Advancing the Financial Sustainability of Asian Cities

Asian cities require considerable resources to provide facilities and services to growing urban populations, address existing infrastructure deficits, and respond to COVID-19 crisis and build back better. Cities should have the capacities, systems, and processes to effectively and efficiently manage their revenues and expenditures, and to attract investments to meet the growing demands for recurrent expenditures and capital investments. ​​​​​​​

This webinar will present a snapshot of the challenges and opportunities for enhancing financial sustainability of cities in Asia and the Pacific. The content is based on Article 4A Advancing the Financial Sustainability of Asian Cities of ADB’s Book on Creating Livable Asian Cities. In this webinar, the co-authors will begin the presentation with a brief analysis of the current municipal financial performance, then discuss options for municipalities to improve and maximize common revenue sources (taxes, tariffs, transfers), analyze the mechanisms for catalyzing additional revenue sources at the local level, and finally, reflect on the previous sections and offer recommendations to advance sustainable municipal finance in cities in ADB’s developing member countries.

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ADB's work on Urban Development Sector