The art of making global cities
Prof Kong's new book'Arts, Culture and the Making of Global Cities'breaks down Asian cities' strategy of using arts and culture as means of becoming a global city
Asian cities are striving to become global cities not only through economic strategies, but also by harnessing the arts and culture. While this blueprint has worked for cities beyond Asia, there are potential pitfalls in implementing it in this region, according to distinguished NUS geographer Professor Lily Kong and co-authors of the book Arts, Culture and the Making of Global Cities.
Launched on 25 February with a public talk, the book examines the cultural ambitions and projects in five major Asian cities'Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei. Prof Kong, as lead author, collaborated with Professors Ching Chia-Ho and Chou Tsu-Lung from the National Taipei University in Taiwan. The book launch and public talk event was organised by the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences' Singapore Research Nexus and the Singapore Ministry of National Development's Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC).
Quoting Professor Susan Fainstein from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, CLC Executive Director Mr Khoo Teng Chye said at the event: "This volume makes two very significant contributions to the literature on Asian cities: it shifts the focus away from manufacturing and real estate as drivers of growth to the role of creativity in fostering the development of global cities; and it chronicles how arts and culture are changing the physical character of the cities studied.
The five cities studied are using a two-pronged strategy to become global cities'constructing iconic structures such as Beijing's National Grand Theatre, and developing cultural and creative clusters like the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong. Prof Kong and her collaborators have shown that in many cities, the government and the populace often differ on how these structures should be constructed and how the space should be used. Cultivating cultural hubs through the cluster approach that had its origins in the industrial world has its downside too, they discovered.
"Many cities are looking to these strategies as strategies for urban transformation…but I want to sound a cautionary note. It's not as simple as developing a cluster and all else falls into place, highlighted Prof Kong, who shared her insights on select case studies featured in the book. She also serves as Vice Provost (Academic Personnel) and holds the Provost's Chair Professorship at NUS.
Besides case studies, the book also features findings and analyses that challenge city strategies and existing urban theories about cultural and creative clusters, revealing the many complexities in the art of city-making.
Singapore, in particular, has been finding its way to becoming a "creative crucible but is not there yet, Prof Kong noted. The Esplanade, for example, has over time become an accepted part of Singapore's landscape, unlike some other iconic arts structures in the region, but several local arts clusters are still not living up to their potential, she explained.
