Planning for development in rapidly urbanizing Asia requires a fresh look. This book contrasts the urban development experiences and practices of the two giant countries in Asia: the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and India.

The Asian Development Bank sponsored a 9-day workshop on Urban Development Experience and Visions, and senior-level government officials of India were invited for the workshop, and visited Beijing, Suzhou, and Shenzhen in the PRC.

Based on the workshop, field visits, and policy discussions on innovative urban development practices, this book summarizes key messages derived from the workshop: the challenges of urbanization should be turned around and viewed as opportunities for achieving economic growth.

PREFACE
This report summarizes the discussions that took place on 8–16 November 2007 at an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-sponsored workshop on Urban Development Experience of the PRC and India with Private Sector Participation (PSP).

The workshop was held in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), where high-level officials of central, state, and municipal governments from India were invited to share the vision and experience of the two countries. Particular emphasis was given to the role of the private sector in the provision of urban infrastructure and services. The mobile workshop for the participants from India was conducted in the cities of Beijing, Suzhou, and Shenzhen.

The workshop focused on drawing lessons and implications from the visions and experience of urban development in the PRC and India. In considering the private sector’s role, however, the workshop participants went beyond the technical details of PSP.

They considered the modality in the broader context of urban development policies and strategies, including the formation of city regions, emergence of clustered cities, inclusive urban development, the use of land in promoting PSP, and urban governance.

We hope that this report will generate interest among numerous stakeholders and provide a better understanding of the key challenges. Similarly, we hope that urban planners, policy makers, development partners, and decision makers will find it useful and relevant. The views expressed in the workshop, as summarized in this occasional paper series, are from the speakers and participants of the workshop, and do not necessarily represent the views of ADB or any particular government.

HUN KIM
Chair, Urban Community of Practice, Asian Development Bank
Manila, Philippines, August 2008

Visit Urban Development Experience and Visions: India and the People's Republic of China Download Page

You can download full publication in PDF format.

K. Choe, A. Laquian, and H. Kim
Asian Development Bank
6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City
1550 Metro Manila, Philippines
www.adb.org/urbandev
ISBN 978-971-561-744-4
Publication Stock No. BBK175608

About the Authors
KyeongAe Choe is principal urban development specialist of the South Asia Urban Development Division, Asian Development Bank (ADB).

She serves as one of the committee members of the urban sector community of practice at ADB. She has 20 years of professional experience in international development projects and studies such as public investment projects, urban and rural development, and environmental resource (water and land) management. She has published widely in the field of contingent valuation of nonmarket public goods, focusing on the water and sanitation sector.

She has an MS in economics and a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, United States.

Aprodicio A. Laquian is a professor emeritus of community and regional planning at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. Previously, he served as the director of the University of British Columbia Centre for Human Settlements and concurrently as project director of the Asian Urban Research Network, funded by the Canadian International Development Agency.

He has written numerous books on urban studies, including Beyond Metropolis: the Planning and Governance of Asia’s Mega-Urban Regions (2005). He has a BA in public administration, University of the Philippines (1959), and a Ph.D. in political science, major in urban studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1965).

Hun Kim is currently director of the Urban Development Division in the South Asia Department of ADB. South Asia covers Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

For the last 9 years, his focus has been on urban development in South Asia, local government finance and governance. Before becoming director, he has served at various posts at ADB including economist for India, and senior advisor to the Vice-President. He has a BA and an MA from Yonsei University (South Korea) in economics and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (USA).

About the Asian Development Bank
ADB's vision is an Asia and Pacific region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries substantially reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their people.

Despite the region's many successes, it remains home to two thirds of the world's poor. Nearly 1.7 billion people in the region live on $2 or less a day. ADB is committed to reducing poverty through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

Based in Manila, ADB is owned by 67 members, including 48 from the region. Its main instruments for helping its developing member countries are policy dialogue, loans, equity investments, guarantees, grants, and technical assistance. In 2007, it approved $10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $243 million.

Comments (0)

Name

Email

Comment

smaller | bigger

Add Comment