Category: News from Asia & Australasia

IURC Asia & Australasia Information Event

On Wednesday 26th May 2021, the IURC Asia & Australasia project team collaborated with IURC colleagues in China and Brussels to organise a webinar to provide information for European cities willing to cooperate with Asian and Australasian cities within the IURC programme. The event highlighted how diverse and dynamic the Asian and Australasian regions are, as represented by the team...

Gwalior, India & Leuven, Belgium

Strengthening governance for the restoration of privately-owned heritage buildings in Gwalior RESULTS OF IUC-INDIA CITY-TO-CITY COOPERATION Located in the heart of Belgium next to Brussels, the city of Leuven has a legacy and ongoing practices to make use of heritage buildings in a way that their heritage structure and design are protected. Within the IUC programme, Leuven entered into partnership...

Penampang, Malaysia

Working to cut more than their fair share of emissions In Cities on the Route to 2030, a report on cities and climate action published last week by CDP, Penampang in Malaysia, a pilot city of the EU-funded IUC and GCOM initiatives, was the only city in Asia singled out (out of 100 Asian cities reported). It is the first...

Official Launch of IURC in India

The new International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme was launched on 4 May in India during the 2nd India–EU Urban Forum in the presence of Mr Kunal Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Dr Ronald Hall, Senior Expert, Directorate General of Regional and Urban Policy, European Commission; and Ms Kamilla Kristensen-Rai, Counsellor, Delegation of the European...

Vietnam

IURC Asia & Australasia Partner Country: Vietnam Country Description With a population of 95 million people, living in 64 provinces and 5 cities with a total area of 329,314 km2, Vietnam is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. During recent decades, cities in Vietnam became the engines of economic development, and rapid urbanisation has been the...

Thailand

IURC Asia & Australasia Partner Country: Thailand Country Description Thailand is not only undergoing rapid urbanisation but is also implementing various policies to tap urbanism for economic growth and promote sustainability. Until the second half of the 20th century, it was primarily an agricultural country. However, since the 1960s increasing numbers of people have moved to Bangkok and to other...

Malaysia

IURC Asia & Australasia Partner Country: Malaysia Country Description Malaysia has 32.73 million inhabitants (Department of Statistics, Q4, 2020) and surface of about 330,000 km² (a bit smaller than Germany). As a federation, it is divided between the federal and the state governments. It consists of 11 states in Peninsular Malaysia, 2 states on the island of Borneo and 3...

Republic of Korea

IURC Asia & Australasia Partner Country: Republic of Korea Country Description Over the past years under a green growth strategy, different authorities have launched a number of initiatives on urbanisation, including green and smart city projects, eco-friendly energy towns and others. For instance, a number of ministries organised competitions and trial projects to partner with local governments to establish and...

New Zealand

IURC Asia & Australasia Partner Country: New Zealand Country Description The New Zealand population has become increasingly urban, like the rest of the world. The size of New Zealand cities has grown in both population count and land area. In fact, most New Zealanders live in the urban areas. In 2018, 51.2% of the population lived in the major urban...

Japan

IURC Asia & Australasia Partner Country: Japan Country Description With an urbanisation rate of 92%, Japan has as a wealth of experience with establishing urban structures able to adapt to medium and long-term socio-economic changes such as an ageing and declining population, also a key challenge for the EU. Japan has recently launched several initiatives of interest to the EU....