Urban – South Asia
South Asia is a rapidly urbanizing region. Around one in every five urban dwellers in Asia lives in large urban agglomerations and almost 50% of these live in small cities. By the middle of this century, Asia’s urban population as a whole will increase by 1.4 billion people and alone will account for over 50% of the global population.
What’s in it for South Asia summarizes how, in some parts of South Asia, such as the east coast of India, clusters of districts with poor infrastructure and demographic development are also the regions of maximum climate vulnerability. Extreme events are expected to be more catastrophic in nature for the people living in such districts.
Because South Asia is urbanising rapidly, urban adaptation provides opportunities for incremental and transformational adjustments towards resilient and sustainable systems. Reducing energy and water consumption through greening cities and recycling water, and developing resilient infrastructure systems can reduce the vulnerability of urban settlements in many parts of South Asia.
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