No reason for city clusters not to succeed

In a debate on "Urbanization: Testing the City Cluster Model" that we (Asian Development Bank officials) participated in at the Boao Forum for Asia in South China's Hainan province in April, all the panelists agreed that integrating cities and urban systems in coordinated city clusters is a global challenge.

Cities are the world's economic engines, accounting for about 80 percent of each country's national GDP. But they are also the largest sources of pollution and greenhouse gas emissions with more than 80 percent of carbon emissions originating in cities and city clusters. About 66 percent of the global population is expected to live in cities and city clusters by 2050, with 90 percent of future urban growth taking place in Asia and Africa.

China has included in its 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) a total of 19 city clusters, many of which are as large as some European countries. In 2015, China's 11 largest city clusters accounted for one-third of the country's population, and two-thirds of its economic output.