People-Centered Solutions: Making Inclusive Urban Planning Work for Clean Air and Climate Action

The session “People-Centered Solutions: Making Inclusive Urban Planning Work for Clean Air and Climate Action” during the Better Air Quality Conference (BAQ) 2026) held in Bangkok, Thailand last March 2026 brought this question into focus, moving beyond theory and into real, lived experiences across cities. From the outset, the message was clear: Urban planning is not just about infrastructure, it is about people. Yet many planning processes remain technical and top-down, overlooking the realities of those most affected by pollution and climate risks. Children, women , older persons , and low-income communities are often left out of decision-making spaces.

Opening the session, Atty. Glynda Bathan-Baterina, Deputy Executive Director of Clean Air Asia, emphasized that inclusive planning means designing solutions with communities, rather than solely within institutional spaces. By asking critical questions such as who are we planning for, why, and how, cities can align diverse priorities toward shared goals for clean air and climate resilience.

In Antipolo, Ms. Rowena Zapanta, City Administrator and City Planning and Development Coordinator, shared how the city’s Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan was built through extensive engagement, grounded in both data and the lived experiences . The result is not just a transport plan, but a collaborative vision for safer and more inclusive mobility reflects how people actually move through the city.

From Bangkok, Mr. Tul Pinkaew, Founder and Director of Strategy at SideKick Creative Media Agency for Social Change, demonstrated how human-centered design and data driven methods are key to successful air quality communication. While building on existing policies, and by immersing in people’s daily lives and media habits, communication outputs can be designed to build public trust, achieving lasting behavioral change and impacts.

In Jakarta, Ms. Deliani Poetriayu Siregar, Urban Planning and Inclusivity Manager at the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, highlighted how inclusive design can transform public transport systems. Working closely with persons with disabilities, the city introduced tactile infrastructure, improved wayfinding, and accessible station designs, ensuring mobility systems respond to real user needs rather than assumptions.

The session also created space for dialogue through a World Café-style peer learning exchange. Participants reflected on practical challenges, from engaging communities early to aligning data systems and sustaining communication efforts. A recurring insight emerged: inclusive planning is not a one-time activity, but a continuous process built on trust, transparency, and collaboration.

Closing the session, Mr. Heinrich Gudenus, Urban-Act Project Director at GIZ, emphasized that cities cannot achieve clean air and climate goals without grounding decisions in lived experience. Effective planning requires breaking out of institutional silos, strengthening partnerships, and embedding engagement throughout the planning cycle, not just at the beginning or end.

The session reinforced a shift in how urban planning is approached. Clean air and climate action are closely linked to how cities are designed, governed, and experienced every day. When planning reflects the realities of people’s lives, it leads to solutions that are more effective, socially accepted, and sustainable.

The Better Air Quality Conference (BAQ) is the leading event on air quality in Asia, bringing together global experts, policymakers, and practitioners to drive action toward cleaner air across the region to exchange knowledge, share solutions, and strengthen collaboration on air quality management. This session was organized by Clean Air Asia, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, and GIZ Philippines and Pacific Island Countries through the Urban-Act Project.