Yangon’s Development Challenges

Overview:
"Yangon is an attractive and relatively livable city that is on the brink of dramatic change. If the government of Myanmar continues its recent program of economic and political reform, the economy of the country is likely to take off, and much of the growth will be concentrated in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city and commercial capital. This paper argues that Yangon is poorly prepared to cope with the pressures of growth because it has only begun to develop a comprehensive land use and development plan for the city that would guide the location of key activities including export-oriented industries and port terminals. In addition, the city lacks the financial resources to finance the infrastructure and other public services required to serve the existing population, let alone support a population that is larger and better off. Failure to address these challenges will not only make Yangon a less livable city but will also reduce the rate of economic growth for the entire country. Myanmar needs a dynamic and vibrant Yangon to thrive."..."...In sum, Yangon and Myanmar appear to be on the verge of explosive growth, making up for decades of stagnation or decline. Yangon is almost certain to become a key engine in the nation’s economic growth as Myanmar’s largest city, commercial capital, most important port and tourist destination, and most logical site for export-oriented manufacturing. But how well Yangon fulfills these roles depends on how well the city is managed. Yangon’s slow growth in the past had a hidden benefit in that it preserved many assets—greenery, parks and open spaces and historic buildings—that other Asian cities lost. As a result, Yangon has an opportunity to avoid becoming another sprawling, polluted and highly congested Asian megacity and grow instead into a greener and more livable metropolis. But it will do so only if it prepares a plan before development threatens to overwhelm it. And the plan will succeed only if it is based on thoughtful and realistic analyses of issues like the location of special economic zones and ports and the provision of affordable housing and quality infrastructure.