NOT RUNNING 2020/21
Dr Pushpa Arabindoo
p.arabindoo[at]ucl.ac.ukThis course reviews the emerging urbanisation trends in Asia with a comparative focus on Indian and Chinese cities and explores the possibility of outlining a paradigmatic Asian city in the context ofglobalisation.
The World Urbanization Report published by the UN observes that at the turn of the twentieth century, even though Asia is one of the least urbanised region in the world (48 percent), it accounts for the maximum number of urban dwellers, 1.4 billion, more than the combined number in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern America and Oceania (1.2 billion). As the world takes an increasingly urban turn, nearly 60 percent of this growth will take place in Asia, mostly in India and China. More importantly, 22 of the 39 mega-cities (5 million plus) will be in Asia. Given the context of these significant statistics, it is imperative to examine the context of Asian urbanisation in qualitative detail extending beyond these quantitative preoccupations. In order to establish the complexity of its urbanisation process and the specificity of its urbanism, this course will draw on the interdisciplinary aspects of knowledge related to cities of the global South, developing a unique and richly informed theoretical as well as empirical understanding of a significant twenty-first century phenomenon.
Recommended readingCampanella, T. J. (2008). The concrete dragon: China's urban revolution and what it means for the world. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
Chapman, G. P., Dutt, A. K., & Bradnock, R. W. (Eds.). (1999). Urban growth and development in Asia. Volume 1: Making the cities. Aldershot and Brookfield: Ashgate.
Costa, F. J. (Ed.). (1989). Urbanization in Asia: Spatial dimensions and policy issues. Honolulu: Hawaii University Press.
Costa, F. J., Dutta, A. K., Ma, L. J., & Noble, A. G. (Eds.). (1988). Asian urbanization: Problems and processes. Berlin: Gebruder Borntraeger.
Dutt, A. K., Costa, F. J., Aggarwal, S., & Noble, A. G. (Eds.). (1994). The Asian city: Processes of development, characteristics, and planning. Dordecht and London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Gurung, A., McGrath, B., & Zha, J. (Eds.). (2010). Growing cities in a shrinking world: The challenges in India and China. New Delhi: Macmillan Publishers India.
Mahadevia, D. (Ed.). (2008). Inside the transforming urban Asia: Processes, policies, and public actions. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
Perera, N., & Tang, W.-S. (Eds.). (2007). The transforming Asian city: Innovative urban and planning practices. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Baptist University.
Shaw, A. (Ed.). (2007). Indian cities in Transition. Chennai: Orient Longman.
