SMART-Cities City Pages provide a mixture of general or comprehensive information on Asian cities covering:

• General information of the city
• Economic vitality of the city
• Basic data of the city (with pertinent information on management structure of the local authority)

As local authorities increasingly face pressing environmental challenges, SMART-Cities strive to match the demands by providing the platform for information exchange and interaction.

A workshop on Cities, Poverty and Environment was held in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2001 and CITYNET, the Asia Urbs Programme and the Hanoi People's Committee organized this event. Participants at the workshop examined the complex links between environment management and its links to poverty reduction, and concluded the workshop with the call for improved partnership among all urban stakeholders. For details, please see http://www/citynet-ap.org/en/new.html.

A recent World Bank study identified air pollution from particulates and lead, surface water pollution due to micro-biological contamination, and traffic congestion as Bangkok's most serious urban environmental problems, and indicated that even moderate reductions in air pollution and congestion could provide significant benefits. Reducing ambient concentrations of key pollutants by 20% from current levels, for example, would provide health benefits estimated at between $400 million and $1.6 billion for particulates and between $300 million and $1.5 billion for lead. For congestion, the study estimated that a 10% reduction in peak-hour trips would provide benefits of about $400 million annually. For more details, please see http://www.unescap.org/enrd/environ/soe.htm

In preparation for the World Summit on Sustainable Development Process, a Consultation Draft document on Linking Poverty Reduction and Environmental Management has been prepared by DFID, EC, UNDP and the World Bank. Drawing a link between poverty and the environment, the paper sought to demonstrate that sound and equitable environmental management is a prerequisite for effective and sustained poverty reduction. Good governance was established as the best way to ensure good management of the environment and to reduce poverty. For more details, please see http://www1.worldbank.org/nars/eWorkSpace/eWS004/mydevforum2.asp.