The UN-Habitat World Cities Report (UN-Habitat, 2016) identifies the Lao PDR as experiencing the most rapid rate of urbanization in Southeast Asia. According to the 2015 Population and Housing Census (the census), approximately 33% of the Lao population lived in urban areas, the bulk of them in Vientiane Capital (Lao Statistics Bureau, 2015). While the total number of urban residents is low compared to neighboring countries, the UNDESA estimates that the urbanization level will reach 47.7 percent by 2025 (Bosoni, Epprecht & Hayward, 2018), and the Lao Statistics Bureau projects Vientiane Capital’s population will reach 1.4 million by 2045 (UN-Habitat, 2016). The rapid pace of urbanization is expected to create new development challenges for the Government of Lao PDR (GOL). To meet those challenges, and to build more inclusive, safer, resilient, and sustainable cities, development programming in Laos must transition from a traditional focus on poverty eradication in remote, rural areas to one that also supports well-planned and well-managed urban spaces, societies, and economies.