Blaž will present a new book on civic urbanisms in East Asia at the East Asia Resource Library in Ljubljana. Discussion on the collaboration between Asian studies and urban studies will follow the book presentation.
In parts of Asia, citizens are increasingly involved in shaping their neighbourhoods and cities. This marks a significant departure from the past when urban development in East Asia was largely driven by the state and the market.
The changing relationship between the state, civil society and urban change in four major cities in East Asia is the subject of the edited book Emerging Civic Urbanisms in Asia: Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei beyond Developmental Urbanization, published over a year ago in the Asian Cities series by the Amsterdam University Press.
The book focuses on eighteen examples of civic urbanisms, from social movements to save the Lo-Sheng Hospital in Taipei and Choi Yuen Village in Hong Kong to urban walks in Singapore’s Queenstown and Geylang. Examples of community-based urban regeneration in Hong Kong’s To Kwa Wan and Seowon Maeul, Samdeok Maeul and Haebangchon in Seoul are also presented.
The book also looks at self-organised local communities in Seoul’s Songhak Maeul and Seongmisan Maeul, the urban gardens of Foodscape collective in Singapore, the urban activism of migrant women workers in Hong Kong, and the collaboration between citizens and the municipal administration in placemaking in the Changwen and Gufeng in Taipei, and Limbang, Tampines and Woodgrove in Singapore.
The cases under discussion represent diverse forms of neighbourhood collective action with different objectives, although most of them involve civic participation and collaboration between local communities and municipal or national administrations. Thus, the book not only discusses the urban change in four major cities in East Asia, but also reveals broader socio-political relations and changes in the region. It shows that to understand contemporary East Asia one needs to know its cities. Moreover, the book shows that cities in East Asia help us understand cities in general as they belong to the most important and dynamic cities in increasingly connected and urban world today.
The presentation of the book Emerging Civic Urbanisms in Asia: Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, and Taipei beyond Developmental Urbanization will be followed by a discussion about research approaches and importance of collaboration between Asian studies and urban studies.
Blaž will present the book as one of its editors and will be joined by Luka Culiberg, Nataša Visočnik Gerželj and Matjaž Uršič for a discussion on the collaboration between Asian studies and urban studies. The presentation will be also an opportunity to discuss CASIE and its aims to combine and advance Asian studies and urban studies.
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