The vignette sketches an exemplary situation for 21st Century Southeast Asia. In search of better lives or driven by environmental disasters and climate change, people flock to the metropolises. It is estimated that by 2025 more than half of the planet’s urban population–some 2.5 billion people–will live in Asian cities. Jakarta, Hanoi, and Phnom Penh all bear witness to the uneven growth of Southeast Asian middle classes with increasing disposable income and changing consumer profiles. Meanwhile, the urban population deprived of durable housing and access to functioning infrastructure is also growing quicker than ever. According to an ASEAN report (2015: 34), Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City are among the world’s most unequal cities.
