The Politics of Civic Space in Asia: Building Urban Communities

This book explores how and why civic spaces are used by different communities in Asia and what role urban governance and public participation play in the support or demise of communities. Using case studies of contemporary city life throughout, the contributors provide insights into the importance and value of civic space, arguing that civic spaces provide not only the physical sites for civil society to function autonomously; but also provide a sense of place in the form of identity, meaning, memory, history and linkages with the wider world.
Each chapter focuses on the production of and access to civic spaces in a particular Asian city, as well as examples of successes and failures that can inform urban policy regarding inclusive, tolerant and socially vibrant city life through focused attention on the provision and continuity of civic space.
This book is designed to provide information to policymakers, researchers and students of the developing world regarding the importance and value of civic space in terms of creating and supporting urban communities. As such, The Politics of Civic Space in Asia will be an invaluable resource for those interested in urban planning, urban design, public policy and political science, as well as Asian studies more generally.

Amrita Daniere is Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography at the University of Toronto at Mississauga and graduate chair of the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto.

Mike Douglass is Professor of Urban Planning and Director of the Globalization Research Center at the University of Hawaii.

1. Urbanization and Civic Space in Asia Mike Douglass and Amrita Daniere 2. Communities in Retreat: Civic Spaces and State-Society Relations in Globalizing Singapore K.C. Ho 3. Machizukuri, Civil Society and Community Space in Japan André Sorensen, Hideki Koizumi and Ai Miyamoto 4. Foreign Workers and Spaces for Community Life: Taipei’s Little Philippines Li-ling Huang and Mike Douglass 5.Tangible and Intangible Civic Spaces in Bangkok’s Slums Amrita Daniere and Anchana NaRanong 6. The Meaning of Voice in Kuala Lumpur’s Changing Urban Communities Yi Jin Woo 7. Kampung Spaces and the Future of Indonesian Urbanism: Reflections from Jogjakarta Michael Leaf and Bakti Setiawan 8. Boundaries and Belonging in Guangzhou: Changing the Nature of Residential Space in Urban China Alana Boland and Jiangang Zhu 9. Neighbourhood Associations as Civic Space in Kathmandu Progressive and Regressive Possibilities Sabin Ninglekhu and Katharine N. Rankin 10. Uses and Understandings of Public Space among Young People in Hanoi, Viet Nam Lisa Drummond and Nguyen Thi Lien 11. Policy Implications and Conclusion Amrita Daniere and Mike Douglass