Introduction: Re-Imagining Creative Cities in Twenty-First Century Asia

Abstract

This introduction sets out the key arguments, rationale and approaches undertaken in this book. It identifies the current state of thinking in the Creative Cities discourse and the knowledge gap in processing and registering experiences in Asian cities. It then outlines the four main entry points to the study on this topic: civic society’s resistance to the ideas of top-down approaches and neoliberal development of creative cities in Asia; the re-imagining of creative cities through ‘global’ creative industries; the governance of creative cities and lastly; challenges, opportunities and reflections as experienced by those who make creative cities policies.