In this report, ESCAP explores the future of urbanization in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on the dynamic shifts in the region’s urban landscape. It highlights the region’s demographic transformations, including population ageing, and the persistent challenges of urban poverty and inequality. The analysis covers urban areas of all sizes, …
This guide for local governments describes when and how to use a consumption-based emissions inventory, known as a CBEI. Numerous cities around the world have been exploring their carbon footprint using consumption-based emissions inventories (CBEIs). These inventories differ from the territorial (or “sector-based”) approach typically used to calculate urban greenhouse …
This publication describes India’s fi rst comprehensive city-level fl ood forecasting and early warning system. Located in Kolkata, the system provides forecasts and real-time updates on rainfall and inundation levels, among other climate and environmental data, thereby strengthening the city’s resilience. Since 1998, the Asian Development Bank has been supporting …
The NHS could save £319m over the next 21 years if cycling in major UK cities becomes as popular as in London, according to a report by an environmental charity. About 34,000 incidences of type 2 diabetes, stroke, breast cancer and depression would be prevented in seven key cities between …
Small- and medium-sized cities and towns in sub-Saharan Africa are growing fast and accumulating risks. Local governments seek to build the resilience of their city in conditions of complex interdependent urban systems and gaps in data and information. Technical and financial capacity issues often lead to them resorting to external …
Urban areas are expected to triple in size between 2000 and 2030. Unmanaged urban expansion increases the costs of service provision, deepens spatial inequities, and imposes heavy economic and environmental burdens. New analysis on 499 cities’ urban expansion confirm the challenge of rapid outward expansion are greatest in lower-income cities. …
Cities represent more than 70 per cent of global energy demand. Cities are major consumer of resources (material, food, water, lands, minerals etc.) They contribute for over 70 per cent to greenhouse gas emission and they are the main contributors to the global ecological footprint. However, cities hold most of …
This report explores the relationship between inclusive industrialization and sustainable human development in fostering decent jobs for women and youth, addressing informality and promoting sustainable urbanization. The slow pace of structural transformation could be counteracted by investing in industrial growth. For economic transformation to enhance human development will require the …
This working paper reviews the enabling environment for waste-to-energy in the People’s Republic of China, Bangladesh, India, and the Philippines.As Asia and the Pacific continues to experience rapid urbanization with high population density, there is an increasing need to better manage municipal solid waste (MSW). One solution is to convert …
Municipal Solid Waste Management in urban areas has emerged as one of the biggest challenges that our country faces today. The situation is aggravated by rapid urbanisation. Inadequate management of waste has significant negative externalities in terms of public health and environmental outcomes. A performance audit on ‘Solid Waste Management …
Urban areas are growing at an unprecedented rate, with over half of the world’s population of nearly 4 billion people now residing in cities. By 2050, the number is expected to swell to over 6.5 billion−approximately two-thirds of humanity. Rapid urbanization provides opportunities, yet challenges come in tandem. How cities …
A new analysis of CDP disclosure data shows that some of the largest U.S.-based corporations view climate change as an increasing risk to their bottom line and reputation among consumers and investors.
Climate change is a global phenomenon, but the impacts are distributed locally and unevenly in cities. The urban poor are the most affected by climate change and are more likely to live in areas that lack sufficient infrastructure to respond to climate risks. WRI has developed the Urban Community Resilience …
Cities account for the bulk of global energy use. With the urban population growing everywhere, measures at the municipal level are a crucial element in the shift to sustainable, renewable energy sources. Renewable-based solutions for cities, whether in buildings, power-generation, transport or other systems, help to ensure energy security and …
Climate change affects poor and marginalized communities first and hardest. Particularly in cities, a lack of access to basic services, a long history of unsustainable urban development, and political exclusion render the urban poor one of the most vulnerable groups to climate induced natural hazards and disasters. Yet strategies focused …
India is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and urbanisation is both a challenge and an opportunity for India with huge implications for the rest of the world. One critical concern for India’s urbanising future is the provision of basic urban services for all its citizens. Using …
The State of Sri Lankan Cities 2018 presents the first comprehensive assessment of Sri Lanka’s recent urban development. The Report is a key output of the State of Sri Lankan Cities Project. It outlines a vision of a better urban future for all Sri Lankans, drawing on the UN’s Sustainable …
This case study in the World Resources Report, “Towards a More Equal City,” examines transformative urban change in Johannesburg, South Africa, through transit-oriented development (TOD). The paper reviews the evidence on whether Johannesburg’s TOD strategy has helped reduce spatial inequality in the city—and if so, how.
To enhance the capacity of local governments and to increase the understanding of the latest urban water management techniques, the United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability initiated a four year project, the Water and Urban Initiative (WUI). This project aims to contribute to sustainable urban development …
The poorest urban children in 1 in 4 countries* are more likely to die before their fifth birthday than the poorest children in rural areas. And the poorest urban children in 1 in 6 countries are less likely to complete primary school than their counterparts in rural areas, according to …
