Creating quality urban life in ASEAN
Southeast Asia’s population will reach 740 million by 2035, according to the United Nations Population Division (UNDP).
Southeast Asia’s population will reach 740 million by 2035, according to the United Nations Population Division (UNDP).
In Southeast Asia, the rise of e-commerce has changed how people shop. Throughout 2016, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand generated US$14.8 billion in online sales. A 2019 report from Facebook and Bain & Company found that ASEAN’s digital consumers’ spending will triple by 2025. However, traditional retail has not gone into extinction; instead, it has flourished. So much so, there is now a glut of shopping malls across Southeast Asia.
Be it the neighbourhood wet market that sells fresh food and produce, street festivals that deliver a dose of art or music, or parks which provide fresh air and a chance to reconnect with nature – public spaces are the cornerstones of thriving communities.But mass urban migration and rapid development are putting untold stresses on ASEAN’s cities, placing even greater emphasis on the way public spaces are designed and utilised.Almost half of the region’s total population now