The overall structure of the transport sector in the developing world is changing because of rapid urbanisation. While Latin America is already highly urbanised, Africa and especially Asia are still undergoing rapid urbanisation. It is expected that China and India alone will add 500 million people to their urban population in the next 20 years. This implies a growing need for urban transport services to prevent or overcome patterns of sprawl and congestion, and to ensure access to goods and services.

Concern about the sustainability of transport in emerging and developing economies has deepened because of  the potential carbon footprint of transport in these countries.

As a consequence, the focus on transport has shifted away from moving goods and people to ensuring access to goods and services. The new thinking is exemplified by the Avoid‐Shift‐Improve (ASI) approach:

Avoid the need for unnecessary travel in providing improved access to goods and services, for example, by the integration of land use and transport policies
Shifting travel to the most efficient mode, which in most cases will be either non‐motorized or public transport for passenger transport, and to rail or water transport for freight
improving  existing forms of transport through technological improvements to make engine and fuels less carbon intensive

All aspects of the ASI approach have been successfully implemented in cities and on a national scale, with many cases in emerging and developing economies, and is now a key strategy for many organisations working on transport in developing countries.