Urban Governance in Asia: Sub-regional and City Perspectives

THIS EDITED COLLECTION is one of a number of publications that have reported on research supported by the Global Urban Research Initiative (GURI) – in this case, studies by Asian researchers. These researchers approached their work within the framework of a shared definition of governance as “...the relationship between civil society and the state, between rulers and the ruled, the government and the governed …” The significance of this relationship remains a theme throughout the book.
These papers address urban governance issues at two levels. Three chapters focus on the sub-regional level – one on Bangladesh and Pakistan, one on India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and one on South-East Asia. Other papers focus on specific cities – Dhaka, Karachi and Zhuhai (China).
The Bangladesh-Pakistan study provides the opportunity to compare the evolution of urban governance in two countries that shared an identity for almost 25 years, until Bangladesh became independent, but which have moved in different directions since then. The paper on India, Nepal and Sri Lanka views these countries as being at a crossroads with regard to urban governance, long considered to be the domain of higher levels of government but now increasingly viewed as a collaborative effort involving numerous local stakeholders. The South-East Asia chapter looks at urban governance in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, all countries undergoing rapid economic and demographic change, and with increasing pressure to ally economic development with political liberalization.
All three chapters focus on the challenges inherent in poverty, urban growth and globalization, and all address an important change of focus on urban governance – from a concern primarily with the mechanisms of provision, to an emphasis on governance as a process and, as noted above, a relationship with civil society. The city case studies are an opportunity to see how these issues play out in specific situations. In the cases of Karachi and Dhaka, the emphasis is on the diagnosis of multiple and overwhelming problems, and on a reassertion of the need for representation, accountability and partnership. In the case of Zhuhai, a far smaller city which has effectively and profitably managed rapid growth, the attempt is more to identify the factors underlying success.