Events

This workshop is jointly organised by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore.

The world’s rapid urban transition in turning attention to the idea of progressive cities as sites and scales of governance that are oftentimes better able than central governments to address pressing social concerns and aspirations of our times. “The good city,” “liveable cities”, “environmentally sustainable cities”, an inclusive city that “recognizes tolerance, fairness, and social justice,” all speak to the idea of urban governance as a process of translating the material and economic prospects of cities into socially valued and just outcomes. In Europe concerns about social inclusion and justice are being carried forward at the city scale in an overarching era of economic austerity and financial crises, continuing international in-migration into already multicultural setting, and continuing corporatization of government and national space-economies. In Asia the on-going processes of accelerated urbanization are unprecedented in the scale and scope of social, political and economic changes they bring. As with Europe, cities in Asia are becoming more culturally and ethnically diverse, neo-developmental forms of neoliberalism are nationally ascendant, and questions of inclusion, redistribution, social vitality and environmental integrity also loom large. While contexts vary both between and within each of these two world regions, a comparative exploration of similarities and differences among cities in different settings can aid in better understanding the dynamics that cut through each city.

In parallel with the rise of cities as increasingly important levels of governance, in both Europe and Asia intercity connections are forming networks of social, economic and political deliberations about the future of the world as a human habitat. The transcendence of these networks beyond national borders coupled with intercity flows of people, goods and decisionmaking authority provides a clear rationale for focusing on cities as realms of political action for human well-being.

With cities rising as important spheres of public decision making, the diversity of urban experiences also become more recognizable. In every country some cities appear to be more progressive than others in committing their energies to issues of inclusion and social justice, improvements in stewardship of environmental resources and city region ecologies, and a flourishing of public life, including participatory governance. Given the wide variations among cities, progressive cities can be seen as a subset of cities that are contextually specific in their mix of governance structures, which are also subject to dynamics of change through time. In some cases, progressive cities might appear for just a brief period due to extraordinary constellations of events that prove not to be extendable. In contrast, other might gain a level of resilience to endure through long periods of time.

The event is by invitation only. Kindly forward all enquiries to lkyschoolevents@nus.edu.sg. 

CONTACT DETAILS

Workshop Convenors

Prof Mike Douglass
Asia Research Institute & Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
National University of Singapore
E | michaeld@nus.edu.sg

Prof Romain Garbaye
British Studies, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3
E | garbaye98@hotmail.com

Assoc Prof Kong Chong Ho
Department of Sociology, National University of Singapore
E | sochokc@nus.edu.sg

Secretariat

Mr Willy Lee
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
National University of Singapore
E | spplwl@nus.edu.sg