A big part of my job is to work with people in different Asian countries to advocate for the kinds of policies that make it easier for people to lead healthy lives. The issues I address include tobacco control, urban transport, urban planning, and gender issues.

The hardest part of the work is the various obstacles one faces: objections from people that what we are campaigning for is unrealistic, contrary to sound planning or economic principles, or somehow utopian. Big money interests tend to oppose what we are trying to do. This gets discouraging, so I spend a lot of time trying to keep my colleagues (and myself) motivated.

My hope in this blog is to share some of my ideas about different issues, as well as the reasons behind my optimistic approach.

Important in urban planning is the promotion of public spaces that allow different kinds of people in the city to observe and interact with each other. So some of my blogs will be anecdotes about my encounters in public spaces. My hope is to illustrate the enjoyment as well as the life lessons that can be found in such places, and thus the importance of preserving them.