The World Bank estimates that 54.3% of global population now lives in cities, and this proportion will continue to rise.

The process of urbanization, along with the springing up of skyscrapers, booming tertiary industries, and floods of migrant workers, brings both opportunities and challenges.

For instance, social exclusion manifests as gender stereotyping in labour markets, racial discrimination in school enrollment, and slums where the poor live without access to basic services. Sustainable urban development cannot be realized if certain segments of the society are prevented from fully participating in economic, social, and cultural life, as well as from enjoying an acceptable level of personal well-being. To go beyond infrastructure, we must empower people.

Here are some approaches to make a city more inclusive. We need to identify the vulnerable groups in urban areas. Vulnerable people are not resilient against natural or economic risks. — blog.adb.org/blogs