October is Urban Month, and nowhere is the rapidly changing urban landscape more visible in this period than in Asia and the Pacific. The region is urbanizing at a mind-blowing pace and scale and breaking past global measures on both fronts. By 2050, nearly a billion more people will live in urban areas. This is not just a demographic shift; it is a radical transformation of economies, societies, and the very fabric of daily life. The question is if this is or can happen in ways that also exponentially expand possibilities for a more prosperous life for all city dwellers, that also comes with a cleaner, safer urban environment.  

There is a lot of talk of improved urban climate resilience, smarter cities with digital futures, clean energy and infrastructure. Some of it is indeed happening, and where it is, it is where there is the duality of having the fiscal space at the same time as the political space to make it happen. Maybe the question is simpler - who is steering this ship? For practice across cities large or small show that if there is political will to make some hard choices that lean in to making cities places that all who live there can joyfully call ‘home’, then ensure the fiscal will to make it happen follows.  

Our new UNDP report on this topic focuses on those aspects of urban governance and city leadership that creates that positive living space for all. It also acknowledges how challenging this can be – as urban environments can also be places of hardened criminality and illegal activity, homelessness and deprivations of freedoms. 

Many of the fast-growing cities of Asia and the Pacific carry these contradictory narratives, as engines of economic activity and innovation; and places of some of the harshest inequality, pollution, and vulnerability. It is all true. So, the question is who is in charge to make the positive trends expand and shrink the negatives? Consider this: the region is home to 467,000 subnational governments, 67% of the global total. These local authorities account for nearly a third of all government spending, yet most operate with limited fiscal autonomy. The result? Cities struggle to find investment options for the new infrastructure, services, and climate actions their people need. 

Cities generate 75% of regional carbon emissions and Asia-Pacific is home to 25 of the world’s most polluted cities. Nearly half the urban population lacks social protection, and informal employment accounts for over 65% of urban jobs. Climate-related economic losses top $780 billion each year. To mitigate some of this, the region needs $1.7 trillion in annual infrastructure investments alone, through 2030 – to address energy, water, shelter, transport, disaster risk and other essential services at the scale and quality required. 

What does effective urban governance and leadership look like?  

Numbers alone don’t tell the story. What matters is how cities respond. And the choices that local leaders make even within the constraints they face. Where governance is weak, corruption and injustice thrive, inequality grows and services falter. That joy of ‘home’ becomes a whisper of hope for a few. Where leadership listens, engages, makes choices that benefit the many, cities advance on the path to long-term well-being. 

The battle to expand fiscal autonomy is an ongoing one across the region, and some fights have been won in favour of municipal budget controls. The space to collect and keep local tax revenues, to obtain matching federal funds, to negotiate the best revenue sharing deals on resources in the locality (such as minerals, timber, energy sources), to incentivize public-private partnerships so cities can invest in their own futures. All these require smart capable governance, with but beyond the individual leader to having the systems, institutions and policies in place to make it happen.   

Cities that have used the dual-win of the smart use of digital and data to make governance more anticipatory, transparent, and accountable, show advances ahead of others. Those unafraid to link economic, social and environmental concerns with more integrated instruments have found better solutions to ensure healthy and resilient cities. And most fundamentally, those that have put their people first, and prioritized the needs of the most vulnerable, have made their urban spaces more livable for all.  

The lesson on building partnerships across government, civil society, and business to scale up what works, is an oft repeated one. but not often put to optimal use. Where it is, it works to advance progress as shown in the several case studies in the report. For instance, in Bangkok, a digital platform – Traffy Fondue – has slashed response times for city services. In Beijing, collaboration across key sectors, supported with robust data and technologies, has cut air pollution by two-thirds in this past decade. Ahmedabad, India, is using smart governance and blended finance to transform infrastructure and service delivery. Similarly, in Iloilo, Philippines, a polluted river has been transformed into the country’s largest linear park, improving lives and livelihoods. 

UNDP is taking vision into action.  

Since 2023, over 100 city leaders have joined UNDP’s Leadership for the Futures dialogue. In 2025 alone, we supported more than ten cities and states, embedding foresight and systems thinking into urban planning. In Bangladesh, our work has built climate resilience for four million urban poor across 19 cities. Our goal: help 30 more cities craft future-ready policies, empower over a million people to co-create solutions, and leverage $50 million in public and private co-financing for low-carbon, inclusive urban transformation. And that is in one space. There are many more. 

The choices made today will shape the lives of billions in the decades to come. Urbanization is not destiny. Values-based, capable governance, with leadership that sees and hears all who live in their urban space, that’s what shapes the future.