Building Sri Lanka's economic future through smarter cities

Each year on November 8, planners around the world celebrate World Town Planning Day-a moment to reflect on how planning can build fairer, greener, and more prosperous societies. The 2025 theme, "With Planning We Can!", reminds us that planning is not just about regulating land use-it is about shaping the destiny of nations.

- BY Y. A. G. K. GUNATHILAKE

In Sri Lanka, urbanization is one of the most powerful forces defining our development pathway. Yet, over the decades, urban growth has remained uneven-concentrated in a few regions while vast areas with great potential, from the North to the East and from Uva to the South, remain underdeveloped.

To achieve true national prosperity, Sri Lanka needs a comprehensive, balanced, and inclusive National Urban Development Policy-one that integrates all provinces, strengthens regional economies, and ensures that every city, town, and village contributes to a shared national vision.

Because with planning, we can build a future where every region matters.

Urbanization is often a mirror of economic transformation. Countries such as Singapore, South Korea, and Malaysia used planning-led urban growth to accelerate their economies. Sri Lanka, however, continues to experience slow and spatially fragmented urbanization.

While the official urbanization rate stands at around 19%, the reality is far more complex. When peri-urban and functionally urban regions are included, nearly half the population already lives in areas economically tied to cities. Yet much of this growth is unplannedspreading linearly along roads and lacking efficient infrastructure.

This has resulted in congestion, high service delivery costs, and widening disparities between regions. Western Province, with 28% of the population, contributes nearly 44% of GDP. Meanwhile, provinces like the Northern, Eastern, and Uva-rich in resources and human potential-remain underutilized.

To correct this imbalance, Sri Lanka's urbanization must be guided, strategic, and regionally balanced.

Sri Lanka's settlement pattern is diverse. The country is composed of:

Core Urban Populations

Residents of municipal and urban councils.

Suburban and Fringe Settlements