A Tropical Agenda for Future Research

The tropics are home to nearly half the world’s population, have rapid population growth forecast and have significant economic and social inequality challenges. Significant urbanisation is underway in Southeast Asia. By 2030, an additional 90 million people are forecast to move to ASEAN cities. These urban populations are expected to triple by 2050. Issues like poverty, inequality, unsustainable energy consumption and declining infrastructure will shape government and business decisions for years to come. While our tropical environment is urbanising faster and faster, we are often unable to cope with—and adapt to—the challenges brought by these changes. What processes can be used to reduce inequities and injustices in the tropical built environment? This book has clustered the various topics under several tropes addressing resources, local frameworks and urban design and planning. The works though are in variety, we admit that there is more work needed to explain and explore to further advance our understanding of the dynamics of the tropics.