Infrastructure Resilience in Fast-Growing Cities: Key Challenges and Opportunities – A Review

Fast-growing cities face mounting infrastructure resilience challenges due to rapid urbanisation, climate change, governance inefficiencies, and financial constraints. This study conducts a systematic review to identify key vulnerabilities and explores risk-based planning as a crucial approach to strengthening urban resilience. The identified challenges encompass urban congestion, resource scarcity, climate risks, and fragmented governance, all of which jeopardise the long-term sustainability of infrastructure systems. The paper highlights opportunities for resilience through adaptive planning, smart infrastructure, multi-stakeholder governance, and innovative financing mechanisms. Emerging technologies, such as AI-driven risk assessment, IoT-enabled monitoring, and digital twin simulations, offer promising solutions but require robust governance and investment strategies for effective implementation. The findings stress the necessity of an integrated, cross-sectoral approach that aligns urban growth with sustainability and resilience principles. Future research should focus on developing scalable resilience frameworks, planning for informal settlements, and promoting digital inclusion to foster equitable and sustainable urban resilience.