Southeast Asian cities are at the centre of the region’s economic growth. They are also a critical source of income and wealth generation and play an important role in improving human development. However, through mismanagement or lack of resources, cities can also become centres of increasing poverty, inequality and environmental degradation. In ASEAN, there is growing recognition that the quality of urban development affects the prospects for national and regional development.
The ASEAN Studies Centre at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) partnered with the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) of Singapore to organise a series of workshop on urbanisation trends, prospects and challenges in Southeast Asian countries. The first workshop was held on 10-11 December 2009 at ISEAS. Discussions will continue in a second workshop scheduled for 18-19 March 2010, which will involve academics and policy planners from ASEAN countries. Thematic discussions will be organised around the topic of making urbanisation an engine for sustainable development, ranging from economic development to social and environment and governance issues.
Findings and recommendations will be distilled into a publication for circulation at regional platforms, to raise the discussion of urbanisation issues to a higher level of priority on the regional agenda.
For the conference programme, please click here.
For more information on the joint CLC-ASC workshop series, please click here.