Goodbye, legacy cities. Hello, future cityscape

SOUTH-EAST Asia is home to some of the most vibrant megacities in the world such as Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok, with expectations that urbanisation rates will continue to surge in the region. This level of urbanisation is expected to bring about significant benefits in the form of higher incomes and productivity, and greater access to social and civic opportunities for citizens.

Yet, the influx of people into cities will exert great stress on infrastructure systems that were originally designed for the needs of a much smaller and less technologically advanced population.

The increased burden on public and private service providers exposes cities to a slew of negative consequences including congest…