New Book Explores Changing Asian Cities under Globalization2014-11-27
The new book Globalization and New Intra-Urban Dynamics in Asian Cities , just published by NTU Press in August, is a collection of English-language essays jointly compiled by co-editors French geographer NatachaAvelineDubach, Prof. Sue-ChingJou of the NTU Department of Geography, and Dr. Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, director of the Institute of Sociology at Academia Sinica.
The book is a collaboration between Taiwanese and French scholars, including geographers, sociologists, urban planners, anthropologists, and economists. It is also cofunded by institutes from the two countries, including support from Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology, Academia Sinica, NTU, as well as the French National Center for Scientific Research and Institute of Research for Development.
The book juxtaposes the research subjects and approaches adopted by Taiwanese and French researchers in their investigations of the globalization-driven dynamic developments taking place in Asian cities from Northeast Asia to Southeast Asia. It is essential reading for scholars interestedin issues of globalization and East and South Asian studies.
The urban areas studied in this book include Taipei City and Kaohsiung City in Taiwan as well as Tokyo and Osaka, Japan; Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Surabaya, Indonesia; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Delhi, India. The compilation organizes its essays under the four main themes of culture-led regeneration projects; dynamics of second-tier cities; urban redevelopment and land issues; and new urban spaces of regulation, associational life, and civic action. The insightful essays give readers greater perspective on the realities and theories of urban development, and, as the authors focus on a range of different cities, readers are also able to compare the distinctive research approaches applied by Taiwanese and French scholars.
Besides the thought-provoking observations presented in the essays, the authors themselves are a noteworthy team of ambitious international scholars that are actively promoting research within the discipline of Taiwanology, which they see as a separate branch of Sinology. The scholars are gradually
expanding beyond research in the humanities, within which anthropology, linguistics, and literaturehave been emphasized to cover philosophy and social sciences. They also show a deep interest in such topics as Taiwan’s economic system, the influence of government policy on trade, the intensification effect of China on Taiwan, the direction of Taiwan's democratic system, Taiwan’s elections, as well as the constitutional system.