Asian Urban Transformation: Emerging Impressions and Future Research

Abstract

This volume represents a selection of contemporary research studies on aspects of Asian urban transformation by a diverse, multidisciplinary group of Asian scholars. In this concluding chapter, we offer a succinct account of our impressions gained from these contributions, along with a look to the future. Signs of shifting theoretical and planning paradigms relating to Asian urban transformation and a search for interconnections among the discourses, as discussed in chapters “Asian Urban Transformation: The Shifting Paradigms”, “Planning Traditions and Urban Development in the Transformational Landscapes of Asia: An Overview of Presented Papers”, and “Multifaceted Ideas and Approaches: An Overview of Presented Papers”, are recognizable in many of the papers, albeit often implicitly. We observe that a phenomenon at the intersection of scholars, practitioners, and stakeholders may be taking place in many Asian countries, which may play a catalytic role in blurring dualisms and propelling these changes. We note a mix of five major foci, issues, and approaches that emerge in the volume, pointing to some common frameworks within the complex transformative patterns in the evolving urban landscapes of Asia. Together, they suggest the need for collaborative and comprehensive urban development research within the intra- and interregional contexts of Asian countries. To this end, we conclude with a proposal for an Urban Research Consortium, in the belief that a well-focused and concerted research base, as a prerequisite for informed and evidence-based strategic planning approaches to Asian cities and their hinterlands, can help meet the formidable challenges of a transforming Asian landscape.