Content List of illustrations xi Notes on contributors xv Preface xix Introduction: Framing the Asian City 1 Vinayak Bharne Part 1: Traditions13 1. Anointed Cities: The Sacred Urbanism of Hindu India 17 Vinayak Bharne 2. Cultivating Cultural Memory: Observing Ethnic Transitions in Inner Mongolia 27 Eric Schuldenfrei 3. The Paradise Between Two Worlds: Re-reading Taj Mahal and its Environs 36 Vinayak Bharne 4. Vernacular Shifts: Observing Dwelling Patterns in Anatolian Turkey 46 Vic Liptak 5. Axes and Alleyways: The Tradition of Duality in Historic Korean Cities 56 Pilwon Han 6. The Cultural Construction of Surakarta, Java 66 Robert Cowherd 7. The New Old City: Nostalgia & Change in Historic Damascus 75 Christa Salamandra 8. The Death & Life of Traditional Aquatic Settlements in Central Thailand 85 Kasama Polakit Part 2: Tensions95 9. Tensions Manifested: Reading the Viceroy's House in New Delhi 99 Aseem Inam 10. Macau Paradox: Post-Colonial Portuguese-Chinese Urban Manifestations 110 Marisa Yiu 11. Le Corbusier's Ruin: The Changing Face of Chandigarh's Capitol 119 Vinayak Bharne 12. High Dreams and Stark Realities: Reading Islamabad 129 Noman Ahmed & Hanif Daud 13. An (Almost) All American City: The Vision & Legacy of the Tehran Comprehensive Plan 139 Vesta Nareh Zareh 14. The Dilemmas of Conservation & Reconstruction in Beiruit 148 Aseel Sawalha 15. Manifesting Democracy: Public Space and the Search for Identity in Post-War Japan 158 Vinayak Bharne 16. Post-Colonial Subconscious: Observing Mega-projects in south-east Asia 168 Abidin Kusno Part 3: Transformations 179 17. Global Architecture and Ethnic Enclaves: Reading Kuala Lumpur's City Centre 183 Mari Fujita 18. Making Way for a Global Metropolis: Mumbai's Rapidly Transforming Informal Sector 193 Manish Chalana 19. From Handshake Buildings to Golf Villa Estates: How the Flash Cities of Manchaster & Shenzhen Came of Age 203 Nick Roberts 20. Reshaping Hong Kong : Dimensions of change in a compact city 213 Peter Cookson Smith 21. Building Utopias: China's Emerging New Town Movement 225 Zhong-jie Lin 22. Vertical Urbanism, Horizontal Urbanity: Notes from East Asian Cities 234 Jeff Hou 23. Museums as Catalysts: Abu Dhabi's new cultural district 244 Seth Thompson 24. The Dubai Effect: The Gulf, the Art World & Globalization 254 Brettany Shannon Epilogue: Engaging the Asian City 265 Vinayak Bharne & Aseem Inam Index 267