After two decades of rapid urbanisation, many Asian cities have become economically productive and prosperous. But have they become desirable places to live in? A report on the “State of Asian Cities 2010/11,” published by the U.N. Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) and the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), says ‘No' on the strength of an empirical study. This insightful report cautions urban planners that unless they are made more liveable and environmental damage is reduced, Asian cities will not be able to harness the urban dividend any longer. Over the past two decades, 45 million people have been added every year to the Asian city population, which in 2010 touched a staggering 1.76 billion. This transformation has created vibrant economies and reduced poverty levels. However, the benefits have been unevenly spread and a spatial divide has emerged at the regional as well as intra-city level. In India, for instance, while mega cities receive a good deal of investment, many smaller towns have suffered neglect through short-sighted state policies. Within cities, access to water supply and sanitation has improved, but affordable land and health facilities have become less accessible.
Urbanisation in Asia is set to accelerate. Based on current trends, this means the conversion of more than 10 square kilometres of fertile land to non-agricultural use every day. City planners, as the U.N. report points out with concern, have to build a minimum of 20,000 houses and mobilise an additional six million litres of potable water every year to meet basic needs. Such demands on resources may appear daunting, but restraining urban growth is neither a workable nor a wise option. A business-as-usual approach will not be sustainable. Neither a vastly expanded low-density city nor a linear urban-corridor pattern that depends on private motorised transport, a model that is popular in India, can be the answer. Instead, a network of dense nodes, linked by efficient and affordable public transport and served by an intra-nodal non-motorised transport grid, is an alternative to explore. When 215 cities across the world were surveyed using a ‘liveability index' — an evaluation of 39 aspects of a city including environment and safety — none of Asia's cities made it to the top 30. Only Singapore and four Japanese cities managed to get into the top 50. This does not augur well for Asia's urban future. If cities in the world's most populous continent by far want to sustain their economic competitiveness and secure their future, they must invest substantially in environmental and housing programmes.
