Asia is moving into an era of unprecedented
urbanization, a change bringing prosperity and problems. Here are 12 facts and
figures from the Asian Development Bank about the rise of the city.
Asia is
moving into an era of unprecedented urbanization, a change bringing prosperity
and problems. Here, the Asian Development Bank has come up with a list of 12
facts and figures about the rise of the Asian city.
1.
Asian
cities are growing rapidly. Another 1.1 billion people will live in the
region’s cities in the next 20 years.
Source: ADB Managing Asian Cities
Source: ADB Managing Asian Cities
2.
By
2030, more than 55 percent of the population of Asia will be urban.
Source: ADB Competitive Cities in the 21st Century
Source: ADB Competitive Cities in the 21st Century
3.
In
many places, cities will merge together to create urban settlements on a scale
never seen before. These new configurations will take the form of mega-regions,
urban corridors and city-regions. For example, it is estimated that Japan’s
Tokyo Nagoya-Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe mega-region will have a population of 60 million
by 2015. The city region of Bangkok in Thailand will expand another 200
kilometers from its current centre by 2020.
Source: WHO UN HABITAT Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities In Urban Settings.
Source: WHO UN HABITAT Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities In Urban Settings.
4.
The
prosperity of nations is intimately linked to the prosperity of their cities.
No country has ever achieved sustained economic growth or rapid social
development without urbanizing.
Sources: UN Habitat State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011 – Cities for All: Bridging the Urban Divide
Sources: UN Habitat State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011 – Cities for All: Bridging the Urban Divide
5.
ADB’s Strategy
2020 states that “livable cities” will be fostered through support for
infrastructure, with programs that focus on water supply, sanitation, waste
management, and urban transport; and urban shelter programs of slum upgrading,
land development, housing, and housing finance.
Source: ADB Strategy 2020: Working for an Asia and Pacific Free of Poverty.
Source: ADB Strategy 2020: Working for an Asia and Pacific Free of Poverty.
6.
Climate
change may threaten the sustainability of water use in urban centers by
reducing water availability and quality from surface and groundwater sources,
while water demand for household and industrial use may simultaneously increase
as temperatures rise.
Source: ADB Sector Briefing on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: Urban Development
Source: ADB Sector Briefing on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation: Urban Development
7.
Between
the years 2000 and 2010, Asia showed the greatest gains in moving people out of
slum conditions, with the PRC and India together lifting around 125 million
people. However, the absolute number of slum dwellers has actually increased
from about 777 to 827 million in 2010 due to rapid urbanization.
Source: UN Habitat State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011 – Cities for All: Bridging the Urban Divide
Source: UN Habitat State of the World’s Cities 2010/2011 – Cities for All: Bridging the Urban Divide
8.
Ha
Noi’s population is expected to balloon from six to eight million people by
2025. The city’s Urban Transport Master Plan aims to get half the city using public
transport by 2020.
Source: ADB news release “ADB Metro Rail Loan to Ease Congestion in Ha Noi”
Source: ADB news release “ADB Metro Rail Loan to Ease Congestion in Ha Noi”
9.
In
the PRC, migration has created an urban sprawl and made it more difficult for
people to rely on biking and walking for transport. As per capita incomes have
risen, there has been a continuing shift toward using private vehicles for
urban transport. The number of registered vehicles increased from about one
million in the early 1990s to nearly 61 million in 2010.
Source: ADB Urban Transport Strategy to Combat Climate change in the People’s Republic of China.
Source: ADB Urban Transport Strategy to Combat Climate change in the People’s Republic of China.
10.
The
Gaobei Dian Wastewater Treatment Plan in Beijing is one of the biggest sewage
treatment plants in the PRC, taking care of about 40 percent of the city’s
daily untreated wastewater.
Source: ADB feature “Country Water Action: Beijing Beefs Up Sewage treatment”
Source: ADB feature “Country Water Action: Beijing Beefs Up Sewage treatment”
11.
There
is an inequitable distribution of health threats within urban areas. Families
with the lowest incomes are most at risk of their children being malnourished
and dying early, have less access to health services such as skilled birth
attendance, and are also disadvantaged in terms of their living conditions,
such as access to piped water. Importantly, these inequities exist along a
social gradient, also affecting middle-class city dwellers to at least some
extent.
Source: WHO UN HABITAT Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities in Urban Settings
Source: WHO UN HABITAT Hidden Cities: Unmasking and Overcoming Health Inequities in Urban Settings
12.
Cities
offer young people with higher levels of education greater opportunities to
integrate into urban life than they do for the less educated. Education,
especially for females, is a key driver in accessing the opportunities that
come with urban life.
Source: State of the Urban Youth 2010/1011: Leveling the Playing Field.
Source: State of the Urban Youth 2010/1011: Leveling the Playing Field.
Source: Asian
Development Bank.
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