In this report, ESCAP explores the future of urbanization in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on the dynamic shifts in the region’s urban landscape. It highlights the region’s demographic transformations, including population ageing, and the persistent challenges of urban poverty and inequality. The analysis covers urban areas of all sizes, …
African cities and local governments are under increasing pressure to provide infrastructure and services to the growing population. Yet, most remain severely under-resourced, leaving them unable to make the necessary investments. This situation has been exacerbated by the struggle of African cities and municipalities to access third-party finance, including debt. …
SDG11 provides a critical ‘entry point’ into the 2030 Agenda for urban decision-makers, stakeholders and community groups, who often engage in a voluntary or ad-hoc manner with both national and international processes. By focusing on the urban goal, SDG knowledge exchange and training programs have demonstrated that sub-national actors can …
This white paper is an earnest endeavour to facilitate a change in the current water management practices in cities that are typically engineering-driven, carried out in ‘silos’, and rely on grey infrastructural interventions. It seeks to do so by proposing tangible recommendations for strengthening integrated water management in cities— under …
Over 122 million more people are facing hunger in the world since 2019 due to the pandemic and repeated weather shocks and conflicts, including the war in Ukraine, according to this latest report published jointly by five UN specialized agencies. This report provides an update on global progress towards the …
Delhi has introduced an all-encompassing heat action plan aimed at shielding vulnerable communities during peak summer heatwaves. Among the measures outlined are adjustments to school schedules, reduction of non-essential water usage, continuous power supply to healthcare facilities, and daily assessments of at-risk areas. The plan, developed by the Delhi Disaster …
This report explores the barriers, good practice lessons, and recommendations to improve local enabling conditions to attract private sector capital to support climate investments in cities of emerging economies. The analysis was informed by a literature review, five case studies with inputs from stakeholders involved in the projects’ development, eight …
Institutional constraints and weak capacity often hamper the ability of local governments in developing countries to steer urbanization. As a result, there are not enough cities to accommodate an unabated rural-urban migration and many of those that exist are messy, sprawling, and disconnected. The flipside is the emergence of entire …
The paper assesses the viability of dual utilization of autorickshaws for commercial deliveries in urban India. The paper indicates that dual utility can not only overcome supply gaps in the freight ecosystem but also provide an additional source of income to autorickshaw drivers.
Globally, 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions emanate from cities. At the same time, cities are being hit increasingly by climate change related shocks and stresses, ranging from more frequent extreme weather events to inflows of climate migrants. This report analyzes how these shocks and stresses are interacting with other …
Cooling has had a significant impact on global climate change. It is important to respond promptly and effectively to the climate challenges posed by the growing global demand for air-conditioning and refrigeration to achieve the Paris Agreement objectives and the mid-century carbon-neutral goals. Improving the energy efficiency of refrigeration and …
To enhance health co-benefits across urban policies which tackle air pollution and climate change, WHO, in cooperation with various international, national, and local partners, implemented the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) pilot project in Accra, Ghana. The Initiative prompted the health sector to use its influential position to demonstrate to decision-makers …
This is the fifth edition of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition annual report. This publication is led by FAO’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP) and jointly contributed to by United Nations' partner agencies (UNICEF, WFP, WHO), on the region’s progress …
Nature-based solutions can help cities become more resilient, healthy and equitable. But for urban nature to reach its full potential, investments need to be substantially scaled up. In 2020, nature-based solutions (NbS) received just 0.3% of overall spending on urban infrastructure, and investments are unequally distributed across and within cities. …
Nature-based solutions can help cities become more resilient, healthy and equitable. But for urban nature to reach its full potential, investments need to be substantially scaled up. In 2020, nature-based solutions (NbS) received just 0.3% of overall spending on urban infrastructure, and investments are unequally distributed across and within cities. …
As the Asia-Pacific region grows increasingly urbanized, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 is a comprehensive and action-oriented blueprint for advancing sustainable cities and communities. It proposes to readdress how plan, finance, develop, govern and manage cities and human settlements in line with the New Urban Agenda. In essence, SDG …
Flood exposure is likely to increase in the future as a direct consequence of more frequent and more intense flooding and the growth of populations and economic assets in flood-prone areas. Low-income households, which are more likely to be located in high-risk zones, will be particularly affected. This paper assesses …
This report presents case studies that highlight how ADB's teams are working together to design innovative urban projects across the Asia and Pacific region that leverage its value-added services and support sustainable economic growth. Based on interviews with teams in countries including Mongolia, India, and Uzbekistan, the report explores the …
This paper provides a method for understanding how city actions impact trees and forests outside their boundaries. The Forest Footprint for Cities methodology connects global estimates of tropical and subtropical deforestation linked to agricultural production to commodity-specific international trade and city consumption. The methods ultimately present the city’s Forest Footprint …
The presence of digital technology within urban governance in India is not new. Computerization and the use of enterprise software was encouraged in municipalities through the 1990s, followed by varied e-governance reforms in the early 2000s. These ranged from centralized policies like the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP), to projects such …
Smart city policy goals are becoming mainstream in South East Asia but lack a supply of innovative smart city business models, products and services. ESCAP is joining the movement to support the acceleration of smart innovative solutions for cities through its Smart Cities Innovation Lab project. The project builds on …
