Navigating Urban Development: Learnings from East and Southeast Asia - Softcover

Mayer, Vivienne; Slawski, Anika; Schwartze, Frank

Softcover

ISBN 10: 3869222239 ISBN 13: 9783869222233

Publisher: DOM Publishers, 2026

Synopsis

p>The world is facing rapid urbanisation and an escalating climate crisis. According to UN-Habitat, by 2050 around 70 per cent of the world’s population – some 6.7 billion people – will be living in cities, putting enormous pressure on infrastructure, resources, and the environment. The question is no longer whether cities and their regions must change, but how – and how to drive that change swiftly and effectively.

These challenges require global collaboration, which is where SURE (Sustainable Development of Urban Regions), a funding priority of the German state, steps in. SURE fosters cooperation between Germany, Southeast Asia and China. However, its goal extends well beyond that. It aims to develop solutions that can be implemented locally and transferred to other urban regions anywhere in the world.

Navigating Urban Development is the outcome of the SURE research project on moderation and synthesis. It presents ten case studies from projects in Cambodia, China, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. The book concludes with a call for a new culture of transformative research to support the development of urban projects and initiatives.

About this title

About the Author

Vivienne Mayer is an urbanist and researcher passionate about socio-ecological restoration, community-driven climate adaptation, and regenerative urban systems. She holds a Master's in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design and is currently a research associate at TH Lübeck, University of Applied Sciences, working on sustainable -urban development in Southeast Asia. Anika Slawski is an urban planner who holds a Master's in Urban Design and is a research associate at TH Lübeck, University of Applied Sciences. Her doctoral research focuses on placemaking - the appropriation and design of spaces by people - with an emphasis on rapidly growing cities in Southeast Asia. Frank Schwartze is an urban planner and since 2013 a professor for urbanism and planning at TH Lübeck, University of Applied Science. His focus is on strategic planning and forms and processes of sustainable urban development. After his studies in Berlin and Venice he obtained a European Postgraduate Diploma in France. As a practitioner he is engaged in urban planning and consultancy for municipalities and regions in Germany as well as for international development agencies.

Edition details

• Publisher: DOM Publishers
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3869222239
• ISBN 13: 9783869222233
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 168