|
Showing 1 - 7 of
7 matches in All Departments
As a nineteenth-century commercial development, the alleyway house
was a hybrid of the traditional Chinese courtyard house and the
Western terraced one. Unique to Shanghai, the alleyway house was a
space where the blurring of the boundaries of public and private
life created a vibrant social community. In recent years however,
the city's rapid redevelopment has meant that the alleyway house is
being destroyed, and this book seeks to understand it in terms of
the lifestyle it engendered for those who called it home, whilst
also looking to the future of the alleyway house. Based on
groundwork research, this book examines the Shanghai alleyway house
in light of the complex history of the city, especially during the
colonial era. It also explores the history of urban form (and
governance) in China in order to question how the Eastern and
Western traditions combined in Shanghai to produce a unique and
dynamic housing typology. Construction techniques and different
alleyway house sub-genres are also examined, as is the way of life
they engendered, including some of the side-effects of alleyway
house life, such as the literature it inspired, both foreign and
local, as well as the portrayal of life in the laneways as seen in
films set in the city. The book ends by posing the question: what
next for the alleyway house? Does it even have a future, and if so,
what lies ahead for this rapidly vanishing typology? This
interdisciplinary book will be welcomed by students and scholars of
Chinese studies, architecture and urban development, as well as
history and literature.
As a nineteenth-century commercial development, the alleyway house
was a hybrid of the traditional Chinese courtyard house and the
Western terraced one. Unique to Shanghai, the alleyway house was a
space where the blurring of the boundaries of public and private
life created a vibrant social community. In recent years however,
the city's rapid redevelopment has meant that the alleyway house is
being destroyed, and this book seeks to understand it in terms of
the lifestyle it engendered for those who called it home, whilst
also looking to the future of the alleyway house. Based on
groundwork research, this book examines the Shanghai alleyway house
in light of the complex history of the city, especially during the
colonial era. It also explores the history of urban form (and
governance) in China in order to question how the Eastern and
Western traditions combined in Shanghai to produce a unique and
dynamic housing typology. Construction techniques and different
alleyway house sub-genres are also examined, as is the way of life
they engendered, including some of the side-effects of alleyway
house life, such as the literature it inspired, both foreign and
local, as well as the portrayal of life in the laneways as seen in
films set in the city. The book ends by posing the question: what
next for the alleyway house? Does it even have a future, and if so,
what lies ahead for this rapidly vanishing typology? This
interdisciplinary book will be welcomed by students and scholars of
Chinese studies, architecture and urban development, as well as
history and literature.
Contemporary Practices of Citizenship in Asia and the West: Care of
the Self examines urban communities and societies in Asia and the
West to shed much-needed light on issues that have emerged as the
world experiences its new urban turn. An urbanized world should be
an improving place, one that is better to live in, one where humans
can flourish. This collection of essays examines contemporary
practices of care of the self in cities in Asia and the West,
including challenges to citizenship and even the right to the city
itself. Written by a range of academics from different backgrounds
(from architecture and urbanism, anthropology, social science,
psychology, gender studies, history, and philosophy), their trans-
and multidisciplinary approaches shed valuable light on what are
sometimes quite old problems, leading to fresh perspectives and new
ways of dealing with them. One thing that unites all of these
papers is their people-centred approach, because, after all, a city
is its people.
When people look at success stories among postcolonial nations, the
focus almost always turns to Asia, where many cities in former
colonies have become key locations of international commerce and
culture. This book brings together a stellar group of scholars from
a number of disciplines to explore the rise of Asian cities,
including Singapore, Macau, Hong Kong, and more. Dealing with
history, geography, culture, architecture, urbanism, and other
topics, the book attempts to formulate a new understanding of what
makes Asian cities such global leaders.
See Singapore with fresh eyes With its cutting-edge skyscrapers
standing cheek to cheek with traditional Chinese shophouses,
picturesque mosques, and neoclassical edifices of its colonial
past, Singapore is a traveler's dream, a richly stimulating blend
of East and West, old and new. What's more, Singapore's compact
layout makes it simply ideal for exploring on foot. Let author
Gregory Bracken show you the best walking routes through the city
via his vivid drawings of Singapore's myriad sights - from its
iconic landmarks to hidden gems - accompanied by insightful
commentary and practical information for the visitor. This revised
and updated sixth edition of A Walking Tour Singapore features new
illustrations and updated itineraries designed to lead you to the
very heart of this complex and ever-changing city.
The ten essays in Future Challenges of Cities in Asia engage with
some of the most critical urban questions of the near future across
Asia. These comprise socio-economic and cultural transitions as a
result of urbanization; environmental challenges, especially
questions of climate change, natural disasters, and environmental
justice; and the challenges of urban infrastructure, built form,
and new emerging types of urban settlements. The essays demonstrate
that it is increasingly difficult to conceptualize the 'urban' as
one particular type of settlement. Rather, it would be more
accurate to say that the 'urban' characterizes a global transition
in the way we are beginning to think about settlements. This book
is of interest not only to researchers interested in comparative
and inter-disciplinary research, but also to urban practitioners
more broadly, illustrating through concrete cases the challenges
that urban regions in Asia and beyond are facing, and the various
opportunities that exist for dealing with these challenges.
What does it mean to be a good citizen today? What are practices of
citizenship? And what can we learn from the past about these
practices to better engage in city life in the twenty-first
century? Ancient and Modern Practices of Citizenship in Asia and
the West: Care of the Self is a collection of papers that examine
these questions. The contributors come from a variety of different
disciplines, including architecture, urbanism, philosophy, and
history, and their essays make comparative examinations of the
practices of citizenship from the ancient world to the present day
in both the East and the West. The papers' comparative approaches,
between East and West, and ancient and modern, leads to a greater
understanding of the challenges facing citizens in the urbanized
twenty-first century, and by looking at past examples, suggests
ways of addressing them. While the book's point of departure is
philosophical, its key aim is to examine how philosophy can be
applied to everyday life for the betterment of citizens in cities
not just in Asia and the West but everywhere.
|
|