Urbanization is set to play an ever greater role in the development of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries, transforming their economies and providing support to green economic growth.

Asian cities need to change as they grow says this new ADB report and emphasises on "greening" of a number of urban infrastructure services such as urban transport, provision of water and sanitation services, waste management and energy sources for urban areas in the region.

Slums, informal settlements, and dilapidated inner-city tenements are problems that many cities in Asia and the Pacific struggle with while their economies try to modernize and develop.

While cities in Asia and the Pacific have been concentrating on their conventional infrastructure requirements, many cities are still discovering how to deal with the challenge of urban renewal in a broader sense. Many cities in the region do own old or historic inner-city areas of considerable historic and cultural value.