Formation of Sustainable Urban Development Strategies in Asia

Abstract

Globalization and participatory development are two key words that have become increasingly important over the past few years in regional development strategies for developing countries. Globalization is a term that expresses the external outlook of regions from the latter half of the 1980s, whereas the concept of participatory development, which since the 1990s has been increasingly seen as the mainstream idea in the international development field, is an important internal determinant of the details and processes of urban development strategies. With these two key words in mind, this chapter examines three issues considered critical in 21st-century urban development strategies in Asia: formation of sustainable extended metropolitan regions, sustainable regional development through an urban-rural symbiosis, and participation in the urban development processes by the urban poor. In terms of formation of sustainable extended metropolitan regions, it is a critical issue from the point of view of facilitating a flexible response to dynamic spatial transformation in extended metropolitan regions, and of enabling cities in extended metropolitan regions to develop their own respective functions within a competitive environment. As for sustainable regional development, the symbiotic urban-rural network strategy seems to be a key: a diverse range of roles to be played by cities within their relationship with the surrounding rural areas, including a consumer center for the purchase of consumer and durable goods, a center for providing public and private-sector services, a connecting point with domestic and international markets for selling goods produced in the surrounding rural areas, production supply center, farm produce and resources processing center, source of nonagricultural employment for residents in rural areas, and information and knowledge center. Finally, some important issues are discussed as regards participation in the urban development processes by the urban poor, such as progress of decentralization, formation of a participatory social framework, and empowerment.