Urban Services
Ulaanbaatar Household Waste Composition Study Report 2019
February 14, 2020
Publication
The Ulaanbaatar City Mayor’s Office and The Waste and Climate Change Project of The Asia Foundation, funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety as well as the International Environmental Technology Center of the United Nations Environment Program successfully conducted a household was… Read more
Mongolia: Increasing Citizen Participation in Local Decision-Making
November 7, 2018
Blog Post
As rural Mongolians continue to move to the capital, Ulaanbaatar, in record numbers, the city has struggled to provide needed services, especially in the rapidly growing ger areas. The Municipality of Ulaanbaatar, under new leadership since 2016, has sought to improve public-service delivery and better target available development funds by increasi… Read more
The Asia Foundation and Renaissance Institute Facilitate Yangon Workshop for Municipal Leaders
Yangon, January 19, 2018
News Post
Local representatives gather to share experiences in urban planning and reform efforts The Asia Foundation, together with respected Myanmar policy think tank Renaissance Institute, held a three-day workshop from January 15 to 17 for state, region, and municipal representatives to share their experiences and learn from each other. In attendance were… Read more
Mongolia’s Local Leaders Essential to Urban Service Delivery
September 6, 2017
Blog Post
In Mongolia’s 2016 parliamentary elections, the opposition party won a landslide victory—taking 65 of the 76 seats, on a promise to boost the economy and tackle poverty. In 2011, Mongolia’s economy grew by 17 percent and attracted billions of dollars in foreign investment. Now, the country is in a state of financial crisis. For years, Mongolia… Read more
How Do You Make Aid Programs Truly Adaptive?
August 10, 2016
Blog Post
A swelling chorus of the development community has been advocating for more flexible and adaptive programming that can respond to the twists and turns of political reform processes. They argue that in order to achieve better aid outcomes, we need to do development differently. As part of this agenda, ODI and The Asia F… Read more
Poor Waste Management Threatens Phnom Penh
July 27, 2016
Blog Post
As more rural residents move to Phnom Penh in search of work, the city’s population has nearly doubled over the last decade. Estimates suggest it could reach 2.9 million by 2025. Meanwhile, new construction projects have driven thousands of urban poor out of the city center to peri-urban areas where services are few or non-existent. Cambodia’s capi… Read more
Can Technology Transform Governance in India?
March 30, 2016
Blog Post
A group of engineering students trudge up the stairs of an engineering college in the heart of Bangalore’s swanky Electronics City. Flip-flops beat against tiled floors, fingers run through bed-head hair. These bright minds are partly behind India’s unprecedented growth over the last two decades: the young tech-elite who power Indian technology’s heavy hitters like Infosys (whose sprawling campus is across the street), and run global giants like Google and Microsoft. As they fire up their laptops and plug in their headphones, these 50-odd data scientists, software engineers, and computer scientists are turning their attention toward something normally considered beyond their realm.
For Women Living Alone in Delhi, Security Concerns Heightened
March 2, 2016
Blog Post
On Monday, Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Verma called on Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss pressing issues concerning law and order in the city. With eight out of 10 women in Delhi fearing for their safety, it is encouraging that the new commissioner views strengthening women’s security as a priority.
Seoul & Ulaanbaatar Mayors: ‘Cooperation Vital to Global Green Development’
October 7, 2015
Blog Post
On September 21 and 22, mayors and vice mayors from eight cities across Northeast Asia gathered in Ulaanbaatar for the “Northeast Asian Mayors’ Forum” to exchange best practices and dismiss challenges in urban green growth.
Improving Urban Services in Ulaanbaatar
June 17, 2015
Blog Post
After three years of work to improve services in Ulaanbaatar’s ger districts and introduce a more inclusive style of urban governance to the City Municipality, more than eighty project stakeholders gathered for a June 12 workshop in the City to look back and reflect.
Improving Solid Waste Management in Ulaanbaatar
May 27, 2015
Blog Post
Uncontrolled urban migration and the proliferation of informal settlements known as “ger” areas around the periphery of Ulaanbaatar have created enormous challenges for city services in this burgeoning Mongolian capital, perhaps none of them more perplexing than the problem of simply collecting the garbage.
World Water Day 2015: Links We Like
March 18, 2015
Blog Post
March 22 is World Water Day, and this year’s theme is focused on water and sustainable development. The relationship between water and development is particularly critical in the Asia-Pacific region, one of the most water-stressed regions in the world, and home to 61 percent of the world’s people, with a population expected to reach five billion by 2050.
Is Phnom Penh Losing its Luster under Rapid Urbanization?
February 18, 2015
Blog Post
There were around 32,000 people living in Phnom Penh when the Pol Pot regime was expelled from the city in 1978. Today, there are over 2 million people crammed into Cambodia’s capital, growing by an estimated 50,000 people each year.
Trends That Will Shape Asia’s Economic Future (Part 2)
February 11, 2015
Blog Post
In last week’s blog, I highlighted four top trends to look out for in Asia’s economic future, including: Asia as the driver of growth, the growing tide of inequality and disparity, Asia’s trendsetters, and regional integration and regional fragmentation. Here are four more top trends to watch…
Asia’s Cities Poised to Lead in Climate Change Adaptation
January 28, 2015
Blog Post
With support from the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities challenge, a number of cities across Asia are beginning to confront the impacts of climate change. Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, recently selected as one of Resilient Cities’ newest member cities and home to 1.5 million people, is one. Due to its low elevation and proximity to the Mekong River…
Can Mongolia’s Digital Revolution Help Meet Service Delivery Challenges?
January 28, 2015
Blog Post
Last month, Mongolia celebrated the 25th anniversary of its democratic revolution, a moment that would catapult the country’s transformation from a communist regime to a dynamic power in the region. But more recently – and more quietly – the country has also been undergoing a digital revolution.
Mapping Mongolia’s Urban Ger Areas in Ulaanbaatar
December 17, 2014
Blog Post
Infrastructure in Mongolia’s sprawling capital Ulaanbaatar has not kept up with the rapid growth of unplanned ger areas within the city, leading to harsh conditions for newcomers. 1.5 million people now live in Ulaanbaatar, more than twice as many as the city was built to sustain. Since July 2012, The Asia Foundation has been implementing an urban services project…
New Report Examines Urbanization and Technology
December 3, 2014
Blog Post
By 2020, half of Asia’s population will live in urban areas. The region faces big challenges related to this rapid urbanization, including congestion, pollution, rising urban poverty, and squatter settlements. While the challenges are numerous, the dynamism of Asia’s cities also creates significant opportunities for generating innovative solutions…. Read more
Water Festival Highlights Phnom Penh’s Mounting Waste Management Problems
November 5, 2014
Blog Post
Every year as the monsoon rains in Cambodia ease and the Mekong River’s flow subsides, the largest lake in Cambodia, the Tonle Sap, begins its annual drain of the Central Cambodian flood plain. The Tonle Sap is a unique lake/river system in the world…