Organisers: Hyun Bang Shin (London School of Economics and Political Science, UK); Bae-Gyoon Park (Seoul National University, KR); Dong-Wan Gimm (Seoul National University, KR).
Contacts: h.b.shin@lse.ac.uk; geopbg@snu.ac.kr; dw.gimm@gmail.com
The globalisation of Asian economies has accompanied the emergence of urban real estate development, a key characteristic of late capitalism, as one of the main pillars of their economic expansion. The result has been speculative urbanisation, driven by desires of individual and/or corporate investors, central and/or local state elites, and domestic and/or transnational businesses. Their collective interests are reflected in the proliferation of state-led mega-projects to install iconic landmark buildings, new towns, and new CBDs in and outside existing urban centres, the experiences of which have been also increasingly inter-referenced within Asia.
In order to understand the above-mentioned processes of city (re-)making, it is important to overcome state-centric perspectives and adopt a relational approach that pays attention to inter-scalar dynamics and the politics of scale. For instance, the domination of Asian developmental states does not necessarily mean that the developmental ethos and visions, held in a particular period and space, had been uniform across factions in the state and capital. Such ethos and visions that led to the production of new towns and special zones of development would have been subject to geopolitical as well as domestic struggles.
This stream aims to scrutinise how the aspirations of Asian developmental states have been reflected in the course of (re-)making cities, and, at the same time, contested by non-state actors, civic organisations and local resents at various geographical scales. It invites contributions that critically examine why and how particular interests were represented, how they mobilised mega-projects and shaped cities ultimately in their own imagination, what roles local communities, nascent advocacy groups or popular struggles played in contesting the state-led mega-projects. Papers that attempt to compare the Asian experiences with those elsewhere are also welcomed.
F1.1 (Re-)making Cities: the politics of scale in mega-projects in Asia and beyond
Chairs: Hyun Bang Shin (London School of Economics and Political Science) Bae-Gyoon Park (Seoul National University) Dong-Wan Gimm (Seoul National University).
Contacts: h.b.shin@lse.ac.uk; geopbg@snu.ac.kr; dw.gimm@gmail.com
Loraine Kennedy
Multi-scalar dynamics driving India’s urban megaprojects. Speculative urbanisation and the IT Corridor in Chennai
Bart Wissink
Erasing Lee Tung Street: Class and Difference in the Urban Redevelopment of Hong Kong
Julie Ren, Ilse Helbrecht
The art biennale as scalar arbiter: Gwangju latitudes
Mathew Idiculla
Crafting City Spaces: New Spatial-Legal Regimes in India
Distributed paper
Shoshana Goldstein
Planning the Millennium City: The Politics of Place-making in Gurgaon, India
Çağlar Köksal
On Planning for Growth: Urbanising the Developmental State in Turkey
F1.2 (Re-)making Cities: the politics of scale in mega-projects in Asia and beyond
Chairs: Hyun Bang Shin (London School of Economics and Political Science) Bae-Gyoon Park (Seoul National University) Dong-Wan Gimm (Seoul National University).
Contacts: h.b.shin@lse.ac.uk; geopbg@snu.ac.kr; dw.gimm@gmail.com
Francesca Frassoldati, Alessandro Armando
The majestic axis of Guangzhou and the political reinvention of urban form
Gabriel Silvestre
Assembling ideas, interests and institutions: the delivery of Rio de Janeiro’s port regeneration project
Cagri Carikci
State, Capital and Hegemony: Political Economy of the Large Scale Urban Projects in Istanbul
Jun Wang
Constructing the cultural regions in China: thinking through the lens of territory effect
Cuz Potter
Two Million Houses: Multiscalar spatial fixes in Korean housing policy
Distributed papers
Daniel Durrant
The ‘Global Race’ and High Speed Rail: the civil society response to the framing and implementation of the UK’s mega transport project HS2
F1.3 (Re-)making Cities: the politics of scale in mega-projects in Asia and beyond
Chairs: Hyun Bang Shin (London School of Economics and Political Science) Bae-Gyoon Park (Seoul National University) Dong-Wan Gimm (Seoul National University).
Contacts: h.b.shin@lse.ac.uk geopbg@snu.ac.kr dw.gimm@gmail.com
Bridget Martin
Peyongtaek 2020: Militarism and urban redevelopment in South Korea
Lisa Choi
Polymorphic Urban Landscapes: the case of New Songdo City
Shriya Anand, Neha Sami
Manufacturing cities: Industrial policy and urban planning in India
Delik Hudalah
Beyond the Developmental State: Globalisation and the politics of peri-urban megaprojects in Jakarta Metropolitan Area
Distributed papers
Mythri Prasad-Aleyamma
Ports, Roads and Time: Building urban Infrastructure in South India
