Transport-led design in a developing Asia

Transport-led Design in a Developing Asia

by Ed Baker

Research suggests that 66 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2050, up from 50 percent today.

Housing this growing population is one of the greatest challenges facing the world. India alone needs to build 31,000 homes per day for the next 15 years to meet the needs of its growing population. China expects 60 percent of its population to live in urban areas by 2020, a figure all the more incredible when we consider that 75 percent of the population lived in rural areas as recently as 1990. The ASEAN members are also all experiencing high population growth and urbanisation.

Simply building new housing will not be enough. To meet the needs of a rapidly growing urban population, a number of new infrastructure projects will need to be delivered around the world, particularly in developing countries where these trends are at their most extreme.