Future-ready cities for south-east Asia

In the coming decades, south-east Asia expects to see high rates of economic growth, led by its rapidly urbanising cities. However, this could be hampered by a range of structural problems that commonly afflict megacities in emerging economies – poor transport connectivity, a piecemeal approach to urban planning, and infrastructure lacking climate resilience.

The Global Future Cities programme, initiated by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, aimed to support sustainable and inclusive urban development by delivering 13 key infrastructure projects in south-east Asia. The projects were spread across nine cities in six countries, impacting more than 27M people.

We worked alongside strategic partner UN Habitat as delivery partner for the programme, providing technical assistance to realise these projects. Each project falls under one of the three ‘pillars’ on which the Future Global Cities programme’s work in tackling barriers to prosperity is built: urban planning, transport and resilience.

13 projects in 9 cities across 6 countries benefitting 27M people 

Socially inclusive development

Huge economic growth is predicted for the six south east Asian countries of the Global Future Cities programme. If infrastructure investment is delivered holistically and focused on social outcomes, there is a great opportunity here to create sustainable, inclusive growth that benefits all sections of society. This allies with the core ethos of our Cities Practice: to integrate the breadth and depth of our professional services, tailoring them to create a place and people-based approach that meets all citizens’ needs.

As social inclusion was one of the programme’s main drivers, we used the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide and assess our interventions, maximising the benefits to local people and wider society. We also aligned all the programme’s activities with UK legal frameworks, including the International Development Act 2002. Measuring and advancing gender equality and social inclusion was central to our work: we considered it from the very beginning of each intervention and aimed to embed transformative change in local communities.

Urban planning

Six of the projects focused on supporting economic growth through spatial restructuring. They addressed public spaces, heritage and urban renewal, urban strategies, and data systems for integrated urban planning.

1. Data and strategy for urban planning – Cebu City, Philippines
A growing population in Cebu City has led to a shortage of adequate housing. We designed a strategy, supported by detailed social data, to enable the city government to reshape and strengthen its urban planning and development processes. This maximised the potential for new construction above and adjacent to transport hubs and identified key development priorities to meet social and economic needs. The strategy, which was supported by analysis of informal settlements in flood prone areas, will aid the effective planning of city expansion to minimise informal, low-quality development that would be poorly served by infrastructure.

2. Integrated sustainability plan – New Clark City, Philippines
We prepared the sustainable and inclusive design for a 45ha central park that is destined to become the centrepiece of New Clark City and an exemplar for urban planning across the Philippines. It will be one of the largest public parks built in the country over the past 50 years.

We also produced the masterplan and concept architecture for the city’s affordable housing strategy, along with a pilot housing project. The work involved establishing a sustainability unit within the city government that will use the SDGs to guide future development. This intervention formed part of the Philippines’ post-pandemic green recovery plan for building social and economic strength and resilience.

3. Revitalising streetscapes – Yangon, Myanmar
We developed a strategy to help Yangon recover lost public spaces and their associated cultural, health, environmental and economic benefits, by reducing congestion, improving accessibility for pedestrians, cyclists and other non-motorised traffic, and improving waste management to make the urban environment cleaner. The strategy paid particular attention to the inclusion of marginalised groups, to strengthen the social and economic life of the city.

4. Transit oriented development plan – Bangkok, Thailand
Our urban transformation plan for an ancient district of Bangkok, characterised by canals and a floating market, aimed to boost tourism and heighten social and economic vibrancy. The plan promoted mixed use development and improved access to education, with a new knowledge hub and student campus linked to the existing university. Our focus on improving life chances through education, tourism and more diverse use of land aimed to attract more people to live or work in and to use the area, injecting new economic energy.

5. Urban transformation plan for red-light district – Surabaya, Indonesia
We helped this former red-light district move on from its past with a strategy to improve urban planning, promote new income generating activities and boost gender inclusion. This transformational process, informed by stakeholder and community engagement, focused strongly on women and young people. We worked to change perceptions of the neighbourhood through branding, promotion of businesses and online marketing, building skills in the local municipal authority, and developing urban design guidelines for the wider municipality.

Creating new business opportunities in Surabaya

The plan has created a vibrant, mixed neighbourhood that is a centre for tourism and new business opportunities. Its success has led the project to be nominated for the ASEAN Placemaker Award, run by placemaking consultant Nextdor and social inclusion campaign group Think City. The mayor’s office has created a new agency to implement the strategy, following completion of our work.

6. Integrated data hub – Bangkok, Thailand
While there was no shortage of infrastructure data in Bangkok, the authorities were unable to maximise the benefits it can generate. We helped establish an integrated data hub that encourages interdepartmental data sharing and cooperation, creating a joined-up approach to data management. The project will enable effective monitoring of urban development through clear indicators, baseline data, targets and goals, to facilitate sustainable, future focused city planning.

The project will maximise the benefits derived from data across Bangkok

Transportation

Four interventions focused on improving connectivity by developing integrated transport systems, including mobility strategies and the data systems to support them.

7. Smart ticketing for public transportation – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
We produced a framework of technical standards to enable smart ticketing, encouraging a shift from private vehicles to public transport. This will help alleviate traffic congestion and cut transport related carbon emissions. Reduced congestion improves prosperity by reducing travel times within the city, enabling people to access more job opportunities and increasing access to retail and leisure facilities. Meanwhile, lower emissions and active travel modes support the decarbonisation agenda while boosting healthier lifestyles.

Smart tickets for travel in Ho Chi Minh City

8. Green transport corridor in a heritage setting – Melaka, Malaysia
Long term green transport plans for the state government, featuring smart technology, will support more efficient and sustainable public transit. Our work will encourage a modal shift away from private cars and motorbikes, towards public transport powered by renewable energy alongside the use of non-motorised vehicles. This transformation will lead to a healthier and less stressful urban environment, thanks to improved road safety and reduced congestion as well as lower air and noise pollution.

9. Smart mobility – Iskandar, Malaysia
We helped the regional government set up an integrated mobility management system to increase the quantity and quality of transport data, improving transport management and allowing policy development to be based on solid evidence. A clearer idea of where and how citizens travel will allow city authorities to target transport related investment for maximum effect. As well as reducing congestion and cutting emissions, adopting an evidence-based approach will embed data sharing across sectors and stakeholders, enabling the local government to monitor and manage the effects of rapid urbanisation on the transport network.

Delivering an integrated mobility management system for Iskandar

10. Integrated public transport – Bandung, Indonesia
This transport strategy prioritises bus and minibus services, light rail and commuter railways, non-motorised vehicles and walking. It will help Bandung tackle issues with congestion and boost public transport accessibility and usage. The project targeted integration with other major public transport programmes, notably those supported by the World Bank and German development agency Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit.

As well as improving public transport, this intervention will make Bandung’s streets safer, cleaner and more equitable. Better security and access to transport will improve mobility for vulnerable groups such as women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. There will also be far reaching economic benefits, such as better business conditions, lower emissions, and new jobs within the revitalised public transport services.

Resilience

Three projects boosted the resilience of communities by devising strategies to address the impact of climate change and natural disasters.

11. Geographical information system for city drainage - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City is ranked among the 10 cities most likely to be affected by climate change. We created a geographic information system (GIS) database of the city’s drainage network to show where infrastructure investment could best mitigate flood risks within the city. Armed with information about which parts of the city are most vulnerable to flooding, the city can now prioritise long and short-term investments, reducing the risk of major economic disruption from flooding.

Ho Chi Minh City will benefit from a GIS database of its drainage system

12. Decision support for flood management – Bangkok, Thailand
We combined GIS, hydraulic modelling and data science to map and predict flood risk, enabling the city to pinpoint where investment would build resilience and take pre-emptive action to protect citizens and businesses ahead of anticipated flood events. The decision support system will reduce the socioeconomic and environmental damage caused by localised flooding and improve Bangkok’s overall flood resilience.

13. Earthquake preparedness – Surabaya, Indonesia
Surabaya, Indonesia’s second largest city, lies in an area of high seismic activity. We identified weaknesses and designed interventions to improve its resilience to earthquakes. We used the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction as a reference for the creation of a resilience strategy that includes: understanding the hazard and vulnerability risks; design of a risk mitigation strategy; municipal and social earthquake preparedness; emergency response; and a ‘build back better’ strategy.​

As well as complying with the National Regulations on Disaster Risk Management minimum service requirements, our work addressed social inclusion and gender equality through a public awareness campaign and designs for post-disaster recovery. The project also included developing a post-disaster financing strategy that uses a risk insurance or disaster bond mechanism.

Earthquake resilience in Surabaya will be improved

Spreading the benefits

Community engagement has been key to delivering interventions that meet the needs of all sectors of society. We took a bespoke approach to each project, using a combination of in-person workshops, webinars and surveys to understand issues for local people, and adopted a participatory design methodology.

Digitalisation has been another core component of the programme, helping many beneficiaries to accelerate their learning as well as their adoption of new technologies. Through our input, in each country, the projects have created a cadre of people with advanced digital skills.

With our work on these 13 planning and infrastructure projects now complete, we are confident that they have not only improved conditions locally but also created exemplars to be replicated elsewhere. The hope and aim are that each project will become a reference point, spreading the social and sustainability benefits much further afield.