South Asia Department

Managing Asian Cities: Sustainable And Inclusive Urban Solutions*
This report aims to provide a useful management resource, canvassing key issues and pointing managers to appropriate responses to problems. It also provides the initial step in a new phase of ADB's continuing support to Asian cities under its Strategy 2020. The book reviews the current situation and presents options to improve urban management. The report investigates how to establish an enabling framework for urban development, with the government as facilitator. In presenting ways to address challenges, cities of different wealth, size, and capacity are considered, as well as the city’s self-reliance to deal with their development needs. Case studies are done on the urban sectors in People’s Republic of China, India, Pakistan, Philippines, and Thailand.

India and the People's Republic of China: Urban Development Experience and Visions
This book contrasts the urban development experiences and practices of the two giant countries in Asia: the People's Republic of China (PRC) and India. The Asian Development Bank sponsored a 9-day workshop on Urban Development Experience and Visions, and senior-level government officials of India were invited for the workshop. They visited Beijing, Suzhou, and Shenzhen in the PRC. The book summarizes the lessons from the workshop, field visits, and policy discussions on innovative urban development practices. One of the key messages derived from the workshop was that the challenges of urbanization should be turned around and viewed as opportunities for achieving economic growth.

City Cluster Development: Toward an Urban-Led Development Strategy for Asia
A fresh perspective is needed in planning for development in the midst of Asia’s rapid urbanization. This book analyzes emerging urbanization patterns and explores the potential of city cluster development in Asia. City cluster development takes into account the provision of infrastructure and services in connection with spark potentials of economic growth. It dispenses with the urban–rural dichotomy of traditional development planning, recognizing that urban centers are not only hubs for economic growth but also service centers for surrounding areas. Based on the review of how city clusters form and develop, this book explores strategic planning framework for city cluster development and includes some cases of possible city cluster development in India.

India Bridges the Infrastructure Policy Gap to Usher Investments*
Clive Harris illustrates how bridging the infrastructure policy gap has led investments with private sector participation in India. His article "India leads developing nations in private sector investment, but the region needs more investment to meet demands" is featured in the March 2008 issue of GRIDLINES (Sharing knowledge, experiences, and innovations in public-private partnerships in infrastructure), a publication of Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF). Clive Harris is a lead infrastructure specialist for South Asia in the World Bank’s Sustainable Development Vice Presidency. PPIAF is a multi-donor technical assistance facility.

Public-Private Partnership Units: Lessons for their Design and Use in Infrastructure*
A joint report on how to structure Public-Private Partnership (PPP) units (tasked to implement or advise on PPP) to optimize their use in infrastructure was published in October 2007 by the World Bank and the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), a multi-donor technical assistance facility. PPP units implement or advise on PPP. The report provided a conceptual framework based on eight case studies to show which functions of PPP units correlate with successful PPP programs.

ADB holds its First Urban Day
ADB’s Urban community of practice (CoP) organized its first Urban Day with the theme "Environment and Livable Cities." Solid waste management, addressing climate change, and city cluster development were discussed by a team of experts from the public and private sectors. Ms. Kay Choe, principal urban development specialist from SAUD, facilitated the discussion on city cluster development. Knowledge products from Urban CoP were launched in the same event, led by Urban CoP chair and SAUD Director, Mr. Hun Kim. ADB's Urban Day gathers participants from national and local governments, international community of practice, private sector, civil society and academia to discuss pressing urban issues on urban environment and sanitation, urban transport, city region development, and municipal finance and governance, in relation to operational themes of sustainable urban development and sound environmental management promoting livable cities.

ADB joins ARCC 2008
The Asian Regional Cooperation Conference on Heritage Management, Conservation, and Education* was recently held in Delhi, India on 02-04 December. The 3-day conference was organized by the Indian National Trusts for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Ms. Gulfer Cezayirli, principal urban development specialist from SAUD made a presentation discussing ADB's initiatives for "Harnessing South Asian Heritage for Sustainable and Inclusive Development." See her presentation [ PDF: 611kb | 17 pages ].

ADB joins Fourth World Urban Forum
ADB's Urban team, led by its chair, South Asia Urban Development Division (SAUD) Director Hun Kim, attended the Fourth Session of the World Urban Forum in Nanjing, PRC on 3-6 November 2008. ADB showcased its contributions to urban development in the Asian region and shared experiences through presentations, in a networking session on climate change (see below) and a seminar on Financing Water and Sanitation, where an alternative approach, public-public partnership, was also introduced highlighting good practices of managing public water resources. The World Urban Forum, held every two years, was established by the United Nations to examine rapid urbanization and its effect on the community, economy, and the environment. The fourth session's theme was "Harmonious Urbanization: The Challenge of Balanced Territorial Development."

Networking on "Cities and the Post Kyoto Agenda" at WUF4
With approximately 75% of greenhouse gas emitted through urban activities, climate change may be considered as an urban problem. Borne out of the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an initiative to address climate change. ADB and its partners held a networking session on Cities and the Post Kyoto Agenda at the recently concluded WUF4 to share approaches on how to incorporate CDM and its role in promoting systemic change in the negotiations for a post-Kyoto GHG period. See the agenda and presentations.

Ron Hendrik Slangen joined SAUD as a Young Professional (Urban Development) effective 7 August 2008. Mr. Slangen, a US national, obtained his Master of Science in Urban Planning from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York, USA in 2005. He was admitted as a Certified Planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) in November 2007. Mr. Slangen has training and experience in environmental and urban planning. Prior to joining ADB, he was an Urban Planner at Earth Tech, Inc., an environmental consulting company based in New York, where he wrote land use, socioeconomic, and environmental reports for large-scale infrastructure projects.