Cities must urgently prepare for climate impacts, planners warned

A veteran urban development official has urged cities throughout South and Southeast Asia to prioritise climate adaptation in their planning frameworks, cautioning that delays could prove costly for rapidly expanding metropolitan areas. The former director of Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority stressed that municipalities must begin implementing measures now to mitigate the effects of rising temperatures and escalating sea levels that pose significant threats to coastal and low-lying urban zones. The region's dense, fast-growing cities face particular vulnerability, with many situated in areas exposed to both thermal stress and inundation risks. Effective urban planning, experts argue, requires integrated approaches that combine infrastructure resilience, green space development, and sustainable building practices to protect populations and economic assets. Cities that fail to act proactively risk compounding existing challenges related to flooding, heat stress, and resource scarcity. The call for immediate action reflects growing consensus among development professionals that climate considerations must become central to all future urban expansion and renewal projects across the region.