Do Or Die

Asia’s cities have been at tipping point for years, but the global pandemic may just be the catalyst for meaningful progress in areas such as green building, digital infrastructure and urban planning

- Liam Aran Barnes

War, famine, fire, earthquakes and pandemics: crises have created, reshaped and revived cities around the world for millennia. They have forced governments to confront grave risks by developing resilience; transformed human relationships within cities; and influenced urban planning, design and governance. And as the global pandemic enters its second year, monumental questions are being asked about how Asia’s largest metropolises will respond to the most significant global event in recent history.

Since the turn of the century, Asia has urbanised at breakneck speed. Almost 46 percent of the population currently live in urban areas and more than half of the world’s megacities are now found in Asia Pacific, according to the United Nations. For millions, these places are beacons of hope—for employment, better lives, and brighter futures. Still, many remain socially and economically uneven and often haphazard and unplanned. Investment in public infrastructure, housing, health, education, and sanitation have failed to keep pace with the fastest urban population increase ever recorded. The pandemic has brought the costs of these urban governance failures into stark relief. Yet it also presents decision-makers with an opportunity to return to the drawing board and rewrite the future for millions. But where do they start?