Overview

The largest cities in Pacific Asia are the engines of their countries’ economic growth, seats of national and regional political power, and repositories of the nation’s culture and heritage. The economic changes impacting large cities interact with political forces along with social cultural concerns, and in the process also impact the neighbourhoods of the city. Neighbourhoods for the City in Pacific Asia looks at local collective action and city government responses and its impact on the neighbourhood and the city. A multi-sited comparative approach is taken in studying local action in five important cities (Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Taipei) in Pacific Asia. With site selection in these five cities guided by local experts, neighbourhood issues associated with the fieldsites are explored through interviews with a variety of stakeholders involved in neighourhood building and change. The book enables comparisons across a number of key issues confronting the city: heritage (Bangkok and Taipei), local community involved provisioning of amenities (Seoul and Singapore), placemaking versus place marketing (Bangkok and Hong Kong). Cities are becoming increasingly important as centers for politics, citizen engagement and governance. The collaborative efforts city governments establish with local communities become an important way to address the liveability of cities.

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9789462983885

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This book will contribute significantly to the comparative urban studies literature and meaningfully extend current understanding of neighbourhoods, communities, localism and urban governance. - Richard Ronald, Professor of Housing, Society & Space in Amsterdam University's Geography and Planning Department[-][-] This path-breaking book compares neighbourhoods in five different Asian national settings, enabling a nuanced analysis of how actions at neighbourhood and city levels have national and global dimensions. - Mike Douglass, Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning, University of Hawaii

The book Neighbourhoods for the City in Pacific Asia provides through its detailed comparative study compelling arguments for the importance of the neighbourhood as unit of analysis, the potentials neighbourhoods have for local community action, and how such action is related to the rest of the city and scalar government relations. I found it an interesting and compelling read, not only for Ho's endeavour to argue for the continuing relevance of neighbourhood studies, but also for the narratives provided in the case studies. - Mia Arp Fallov, Aalborg University, Denmark, Asian Journal of Social Science 49 (2021) This book will contribute significantly to the comparative urban studies literature and meaningfully extend current understanding of neighbourhoods, communities, localism and urban governance. - Richard Ronald, Professor of Housing, Society & Space in Amsterdam University's Geography and Planning Department This path-breaking book compares neighbourhoods in five different Asian national settings, enabling a nuanced analysis of how actions at neighbourhood and city levels have national and global dimensions. - Mike Douglass, Emeritus Professor of Urban Planning, University of Hawaii

Author Information

K.C. Ho is a sociologist at the National University of Singapore. Trained at the University of Chicago, his research interests include urban studies, migration, and higher education.

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