ABSTRACT

With Asia’s cities undergoing unprecedented growth in the 21st century, lauded the ‘urban century’ by many, Sustainable Cities in Asia provides a timely examination of the challenges facing cities across the continent including some of the projects, approaches and solutions that are currently being tested.

This book uses numerous case studies, analysing topical issues ranging from city cycling in India, to green spaces in China, to the use of community-led energy generation projects in post-Fukushima Japan. Containing contributions from an international team of scholars, it also takes a multi-disciplinary approach and draws on examples from a wide range of countries, including China, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. Ultimately, by providing a comprehensive discussion of the broader debates around the shape of sustainable urbanism, it demonstrates that Asia is one of the most active regions in terms of the development of sustainable city strategies.

Tackling the contemporary issues of key importance for sustainability, such as property markets, migration and transport, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Urban Geography, Sustainability, Environmental Studies and Asian studies.

section I|70 pages

The sustainable city in Asia

chapter 1|16 pages

Unlocking urban trajectories

Planning for environmentally just transitions in Asia

chapter 2|9 pages

The story does not remain the same

Multi-scalar perspectives on sustainable urban development in Asia and Hong Kong

chapter 4|12 pages

Migration and urbanisation in contemporary Asia

Addressing urban inequalities and promoting social sustainability

chapter 5|15 pages

Let’s focus on connections

Reading Chinese eco-cities from a relational, multi-scalar perspective

section II|100 pages

Challenges and regional perspectives

chapter |9 pages

Green as urban spectacle in China

chapter 7|13 pages

Property-led urban growth, institutional change and urban sustainability

The case of China in an international perspective

chapter 8|13 pages

The impacts of High-Speed Rail on Shanghai’s suburban communities

Social sustainability and environmental justice

chapter 9|11 pages

The Kathputli conundrum

Slum redevelopment and the institutionalisation of unsustainability

chapter 10|12 pages

Sustainable cities in South Asian countries

A politico-cultural perspective

chapter 11|11 pages

Buying (into) sustainability

Technocratic environmentalism in Abu Dhabi

chapter 12|15 pages

Songdo

The hype and decline of world’s first smart city

chapter 13|14 pages

Challenging the eco-city

Residents’ perceptions of social sustainability in Tianjin eco-city, China

section III|124 pages

Section

chapter 15|14 pages

Can mega events lead to sustainable urban development?

The case of Beijing and Guangzhou

chapter 17|13 pages

A difficult birth

Creating Seoul, the 21st–century sustainable city

chapter 18|10 pages

Changing approaches to community participation for social sustainability

Neighbourhood planning in Singapore and Seoul

chapter 20|13 pages

Smart city strategies towards sustainable transformation of China’s industrial parks

The experience of Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, China

chapter 22|9 pages

The transnational search of Chinese eco-city projects

Historical legacies, authoritarian political operations, and socio-economic dynamics