ABSTRACT
In this volume we have been concerned with the most recent episodes of change in Asian economies, and more particularly the reconstruction (or reconfiguration) of space shaped by industrial innovations and socioeconomic shifts. While the case studies presented herein include a range of territorial realms, our spatial focus has been on the Asian city, and its constituent zones, districts and communities, as it is specifically within the urban domain where we tend to find the most intense experimentation. There are to be sure compelling storylines of ongoing industrialization in many Asian states, and indeed many of Asia’s regions are still immersed in the agrarian mode; but it is increasingly the case that it is in the major cities where the most significant experiences of growth and change are inscribed. It may not be too bold a prediction to suggest that Asia will provide many of the most powerful and instructive reference cases for urban studies scholarship as the present century unfolds.
