Both our and the next generation’s wellbeing depends on the decisions we make now towards emerging cities. Surveying cities of the region, I have seen not only best practices that encourage people to live in a self-subsistence lifestyle, but also other urban lifestyles that privilege a minority. The resources of the Mekong Region are increasingly under pressure and do not have the capability to sustain a massive rise in consumption. This article has revealed that rediscovering how rural lifestyles could compliment urban living could offer a genuine urban alternative for the region; the question is, can urban planners afford to ignore it?