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- Permanent Link:
- http://dpanther.fiu.edu/dpService/dpPurlService/purl/FI13042188/00001
Notes
- Summary:
- This report discusses trends in urban development throughout the Asia-Pacific region, highlighting critical issues such as demographic flux, poverty and inequality, environmental devastation, climate change, and urban governance. This publication is the production of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Over the next ten years, two-thirds of the planet’s urban population growth will occur in Asia. This will be characterized by two dynamics. The first is growth in the number of mega-cities, like Tokyo, Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Kolkata, Dhaka, and Karachi, engines of national economic growth, and centers of political and cultural life. The second dynamic is broad-based urbanization. Nearly sixty-percent of Asia’s urban population lives in urban areas with populations under one million. These smaller cities are often local economic nodes that bridge rural and urban, both in terms of goods and services and migration. The report presents four challenges that must be addressed if Asian cities are to become sites of inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development. The first is unplanned urbanization, and the corresponding lack of basic infrastructure and services. The second relates to the environmental costs of rapid urbanization such as intensive resource use, and mass production of waste as a result of growing consumption. Increased economic equality is the third challenge the region’s cities faces. The fourth focuses on climate change, and the risks facing the over 50% of Asia-Pacific’s urban residents living in low lying coastal zones or flood plains. The report suggests that one component in promoting the sustainability of Asian-Pacific economies is to work towards green growth, thus reducing pressure on natural resources while meeting societal demands. Another is the opportunity that being at the early stages of urbanization presents to plan for population growth. This is particularly true for smaller cities, which often lack the necessary infrastructure and services, and are thus plagued by unpaved roads, inadequate water supply and sanitation, poor communication networks and erratic power supply, but are vital to the long-term economic health of their nations. These sets of reforms can only be possible if urban policy becomes a significant element of national development policy-making, and urban development is a deliberate and calculated process. ( English )
- Subject:
- Development ( English )
- Citation/Reference:
- (2011). The state of Asian cities 2010/11. United Cities and Local Governments Asia-Pacific (UCLG ASPAC); United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT).
Record Information
- Source Institution:
- Florida International University
- Rights Management:
- Refer to main document/publisher for use rights.
- Resource Identifier:
- FI13042188
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