IMPENDING ASIAN URBAN CRISES AND ALTERNATIVES FOR FUTURE FOCUS OF SECOND ASIA-PACIFIC URBAN FORUM IN BANGKOK

6 March 1996

Press Release
HAB/111
ESCAP/250

IMPENDING ASIAN URBAN CRISES AND ALTERNATIVES FOR FUTURE FOCUS OF SECOND ASIA-PACIFIC URBAN FORUM IN BANGKOK

19960306 Last Major Regional Preparatory Meeting for Habitat II

BANGKOK, 5 March (UN Information Services) -- Accountability and transparency by politicians and civil servants in the face of the looming crises in Asian cities are among the controversial topics which will be the focus of the Second Asia-Pacific Urban Forum, Living in Asian and Pacific Cities, to be held in Bangkok from 11 to 15 March at the United Nations Conference Centre.

The theme of the Second Asia-Pacific Urban Forum centers on what has been learned from Habitat I to Habitat II. Among other issues, the Forum is expected to critically discuss and review the draft discussion paper "Living in Asian Cities: The Impending Crises, Causes, Consequences and Alternatives for the Future", prepared by a group of eminent urban experts from Asia and the Pacific under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). In addition to political accountability, the paper raises such issues as "gangsterism" and corruption in public housing.

Upon review and discussion by the Forum, the paper will be finalized as a regional contribution to the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), scheduled to be held in Istanbul, Turkey from 3 to 14 June. The Asia-Pacific Forum is the last major regional preparatory activity for Habitat II.

The Second Forum is being jointly organized by ESCAP, the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and in cooperation with the Regional Network of Local Authorities for Management of Human Settlements, the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (Asian Chapter of Habitat International Coalition) and the Regional Network of Human Settlements Research, Training and Information Institutes.

"The Forum serves as a platform for all actors to exchange innovations, ideas and experience and to discuss policy approaches and options that should be pursued in solving specific urban issues requiring urgent attention", said one of the Forum's organizers. "As an interface with the international community, it could serve as a mechanism for reviewing ongoing regional

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assistance programmes and their relevance to countries and help make these programmes more transparent and demand-driven."

The Forum, which is expected to spark some lively debates on the future of the region's cities, comes at a crucial time. Over a billion people worldwide live in inadequate housing and the homeless population totals 100 million -- many of them in Asia. At least 600 million urban dwellers currently live in environments that threaten not only their health but their lives.

Policy makers, representatives of national and urban local governments, non-governmental organizations, human settlements research and training institutes and the private sector from 29 countries of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the media are expected to participate in the Forum.

Besides panel discussion sessions, the Forum will be divided into 12 focus groups and four sub-regional forums. The panellists who are being invited are Margaret Shields, former Director of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women and former Cabinet Minister of New Zealand; Alipio Fernandez, Mayor of Dagupan City and Secretary-General of the League of Cities of the Philippines; Professor Yue-Man Yeung, Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Shane Gilbert, Head of the Australian delegation to the Forum.

A poster presentation on innovations in urban management and development will be organized in conjunction with an Asian street bazaar by community- based organizations of the urban poor and the disabled. The poster presentation and the street bazaar will be opened by the Professor Krisda Arunwongse Na Ayudthaya, Governor of Bangkok, on Tuesday, 12 March at 10:30 a.m. followed by a press conference at 11 a.m.

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