Ph.D. University of California - Berkeley
I look forward to being involved in the start-up of the Global Studies Program. Having worked on urban development issues in East Asia for twenty-five years, as well as spending time in Latin America and Africa, I hope to bring a truly global perspective to ASU.
My time, over the last decade, has increasingly been spent assessing Chinese urbanization, a daunting task given that there are over 160 urban regions over one million in population, and 400 million more people will be added to Chinese cities over the next 20 years. My work involves academic research, I am working on a book on comparative Chinese urbanization with the Chinese Academy of Science, multilateral organizations – I am advisor to the World Bank on East Asian urbanization, and importantly, the private sector developer’s perspective. The latter involves working with the Shui On Corporation in developing innovative and city-transforming projects across China, frequently incorporating heritage resources and designs that fuse a myriad of global influences. In addition, I am a frequent advisor to East Asian Governments on urbanization, e.g., acting as senior advisor to the Thai Government on urban policies for over a decade.
I was Senior Consulting Professor in the Urban Dynamics of East Asia program at the Asia Pacific Research Center of Stanford University from 1998 to 2004. I have been professor of planning at the University of British Columbia, Asian Institute of Technology, Utrecht University, the International Institute for Earth Observation in Europe, and the University of Calgary. In addition, I was the senior urban advisor to Current interests are comparative urban dynamics, peri-urbanization (most urban development is occurring on the fringes of cities worldwide), and urban management in East Asia.
Recent publications focus on urbanization dynamics in the context of globalization, localization, and decentralization, particularly in Thailand, China, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
I came to ASU because of the institution’s understanding of, and commitment to, comparative urbanization research, and its flexible, innovative, and entrepreneurial approach to knowledge generation and application. In the global studies program, I hope that we can develop graduates who will be adept global workers, understanding the important role that international agencies, voluntary organizations, and multi-national corporations play in shaping local economies and communities worldwide. Our challenge will be to identify and facilitate learning of a set of skills at the heart of global action.
May 2005