Asia’s cities: Necessity, challenges and solutions for going ‘smart’

Abstract

Asia is developing, and its cities are going to play a major role in this endeavour to match developed counterparts. Asian trade, population, geographic size of its cities and contribution to global development will only increase in the years to come. Rural settlements or underdeveloped villages are fast converting themselves to smaller towns; smaller towns are converting themselves into small cities, and existing small cities are forging ahead into becoming megacities. This demographic transformation in the urban landscape will only increase the use of resources like land, water, clean air, sanitation, power, transport network and safety in order to survive and grow. The quantity and quality of investment that Asian cities make today in these resources will help them service and sustain their burgeoning population in the future. It is therefore imperative that urban planning, use of technology, futuristic vision and control techniques that are incorporated, work in collaboration to achieve success. Present-day megacities like Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Manila, Jakarta, Mumbai, Delhi, Karachi, Istanbul, Tehran, Moscow, etc. have their own share of problems; and negotiating their population’s ever-growing demands have turned into a herculean task. These cities can boast of a glorious and historic past, but how they mitigate their current issues, envisage future needs and meticulously plan their future are important. The concept of smart cities is not to be misunderstood as only constructing idealistic new cities from the scratch. While this could be constituted in some developed economies in Asia, having existing megacities and their urban sprawl change their style of operation to suit present and future needs could be a smarter and more beneficial solution. Cities are never built in a single day; they always evolve with time and with the evolving cultural fabric of its residents.