Asia is urbanizing at an unprecedented pace, now home to 17 of the world’s 33 megacities, with its urbanization rate projected to reach 64 percent by 2050. This rapid growth has undoubtedly fueled economic development but has also posed complex challenges for cities and urban centers. Among the most pressing are the provision of essential infrastructure and services, effective environmental management, and disaster risk reduction. The interplay of these challenges is further intensified by climate change, which is driving more frequent and severe climate- and environment-related disasters, placing urban populations at heightened risk.

Cities today are navigating a difficult balancing act—managing the impacts of global health crises such as pandemics, addressing mounting environmental pressures, and sustaining economic progress. The growing vulnerabilities have prompted policymakers, planners, and resilience practitioners to reimagine how cities function and to develop innovative pathways that position urban centers not only as engines of growth but also as hubs of sustainability and resilience.

Recognizing this urgent need, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), in partnership with the International Urban Resilience Academy (IURA) of the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), has launched a specialized regional training course on Urban Resilience and Environmental Management. This course is designed to equip professionals with the knowledge and tools required for a resilient urban transition, drawing from urban resilience research, climate science, policy frameworks, and practical applications.

The first round of this training was conducted in the month of February 2023. Eleven participants who are policymakers, practitioners, and researchers from India, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam attended the training program. The second round of the course was conducted for a group of Bangladeshi government officials (12 no.) in March 2023.

The course introduces participants to the Process Design Methodology, a structured framework to guide resilience planning in local contexts. It consists of four steps:

• System analysis and stakeholder mapping
• Forecasting of trends and drivers
• Visioning and strategy development
• Formulating actionable resilience plans

Through this training, participants will build the competencies needed to strengthen urban systems, integrate environmental management into decision-making, and design solutions that advance climate-resilient and sustainable urban futures.

• Grasp core concepts of urban resilience and environmental management in the Asian context.
• Understand the links between climate science, urban systems, and policy frameworks at global, national, and local levels.
• Recognize emerging trends, risks, and opportunities for sustainable and resilient urban development.

• Conduct system analysis and stakeholder mapping for urban contexts.
• Apply tools for forecasting, visioning, and strategy development.
• Design actionable urban resilience and environmental management plans using the Process Design Methodology.
• Strengthen multi-stakeholder collaboration and governance mechanisms for integrated resilience building.

Urban resilience tackle both causes and effects of climate change, empowering together low- carbon transition and climate adaptation of cities, in conjunction with other urban challenges from urbanization to disaster risk reduction and environment concerns. The Urban Resilience and Environmental Management training is designed to strengthen participants’ knowledge and practical skills in addressing the growing challenges faced by cities in the context of climate change, rapid urbanization, and environmental degradation.

The training will address the high complexity and wicked problems of urban development through a system thinking approach, going beyond sectorial solutions, through a process design methodology that will introduce the participants to the development of strategic and action plans for urban resilient transition and environment management. Key focus areas include waste management solutions, sustainable operations and maintenance of urban infrastructure, protection of urban waterbodies, gender-responsive approaches, and the participatory design of green spaces that incorporate principles of circularity.

The training will be strongly based on peer-to-peer learning, share challenges and experience in tackling various issue on climate change action, waterbodies, nature-based solution projects, and public green spaces, enabling participants to directly observe successful practices and adapt them to their local contexts

The participants will learn about:

the Process Design for the development of strategic and action planning for urban resilient transition

• the Process Design for the development of strategic and action planning for urban resilient transition
• the use of system approach to understand current challenges and opportunities for urban resilient transition.
• current tools and methods to address climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
• best and next practices relevant for the implementation of resilient cities plan.
• develop waste management plans that are cost-efficient and inclusive, engaging both the private and informal sectors while leveraging digital tools.
• effective practices for the operations and maintenance of urban infrastructure with a focus on sustainability.
• identify and implement practical approaches for protecting and restoring urban waterbodies such as ponds, canals, and rivers.
• integrate gender-responsive strategies into urban environmental management to promote equity and inclusivity.
• participatory planning and design of urban green spaces, including integrating circular waste management practices.
• gain hands-on insights from field visits to urban resilience sites and translate these lessons into actionable strategies in their own contexts.

By the end of the training participants will be familiar with the key steps for the development of a draft resilience action plan for a city with reference to Urban Resilience and Environmental Management

The training will be conducted in a blended modality. The onboarding for the training course will be conducted online (4 Hours spread over two days). The onboarding will cover fundamentals that are prerequisites for joining the course. This will be followed by a five day in-person training. During the in-person training, different thematic areas related to urban resilience will be discussed in the morning sessions via lectures and presentations. The afternoon sessions will be mainly dedicated to group exercises with different tools and discussions on case studies. An exposure visit will be organized for the participants to gain first-hand experience of different actions implemented in the city of Bangkok, Thailand (one of the Megacities in Asia) for enhancing urban resilience.

Some key focus for the training includes:

• Practical Solutions for Waste Management – developing waste management plans, ensuring cost-efficiency in operations, leveraging private sector engagement, using digital tools, and integrating the informal sector.
• Operations and Maintenance of Urban Infrastructure with a focus on sustainable environmental management.
• Practical Approaches to Protecting Urban Waterbodies – including ponds, canals, and rivers.
• Gender-Responsive Urban Environmental Management to ensure inclusivity in resilience planning.
• Participatory Planning and Design for Green Spaces – such as parks and playgrounds, integrating waste management and circularity principles.
• Field-based Learning through Site Visits – to waste management facilities, well-managed urban waterbodies, urban nature-based solutions (NbS), and green public spaces.

Main Theme

Urban resilience and process design for urban resilient transition

This theme will first speak about the urbanization globally and in Asia. Emphasis will be made upon the challenges experienced by the urban areas with the increasing impact of the climate change.

Afterwards the “Process design Methodology” will be introduced. This methodology allows for the development of strategic and action planning for urban resilient transition in an urban context. The process consists of 4 steps: 1) Diagnosis, 2) Trends and drivers, 3) Visioning, 4) Strategy and Action Planning. Diagnosis phase allows for defining the system based on the challenges, understand the key elements that make up the system and their relationship, as well as defining the stakeholders. Next steps consist of understanding trends and drivers that have an impact on the urban system and in which ways. Further, the process includes the step of defining the vision of the target future considering the constraints and limitations posed by trends and drivers in the long term. The final step consists of identifying the strategy and actions to achieve the vision, specifying the type of actions and the stakeholders involved.

Nature-based Solutions for Urban Resilience.

This lecture will elaborate how nature-based solutions will be utilized to resolve the challenges experienced by the Urban areas. For instance, restoring, managing, and conserving ecosystem can strengthen resilience of the urban areas to flood, drought, extreme weather events. Furthermore, NbS in urban areas will increase green space and can also provide health benefits to residents.

Low Carbon Cities

At present, urban areas are seen as hubs where large amounts of CO2 emissions are released into the atmosphere especially from the key sectors such as buildings, transport and waste. This theme will highlight the importance of low carbon and climate resilient development in urban areas. It will also elaborate common challenges & gaps observed in low carbon strategy planning.

Gender equality and social inclusion for urban resilience

This theme will address the aspects of gender equality and social inclusion in the urban context. It will elaborate the difference between gender equality, equity vis a vis reality and liberation and will discuss the importance of social inclusion for building urban resilience.

Waste Management and Circular Economy

This module will focus on practical solutions for waste management, emphasizing the development of comprehensive and cost-efficient waste management plans. Participants will examine the role of the private sector, the use of digital tools, and the integration of the informal sector in improving efficiency and inclusivity in waste systems. The discussions will also highlight how waste management can be aligned with circular economy principles, turning waste into resources and promoting sustainable urban development.

Urban Infrastructure and Environmental Systems

This module focuses on strengthening the sustainability of urban infrastructure and environmental systems, with particular emphasis on the operations and maintenance of environment-related infrastructure. Participants will explore practical approaches to protecting urban waterbodies, including ponds, canals, and rivers, while learning how to integrate nature-based solutions (NbS) into urban systems to enhance resilience, ecological balance, and long-term environmental sustainability.

Inclusive and Participatory Urban Environmental Management

This module highlights the importance of inclusive and participatory approaches in strengthening urban environmental management. It introduces gender-responsive strategies to ensure equity in planning and decision-making, alongside participatory design of green spaces such as parks and playgrounds that also integrate principles of waste management and circularity. The module further emphasizes the role of community engagement in fostering ownership, inclusivity, and long-term sustainability in urban development.

Urban Resilience Initiatives in the Asian region

This theme will highlight information on the urban resilience initiatives adapted in Asia.

Group assignments

The group work is carried out based on Process Design Methodology, including the specific phases, for developing a draft resilience action plan for a city/ an urban area. Participants will be divided into groups and will be asked to select a city/ an urban area where the group members are most familiar with its challenges and key problems (Case Study). Afterwards, the groups will work during the five days and will come up with the draft resilience action plan for the selected city/ urban area on the fifth day with the assistance of the trainers. Group work will be carried out on the Miro Platform (online whiteboard). Participants are advised to bring their laptops during group assignment session.

Exposure visit

An exposure visit will be organized for the participants to gain first-hand experience of different actions implemented in the city of Bangkok, Thailand (one of the Megacities in Asia) for enhancing urban resilience. The exposure visit can be institutional or an urban community visit. The specific details of the exposure visit will be made available in due course.

$1,400 (without accommodation)
$1,835 [with accommodation (6 nights)]

Fees are inclusive of course materials (soft copy), cost of instructions and course certificate. For face-to-face training, fee is inclusive of morning and afternoon snacks and lunch during the course.

Interested individuals and organizations can register online at www.adpc.net/apply.

For more information about the course, you may also contact Apibarl Bunchongraksa at apibarl@adpc.net and telephone numbers +66 22980681 to 92 ext. 132.