Urban Development Challenges, Risks and Resilience in Asian Mega Cities

The interdisciplinary research group of the faculty members, researchers, professionals and planners contributed to understand the dynamics and dimensions of emerging challenges and risks in mega cities in the rapidly changing urban environments in Asia, and examined emerging resilience themes from the viewpoints of sustainability and public policy. The world s urban population in 2009 was approximately 3.4 billion and Asia s urban population was about 1.72 billion. Between 2010 and 2020, 411 million people will be added to Asian cities (60 per cent of the growth in the world urban population). By 2020, of the 4.2 billion urban population of the world, approximately 2.2 will be in Asia. China and India will Contribute 31.3 per cent of total World Urban Population by 2025.Developing Asia s projected global share of CO2 emissions for energy consumption will increase from 30 per cent in 2006 to 43 per cent by 2030. City regions serve as magnets for people, enterprise and culture, but with urbanization, worst form of visible poverty becomes prominent. The Asian region remains host to over half of the world s slum population, as in 2010 slum population amounted to an estimated 505.5 million people.