Public Places in Asia Pacific Cities: Current Issues and Strategies (review)

Public Places in Asia Pacific Cities is a worthwhile and well-illustrated contribution to the growing literature on Asian cities. This volume originated in a 1997 symposium at the University of Hawai'i titled "The Making of Public Places." It is distinctive in that it not only addresses spaces often overlooked by the conventional literature on urban design and form, such as street markets and alleys, but also provides a forum specifically for authors who are both scholars and planning practitioners. In this sense, the primary strength of the book is in the familiarity of the contributors with the places that they discuss, and they offer an excellent set of case studies. However, those who seek the placement of the case studies within wider theoretical frameworks may be less satisfied with the results.

Most of the seventeen chapters in the book were written by planners and architects who reside in East and Southeast Asia and who have been active in the planning and design communities in these regions. The chapters are well-organized in three thematic sections: (1) descriptions of spaces and types of spaces, such as the Tokyo waterfront or the Philippine plaza; (2) critiques of existing spaces and plans for the reorganization of space, such as the destruction of "street life" and landscapes through the demolition of traditional structures in Malaysia and Vietnam; and (3) recommendations for "interventions" and planning, such as high-density-oriented planning for China, or the redevelopment of alleys in Tokyo. Pu Miao's introductory chapter provides a well-laid-out explication of these categories and of the chapters that follow.

The introductory chapter also lays out the general themes of the book by summarizing "general characteristics," which most of the authors identify as features of Asian cities, including (1) a high population density, (2) a large area, (3) mixed use, (4) a government-centered, pro-development culture, (5) an East-versus- West bipolarity (e.g., indigenous versus colonial or international forms), (6) the small amount of public space, and (7) the absence of large nodes and a sense of overall structure for open space within the cities.

The case studies in this book are drawn from eight different Asian countries, including China (three chapters on Hong Kong as well as one that addresses both Hong Kong and the mainland), Japan (three chapters), Malaysia (two chapters), Thailand (two chapters), the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore. Although the authors are to be commended for the breadth represented by these chapters, it is unfortunate that no case studies specifically from the Chinese mainland were included. For readers of China Review International, I will focus this review on the Hong Kong chapters.

In "The Street Market as an Urban Facility in Hong Kong," Hikaru Kinoshita (Department of Architecture, Kansai University, Osaka) sets out to explain through an analysis of twenty-five Hong Kong markets why some street markets flourish while others "stagnate or decline." He identifies five stages in the life of street markets, presents an analysis of the communities in which the street markets are situated, and details a specific case study of the Reclamation Street market in Yau Ma Tei. He concludes that in a high-density residential area such as Yau Ma Tei, residents are so crowded together that they use their homes only for sleeping and spend much of the remainder of their time in the market areas, which thrive as a consequence. Markets tend to thrive in older Chinese areas of the city but stagnate in redevelopment areas where both the markets and the local residents have been moved into high-rises.

Charlie Q. L. Xue and Kevin K. K. Manuel (Division of Building Science and Technology, City University of Hong Kong) provide another perspective on public space in Hong Kong with "The Quest for Better Public Space: A Critical Review of Urban Hong Kong," in which they argue that the lack of public open space in...