Public spaces in cities include open spaces such as parks and green belts, riverbanks, public squares, roads, and even beaches. Uses for public spaces include recreation, social and political gatherings, and transport, among others, while floodplains and wetlands provide additional functions like addressing urban environmental issues like river flooding and wastewater management. Public spaces can also showcase a city’s culture and heritage, which gives the city its own identity and becoming an attraction that opens up economic opportunities from tourism and increasing local income for cities. But at the rate that cities are expanding nowadays in Asia, the pressure to maintain or retain public spaces a serious concern in urban development. Most city governments are overwhelmed by the need to develop available land given the increasing demand for housing and services, coupled with the influx of migrants seeking better job and education opportunities.

— blogs.adb.org/blog