Asia and the Pacific has experienced rapid urbanization throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, with over 2.2 billion people currently living in urban areas and an additional 1.2 billion projected by 2050. While urban growth has fueled economic opportunities, improved living standards, and social mobility, it has also amplified inequalities, leaving vulnerable groups such as women, children, migrants, older persons, and informal workers disproportionately affected. Many of these populations remain concentrated in slums and informal settlements with limited access to basic services, secure housing, and safe employment, while facing environmental risks and climate-related hazards.
Urban inequalities are often reinforced by policy trade-offs in national growth strategies. Infrastructure expansion, densification, and urban upgrading can create displacement pressures or disrupt informal livelihoods if not carefully planned. To address these challenges, integrated, people-centred urban policies are essential to ensure social inclusion, economic opportunities, and environmental sustainability. Cities play a pivotal role in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with local action influencing two-thirds of the SDG targets.
Governments and stakeholders—including local communities, civil society, the private sector, and development partners—must strengthen urban governance, coordinate policies across sectors, and promote participatory planning. Effective urban management can provide access to decent housing, reliable basic services, employment opportunities, and a liveable environment, whereas poorly managed urbanization risks deepening poverty and exclusion.
Key areas for action include expanding access to clean water, sanitation, electricity, public transport, and digital connectivity, particularly in informal settlements. Community-led approaches and partnerships can enhance planning, improve service delivery, and ensure interventions reflect local needs. Promoting decent work and supporting informal workers through skills development, social protection, and gradual formalization are also crucial for inclusive urban employment.
Enhancing environmental resilience is vital as the region faces air pollution, solid waste challenges, and climate-related disasters. Measures such as green infrastructure, renewable energy adoption, nature-based solutions, and disaster risk reduction planning can improve urban sustainability and protect vulnerable populations.
Inclusive urban development in the Asia-Pacific region requires integrated governance, innovative financing, technology, and robust data systems. By tackling inequalities across social, economic, and environmental dimensions, cities can become hubs of opportunity, resilience, and prosperity, ensuring no one—and no place—is left behind in the region’s urban future.
