Urbanization
Mongolia Mobile App Lets Citizens Say Where Taxes Get Spent
May 27, 2020
Blog Post
A mobile app lets residents of Ulaanbaatar vote for their priorities for new infrastructure projects. The latest round of voting shows that Mongolia may be a good fit for digital democracy.
New Rules Right a Wrong in the Philippines
March 18, 2020
Blog Post
Shelter is a fundamental human right, but the Philippines has a shortage of affordable housing that will reach 6.8 million units by 2022. Now, a new set of rules for rent subsidies, championed by The Asia Foundation’s Coalitions for Change, promises to make decent housing affordable for poor families.
The Asia Foundation and the Asian Development Bank Host Livable Cities Forum
San Francisco, November 15, 2019
News Post
The Asian Development Bank and The Asia Foundation co-hosted the Livable Cities Forum: Digital Solutions for Livable Asian Cities in San Francisco, California. Asian cities play a crucial role as centers of innovation and entrepreneurship that propel economic growth and competitiveness in the region. At the same time, rapid urbanization is posing c… Read more
Leapfrogging and Sidestepping: Outliers Spark Municipal Reform in Myanmar
December 5, 2018
Blog Post
“We don’t have to employ more traffic police; the smart machine will do the job!” proclaimed U Ye Myat Thu of the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC) to an audience of three dozen ministers, mayors, and officials from across Myanmar crammed into a small traffic control room in Mandalay. Myanmar’s second-largest municipality has installed rem… Read more
No Progress without Justice for the Urban Poor in Postwar Sri Lanka
June 6, 2018
Blog Post
On a hot, sunny afternoon, a group of young development professionals follows Iromi Perera around the city of Colombo on an educational tour. Their focus is urban governance rather than tourism, and the sightseeing highlights modernity and change. Cranes and high-rise scaffolding encroach on informal settlements and small housing areas for the urba… Read more
Mongolia’s Local Leaders Essential to Urban Service Delivery
September 6, 2017
Blog Post
In Mongolia’s 2016 parliamentary elections, the opposition party won a landslide victory—taking 65 of the 76 seats, on a promise to boost the economy and tackle poverty. In 2011, Mongolia’s economy grew by 17 percent and attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment. Now, the country is in a state of financial crisis. For years, Mongolia… Read more
Asian Solutions to Asia’s Urban Challenges
June 14, 2017
Blog Post
According to UN Habitat’s most recent World Cities Report, cities today make up more than half of the world’s population, emit 70 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, and account for 80 percent of global GDP. These figures underscore the fact that rapid urbanization is one the most critical trends shaping the world today. And nowhere wi… Read more
Mongolia’s Capital Copes with Rapid Urbanization
May 31, 2017
Blog Post
In the Mongolian capital city of Ulaanbaatar, urbanization has become one of the country’s most critical development issues. The days when construction cranes filled Ulaanbaatar’s skyline and buildings would appear to grow overnight are a thing of the past. Though Mongolia experienced unprecedented growth between 2011 and 2013, where GDP reached re… Read more
Airport Congestion in the Philippines Sees Improvements
May 24, 2017
Blog Post
One month from now, Rodrigo Duterte will mark his first year as president of the Philippines. While other more controversial aspects of his policies have captured international headlines during his first year, including a brutal war against drugs, and yesterday’s declaration of martial law in Mindanao, the Duterte administration is continuing to fo… Read more
A Conversation with Gordon Hein on The Asia Foundation in a Changing Asia
May 24, 2017
Blog Post
Asia’s rise has been dramatic, with unprecedented economic growth and investment, expanding access to information, and millions lifted out of poverty. But new obstacles are emerging in some parts of the region, alongside enduring challenges. In Asia editor Alma Freeman sat down with Gordon Hein, The Asia Foundation’s senior vice president of progra… Read more
Addressing Industrial Pollution Along the Kelani River
April 26, 2017
Blog Post
The lush banks and rushing waters of the Kelani River served as the indelible backdrop for the 1957 Academy Award-winning movie “The Bridge on the River Kwai” and today, the river remains a vital resource for about 25 percent of the Sri Lankan population who reside in its catchment area. The river is the fourth-longest and second-largest water… Read more
Can a New Law Help Timor-Leste’s Land Rights Crisis?
January 18, 2017
Blog Post
Voters in Timor-Leste will head to the polls twice this year—for presidential elections in March and parliamentary elections in July—in what will be the first such elections to be held since the UN Mission departed in 2012. The next government will be faced with dwindling oil reserves and the urgent need to switch from a petroleum fund-based econom… Read more
Northeast Asia in Transformation: The Future of the Region and the Role of the United States
October 26, 2016
Blog Post
Northeast Asia is the economic and geopolitical region comprising China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and Russia’s far east, all of which stood at the forefront of the Cold War. Unlike other regions, which quickly recovered after the end of the Cold War, Northeast Asia was left with a series of enduring stalemates—the Korean Peninsula… Read more
Six Pressing Issues in Asia and How We’re Adapting Our Approach to Address Them
September 6, 2016
Blog Post
Today, 60 percent of the world’s population lives in Asia – with 40 percent concentrated in China and India alone – and the region will continue to host the majority of the world’s population through 2050. Over the past two decades, economic growth has helped lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, and 56 percent of developing Asia’s po… Read more
Poor Waste Management Threatens Phnom Penh
July 27, 2016
Blog Post
As more rural residents move to Phnom Penh in search of work, the city’s population has nearly doubled over the last decade. Estimates suggest it could reach 2.9 million by 2025. Meanwhile, new construction projects have driven thousands of urban poor out of the city center to peri-urban areas where services are few or non-existent. Cambodia’s capi… Read more
SafetiPin: A Tool to Build Safer Cities for Women
May 11, 2016
Blog Post
The gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a New Delhi bus in 2012 sparked national outrage in India. Since then, other brutal acts of violence have taken place in India’s cities, including the rape and murder of a 30-year-old law student on April 28 in Kerala. There were 337,922 reported crimes against women in 2014, among them over 36,000 were rape…. Read more
Urbanization, Smart Cities, and the “Sludge Judge” – A Conversation with Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia
June 10, 2015
Blog Post
In Asia sat down recently with renowned Indian economist Dr. Isher Judge Ahluwalia, The Asia Foundation’s latest Chang-Lin Tien Distinguished Visitor, during her American visit. Dr. Ahluwalia is chairperson of the board of governors for the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations in New Delhi, where she is leading a…
A Conversation with Dr. Rajiv Shah
April 29, 2015
Blog Post
Recently retired after five years at the helm of USAID, Rajiv Shah brought new energy and improved morale, and earned bipartisan Congressional support as director of the United States’ premier development agency. Shah emphasized measurement, transparency, and outcomes in development spending, and he championed the idea that development dollars should build local institutions within developing countries.
Trends That Will Shape Asia’s Economic Future (Part 2)
February 11, 2015
Blog Post
In last week’s blog, I highlighted four top trends to look out for in Asia’s economic future, including: Asia as the driver of growth, the growing tide of inequality and disparity, Asia’s trendsetters, and regional integration and regional fragmentation. Here are four more top trends to watch…
Water Scarcity a Threat to Mongolia’s Sustainable Development
September 17, 2014
Blog Post
A new report from the Asian Development Bank sent a warning signal to Mongolia that, despite its wealth of natural resources and pristine image, the country faces a severe water scarcity and quality crisis – one that could leave its growing capital…
Poverty, Inequality, and the Negative Effects of Mongolia’s Economic Downturn
June 25, 2014
Blog Post
For the last four years, Mongolia has had one of the fastest growing economies in the world, clocking double-digit growth on the back of a mining boom. The effects of this growth are obvious, especially in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, where cranes dominate the skyline…