Urban Resilience Webinar 2: Investing in Urban Resilience: A New Role for the Private Sector

ESCAP-UN Habitat, Webinar 2
Organization
UNESCAP & UN Habitat

There are certain irresistible and interlinked forces that will influence growth, development, and change in Asia-Pacific cities in the coming years: GDP growth will continue to be among the highest in the world, population growth will be centred in cities, cities will be the drivers of economic growth (with up to 80% of output depending on them), and cities will be impacted by shocks and stresses (economic, social and environmental). In this regard, the role of the private sector is crucial. At its best, the private sector drives growth and provides jobs that contribute to a greener and more resilient future. However, the private sector can also drive forces that negatively affect people’s lives in the form of land grabs and job/wage insecurity and thus negatively impacts resilience. The contribution of informal workers to the urban economy is often overlooked. In many Asia-Pacific countries, governments have been constraining informal workers, sometimes even under the guise of building resilience. Guiding questions in this webinar are, therefore, how best to leverage the role of the private sector for increasing effective and inclusive resilience in the region’s cities? In particular, are these technocratic solutions (tax, regulations, and incentive structures) or do we need a wholesale re-think of the role of the private sector in Asia’s market economy? Secondly, what can we do to safeguard and support the informal economy – which is often where the poorest are located – to increase the resilience of those who work within it?

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To view a recording of the webinar, click here.