The Mode City in Asia (Elements in Global Urban History)

by: Kristin Stapleton (Author)

Publisher:

Edition: New

Publication Date: 2022/8/11

Language: English

Print Length: 92 pages

ISBN-10: 110899492X

ISBN-13: 9781108994927

Book Description

Kristin Stapleton analyzes how concepts and practices associated with the ‘mode city’ were received, transformed, and contested in Asia over the past 150 years. In the early twentieth century, activists took advantage of the new significance of the city to pursue a wide variety of goals. Thus, the concept of the mode city played an important role in Asia, despite much critical commentary on the ideals associated with it. By the 1940s, the city yielded its political centrality to the nation. Still, mode cities remained an important marker of national achievement during the Cold War. In recent decades, cities have continued to play a central role in economic and cultural affairs in Asia, but the concept of the mode city has evolved. Asian ideas about urban goveance and visions of future cities are significantly shaping that evolution.

About the Author

Kristin Stapleton analyzes how concepts and practices associated with the ‘mode city’ were received, transformed, and contested in Asia over the past 150 years. In the early twentieth century, activists took advantage of the new significance of the city to pursue a wide variety of goals. Thus, the concept of the mode city played an important role in Asia, despite much critical commentary on the ideals associated with it. By the 1940s, the city yielded its political centrality to the nation. Still, mode cities remained an important marker of national achievement during the Cold War. In recent decades, cities have continued to play a central role in economic and cultural affairs in Asia, but the concept of the mode city has evolved. Asian ideas about urban goveance and visions of future cities are significantly shaping that evolution.