GTDW FDI Trade & Supply Chain Digitalisation News
Oct 27, 20231 min
Shocks in the city: Multiple interlinked crises test sustainable urban development
The world is facing multiple and interlinked crises, a perfect storm that is testing the limits of current development paradigms. As countries and cities across Asia and the Pacific struggle to recover from the health and socioeconomic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of climate change continue to ravage the region. Geopolitical tensions and the growing food and energy crisis are undermining prospects for a true recovery and are, consequently, placing the aspirations of the New Urban Agenda and localization of the Sustainable Development Goals in the region seemingly out of reach. Drawing upon consultations on the status of Sustainable Development Goal 11 on sustainable cities and communities in the region, in the present report, the linkages between urban planning, climate action, digitalization and finance in urban areas of Asia and the Pacific are explored. The report concludes with actions for policymakers to guide urban cooperation and partnerships to address severe disruptions and long-standing development challenges in cities for a sustainable urban recovery in Asia and the Pacific.