This report reviews the state of Asian cities, with a particular interest in their economic role, the scale and nature of their poverty and the state of the urban environment – and links with climate change. The report is also a reminder of the scale and importance of urbanization in Asia. UN projections for the increase in Asia’s urban population suggest that Asia’s urban population will grow by 841 million between 2010 and 2030. This represents around three-fifths of the projected growth in the world’s urban population and total population. So how well urban centres in Asia address poverty and climate change adaptation and mitigation has enormous global significance.

The main text of the book is illustrated with many photos, tables and boxes with case studies. For example, in the chapter on cities as engines of economic growth, the boxes include economic development in Ho Chi Minh city, Thailand’s emergence as a hub for automobile parts and examples of city governments that support street vendors. The chapter on poverty and inequality includes case studies on various slum upgrading programmes and detailed analysis of progress (or lack of it) in the provision of water and sanitation. The final chapter is on urban governance and includes a discussion of different urban governance systems in Asia, the development of mega-urban regions, decentralization, financing urban development and measuring performance in service delivery.