ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the multiple and overlapping motivations and ideas of different stakeholders in the urban and architectural development of East Asia's colonized areas between the beginning of the twentieth century and World War II. It explores especially with regard to East Asia, the political power relations of World War II and how their impact on social values remains, though it may be difficult to evaluate. The book discusses history from the perspectives of the various different stakeholders: academic scholars, planners, architects, government or institutional officials, and non-institutionally affiliated figures, all representing both the victor and vanquished, as well as both the transplanted and the indigenous residents, who formed unique regional cultures under the control of the respective governments involved. It offers a multi-layered history of urban space as the arena of dynamic interactions between power and the wills of individuals.
