Massive urbanization is changing the face of Asia, bringing both prosperity and problems.

Approached strategically, this urban build-out represents a huge opportunity for Canada, especially in infrastructure, construction and related services, agri-foods and green technologies.

Our panel focused on what Canada should do to take full advantage of Asia’s unprecedented change.

It also emphasized the need for Canada to learn from Asia and to co-develop solutions to the shared challenges of urban living.

From 1980 to 2010, Asia added more than a billion people to its cities: another 1.1 billion are expected to join the urban population by 2040. Cities are merging together to create city-regions, urban settlements on a scale never seen before.

Drawing on the work of the Asian Development Bank and others, our panel explored the dynamics of Asian city growth, the opportunities for Canada, and the role the federal government might play in catalyzing relationships in the area.

Watch video interviews with each of our panelists:

• Geoff Cape, Evergreen, Centre for Green Cities
• Alessandro Pio, Asian Development Bank
• Sharon Christians, Bombardier Transportation
• Rana Sarkar, Canada-India Business Council / KPMG