Making Cities More Livable

Livable Urban Spaces

Asia and the Pacific is fast urbanizing. While challenging, it also presents opportunities to transform the well-being of city residents and fuel economic development. The challenges of urbanization have stemmed from the unplanned urban sprawl, expansion, and suboptimal governance, which in turn hit urban services hard and, ultimately, its population. As a result, cities have recognized that they need to improve on all aspects of urban governance for urban planning and design, infrastructure projects, municipal functions, capacity-building activities, operations of urban services, and engagement with residents and other stakeholders.

Developing member countries (DMCs), with support from ADB’s financing partners, are improving the different aspects of urban living including improving governance, urban planning, and infrastructure.

For example, in 2022, the ASEAN Australia Smart Cities Trust Fund under the Urban Financing Partnership Facility cofinanced the Regional: Smart and Livable Cities in Southeast Asia. This technical assistance helps selected Southeast Asian member countries plan and develop livable cities that are smart, inclusive, environmentally sustainable, resilient, and competitive. In the Pacific, the Ireland Trust Fund for Building Climate Change and Disaster Resilience in Small Island Developing States and the GEF-Least Developed Countries Fund provided additional financing to Vanuatu’s Greater Port Vila Urban Resilience Project - Additional Financing. The project aims to improve urban resilience in Greater Port Vila through the construction of two multipurpose emergency shelters and capacity building and institutional strengthening of its internal affairs ministry.

Similarly, the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund provided supplementary cofinancing to the Regional Support to Balanced and Sustainable Urban Operations in Central and West Asia (Supplementary). This program helps increase engagement with national governments and sector agencies in selected DMCs in Central and West Asia to build transformative urban development capacity.

In South Asia, India’s Chennai Metro Rail Investment - Tranche 1 is cofinanced by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank. The project will contribute to expanding the existing metro rail network in Chennai, connecting the central area of Chennai to key points in the south and west of the city. In Bangladesh, the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific provided support to the Updating the Revised Strategic Transport Plan for Dhaka Project. This project helps enhance the planning capacity and coordination of the urban transport sector in Dhaka by updating the Revised Strategic Transport Master Plan for Dhaka and supporting the Dhaka Transport Coordination Authority.

“I believe that all regions in the world are similar in the challenges they face—people want to make a living; they want to care for their families. Whether you are a construction worker in Canada or a taxi driver in Kabul, your concerns are the same,” said Lara Arjan, urban development specialist at ADB.

Another way for ADB to partner with others to address the livable cities agenda is through the Urban Financing Partnership Facility, which supports the development of Asia’s cities, especially on pollution, uneven growth, and urban poverty.

The Urban Climate Change Resilience Trust Fund (UCCRTF), originally scheduled to close in December 2022, was granted a 6-month extension by its financing partners until 30 June 2023 to ensure the delivery of results against the UCCRTF design and monitoring framework, capture impactful results, maximize fund utilization, and ensure a smooth transition to the new Urban Resilience Trust Fund (URTF). Building on the lessons of its predecessor, the URTF aims to develop the capacity of selected cities in the Asia and Indo-Pacific region to help reduce risks from climate change and disasters by integrating climate resilience into their policies, and to support them to develop and effectively implement a pipeline of resilience projects.

The Cities Development Initiative for Asia Trust Fund (CDIATF) concluded the regional project on Cities and Climate Change in Asia in partnership with Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD). This initiative completed seven project preparation studies in 10 cities across Asia with an estimated investment value of $470 million. CDIATF receives funding from Austria, the European Union, France, Germany, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the UCCRTF.

Another trust fund under the urban facility, the ASEAN Australia Smart Cities Trust Fund, centered on smart city interventions in the participating cities of Baguio, Battambang, Davao, Eastern Economic Corridor (Chonburi), Hue, Luang Prabang, and Penang and put a strong focus on gender equity, disability, and social inclusion.

I believe that all regions in the world are similar in the challenges they face—people want to make a living; they want to care for their families. Whether you are a construction worker in Canada or a taxi driver in Kabul, your concerns are the same.

Lara Arjanurban development specialist, ADB

Access to Water and Sanitation Services

Access to urban water and sanitation services is a glaring challenge, especially in the region’s less developed economies. Rapid urbanization implies that the problem can only worsen and that there is urgency in the need to source water and provide sanitation services to city residents sustainably. Fortunately, ADB and its financing partners are on deck to support the developing members' efforts to improve the quality of life in the cities.

Partners are also working with countries to improve access to water while ensuring sustainable sourcing.

In Kiribati, the Least Developed Countries Fund for Climate Change under the Global Environment Facility provided additional financing to the South Tarawa Water Supply (Additional Financing). The ongoing project addresses the high incidence of waterborne diseases in South Tarawa by delivering and managing new and rehabilitated climate-resilient water supply assets (water sources, treatment plants, solar photovoltaic system, and transmission and distribution lines) and promoting better hygiene practices. In Bhutan, the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific supports the Water Flagship Program Support, which aims to provide safe and sustainable drinking water sources. The project also aims to provide irrigation services to about 100,000 people in Thimphu and other municipalities in the country. More importantly, the project will adopt disaster- and climate-resilient designs and improve institutional and local communities’ capacities.

In Bangladesh, the Agence Française de Développement gave additional financing to the Dhaka Environmentally Sustainable Water Supply Project to help expand the coverage and quality of water supply in Dhaka, Bangladesh’s fast-growing capital city. The project will include the development of a new raw water intake at the Meghna River, about 30 kilometers east of the city; a treatment plant at Gandharbpur capable of handling 500 million liters a day; transmission pipelines; and distribution network improvements.

Also, in Nepal, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the OPEC Fund for International Development provided grants for the Third Small Towns Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project. The project aimed to help Nepal provide quality water and sanitation services in small towns. The project exceeded or met all outcome targets to deliver inclusive, gender-sensitive, and sustainable water supply and sanitation services to project towns. A total of 405,977 people received access to high-quality piped drinking water supply and were provided with improved sanitation facilities.

“So far, the policymakers and climate actors have been setting the agenda, though most impacts of change are felt through water,” said Neeta Pokhrel, ADB’s water sector group chief. “Now, it’s time to shift that onto the actors on the ground—the water managers and service providers. Equip them with financing that they need and build their capacity rapidly so they’re able to implement it.”

The Water Financing Partnership Facility (WFPF) is an essential platform for partners to pool their support for ADB’s water sector agenda. Established in 2006, WFPF’s work is geared toward building water security and resilience. This means ensuring water availability during drought or reducing the vulnerability of people and assets during floods and other climate-related disasters.

The WFPF provides additionality to water sector operations to do “business as unusual” by generating knowledge and designing innovations into ADB-supported technical assistance (TA) and investments.

Partnerships have been critical to supporting the water sector group’s focus on resilience in 2022. For example, the Mainstreaming Water Resilience in Asia and the Pacific TA cluster, which supports efforts to promote water resilience among water entities, was cofinanced by the the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific and the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership Fund. This cofinancing has been critical in allowing ADB to respond to developing member countries’ water entity requests to build their resilience.

The WFPF and the People’s Republic of China Poverty Reduction and Regional Cooperation Fund cofinanced the regional TA, Improving Access and Strengthening Innovations for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene in Selected Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Countries and the Caucasus. The program is developing a set of technical, institutional, and policy tools to improve access to water, sanitation, and hygiene systems for the most underserved communities and populations in seven countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus, including women, vulnerable groups such as children, and people with special needs.

In August 2022, ADB convened its flagship Asia Water Forum with funding from the WFPF, drawing 3,186 participants from 115 countries—from the government, private sector, development partners, research institutes, and civil society. The event highlighted cutting-edge knowledge on key issues in the region’s water and sanitation sector.

Now, it’s time to shift that onto the actors on the ground—the water managers and service providers. Equip them with financing that they need and build their capacity rapidly so they’re able to implement it.

Neeta Pokhrel water sector group chief, ADB

Moving Forward

ADB continues to refine its operational approaches to livable cities to remain responsive to its clients and address the rapid changes and complex challenges, which are even more relevant in a post-pandemic period.

In the Strategy 2030 Urban Sector Directional Guide, ADB notes the need to increasingly focus on promoting social inclusion and people-centric urban development through the primary sectors, such as urban water supply, wastewater management, urban drainage, flood management, and solid waste management. The guide posits that ADB should create opportunities to work in new subsectors and thematic areas, including affordable housing, air quality management, circular economy, sanitation, healthy and age-friendly cities, urban mobility, sustainable tourism, and urban governance.

According to the Water Sector Directional Guide 2030, investment needs in the water sector are estimated to be on average $53 billion per year up to 2030. “The financing gap in the water sector is significant,” the report said. “ADB will directly contribute to bridging this gap through innovative sovereign and nonsovereign financial instruments and will play a catalytic role with partners to mobilize additional resources, including grants and technical assistance.”

With this, ADB’s financing partners have a huge opportunity to intensify their support for a sustainable and resilient Asia and Pacific region.