ABSTRACT
The phenomenal rate of urbanisation in developing countries has left planners with little opportunity or foresight to deal with the rapid changes that it has brought on. In Asia, the industrial boom in Japan in the 1960s was followed by the creation of the four ‘Asian tigers’ – Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong – and by the emergence of India and China as two major economic players. This brought on the beginning of an urban explosion throughout the region. With the exception of Africa, Asia has been urbanising much more rapidly than the rest of the world, and by 2020, more than one-third of the world's population will live in Asian cities (Logan 2002). As early as almost 30 years ago, the Brundtland Commission (1987: 282) had noted the grim challenge for urban sustainability in particularly in the developing cities of Asia and Africa:
Few city governments in the developing world have the power, resources and trained staff to provide their rapidly growing populations with the land, services and facilities needed for an adequate human life: clean water, sanitation, schools and transport. The result is mushrooming illegal settlements with primitive facilities, increased overcrowding, and rampant disease linked to an unhealthy environment.
