Rapid Urbanization in the Asia-Pacific Region: A Roadmap to 2015 and Beyond

UNESCO, the UN nodal agency for education, science, culture and architecture, has made sustainability a key topic in its development oriented activities, and has launched a new initiative to address the increasing concern of non-sustainable urbanization which currently occurs in the Asia and Pacific region. It is a region of rapid change, cultural alienation and environmental crisis, with a threatening divide between city and countryside. This paper informs about the interdisciplinary research activities conducted by the newly established UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Urban Development for Asia and the Pacific. The Chair's roadmap for the next ten years to facilitate sustainable urban growth is explored and described in detail.