This paper describes the World Bank's current urban program and the strategic directions that the Bank's work will take to support its urban clients in the East Asia and Pacific region.  East Asia's economic future depends on the continued success of its urban areas. Cities and towns are typically the most dynamic sources of productivity growth in any economy, and in East Asia they already contribute at least 70 percent of the region’s economic growth.  Cities are where economies modernize. They are the main centers for production of internationally traded goods and services and the chief bases for foreign investment—a fact that further enhances their importance in East Asia, a region at the forefront of integration into the world economy. East Asian cities such as Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, and Jakarta count among the major cities of the world and are chief centers of trade and production.  Policymakers in the region recognize urban and regional economic development as national priorities because they are crucial to national development and poverty alleviation. However, East Asia's urbanization is a result of a complex series of economic, demographic, and governance transitions that pose an unprecedented challenge for local and national governments.  East Asia’s urban population surged from 21 percent in 1980 to 36 percent in 2000 and is expected to surpass 50 percent by 2025—a growth of roughly half a billion people—primarily as a result of migration from rural areas but also from natural increase.  The stakes for East Asia are high. If not properly managed, urbanization could exacerbate environmental damage, congestion, the lack of basic services, ill health, and insecurity, especially among the poor. Sound urbanization management policies are critical, and the role of city governments in developing and implementing such policies is perhaps even more important than that of national governments. Hence, city governments, many of which have only recently been empowered by the shift toward greater East Asian decentralization, are now scrambling to meet the diverse and growing challenges of urbanization.
In order to support our client governments in creating sustainable urban policies and programs, this paper describes the current situation and the economic, demographic and governance transitions taking place in the region. It elaborates on key challenges that cities face and makes suggestions for policy responses.   Download the full report (300kb .pdf)
 Also read "Urbanization Dynamics and Policy Frameworks in Developing East Asia"
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