different UTI schemes, etc. The attitude of the investors towards the securities in general was bleak, though service and professional class is going in for investment in shares, debentures and in different mutual fund schemes. As far as the investments are concerned, people put their surplus in banks, past offices and other government agencies. Most of the horticulturists in Shimla city who belong to Apple belt though being rich have a tendency of investing then surpluses in fixed deposits of banks, provident funds, Post Office savings, real estates, etc. for want of safety and suitability of returns.

Manish Mittal and Vyas (2008)

Investors have certain cognitive and emotional weaknesses which come in the way of their investment decisions. Over the p ast few years, behavioral
finance researchers have scientifically shown that investors do not always act rationally. They have behavioral biases that lead to systematic errors in the way they process information for investment decision. Many researchers have tried to classify the investors on the basis of their relative risk taking capacity and the type of investment they make. Empirical evidence also suggests that factors such as age, income, education and marital status affect an individual’s investment decision. This paper classifies Indian investors into different personality types and explores the relationship between various demographic factors and the investment personality exhibited by the investors.

Research Methodology:

This part explain the methodology used in this study. The methodology includes data and sources of data, sample size, area of the study and framework of analysis.

The study is based on primary and secondary data. Primary data have been collected from 100 respondents through a structure questionnaire covering HNI investors of Indore, India. The secondary data have been collected from various books, magazine, journals, news papers and websites.

The samples sizes of 100 respondents.

The sampling technique followed in this study is probability sampling. Simple random techniques are used to select the respondent from the available database. In order to analyse the collected data, the following tools were used.

Simple percentage analysis: it states the frequency and percentage of the customers profile, attitude and opinion regarding peoples.