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Urban Development

ADB supports cities in Asia and the Pacific to become more livable.

  • Urban development challenges
     

    Asia-Pacific cities face challenges to provide adequate infrastructure and services to its growing population, while also being engines for economic growth.

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  • Integrated solutions
     

    Cities need enhanced capacities of urban planning, municipal finance, technologies, and governance and private sector engagement to provide integrated solutions.

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  • Infrastructure needs
     

    Cities need to build resilience to address the risks associated with disasters, climate change, environmental issues, and shocks and stresses like the COVID-19 pandemic.

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  • Urban population
    living in slums, 2018

    Asia has the world’s largest share of the urban population living in slums and the highest projected growth rate for urban slums.

      ADB Statement on Afghanistan

  • Commitments supporting urban
    climate resilience

    In 2021, at least $200 million helped mitigate urban climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific.

  • Urban projects supporting gender
    mainstreaming in cities

    80% of urban projects aim to support gender mainstreaming in the region.

Urban development

ADB’s Strategy 2030 identifies "Making Cities More Livable" as one of its seven operational priorities for achieving its vision of a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific.

By cutting across sectors and themes, ADB helps cities in the region to become more livable. ADB supports cities by improving urban infrastructure and services, and fostering inclusive, participatory and integrated planning. This approach spans the spatial, transport, economic, and natural capital sectors. ADB also promotes regional value chains and global production networks, along with strengthening municipal finance, governance, and citizen engagement. ADB supports cities to become resilient to not only disasters and climate change, but also to shocks and stresses such as pandemics.

Our Impact

Results delivered in 2021 from ADB projects.

0 million

People benefiting
from improved services in urban areas

0

Urban infrastructure assets
established or improved

0

Urban service providers with improved performance

Source:
2021 Development Effectiveness Review

Your Questions Answered

  • What’s the formula for ensuring Asia’s expanding cities continue to drive economic growth while providing good services and quality of life?

     

    Developing more livable cities (green, healthy, safe, and inclusive) begins with inclusive urban and regional planning. So, governments must prioritize investments that contribute to the general socioeconomic welfare of people and provide a safe, clean urban environment with good public transport.

  • What special development challenges are posed by expanding megacities and metropolitan areas across Asia and the Pacific?

     

    In Asia and the Pacific, besides megacities (those with at least 10 million residents), many urban areas are home to more than one million residents. Despite being physically connected, these places are far from efficient. In these places, cities compete rather than cooperate for residents, investment, companies, and quality jobs. This leads to uneven development.

  • Can you cite an ADB urban development project that has a major impact on people’s lives and could be readily replicated elsewhere in Asia?

     

    ADB’s Dhaka Water Supply Network Improvement Project helped improve the supply to 8 million people with at least 15% of the additional supply going to low-income communities. This inclusive approach provided slum areas with 2,000 communal metered connections, each one serving 15 to 25 households.

  More Questions Answered

What's New

Experts

ADB’s Urban Sector Work is overseen by the Urban Sector Group Committee composed of the respective management staff from the urban development divisions of ADB’s regional departments, as well as private sector operations.

Urban Sector Group Committee

Manoj Sharma
Manoj Sharma

Chief of Urban Sector Group, Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department

Jingmin Huang
Jingmin Huang

Director, Pacific Department and Committee Chair

Asif Cheema
Asif Cheema

Director, East Asia Department

Norio Saito
Norio Saito

Director, South Asia Department

Srinivas Sampath
Srinivas Sampath

Director, Southeast Asia Department

Heeyoung Hong
Heeyoung Hong

Principal Urban Development Specialist (Finance), Central and West Asia Department

Hisaka Kimura
Hisaka Kimura

Advisor, Private Sector Operations Department

Contact

  Email the Urban Development Sector Group