Public Places in Asia Pacific Cities

Book excerpt: PUMIAO 1. The Subject Matter: Urban Public Places 2. The Location: Asia Pacific Region 3. The Purpose of the'"Book: For the Makers of Public Places 4. The Three Perspectives of the Book: Description, Criticism, and Intervention 5. Perspective One: Characteristics of Asia Pacific Cities and Their Public Places (1) High Population Density (2) Large Cities (3) Mixed Uses (4) Government-Centered and Pro-Development Culture (5) The East-versus-West Bipolarity (6) Small Amount of Public Space (7) Absence of Large Nodes and Overall Structure in Public Space (8) Intensive Use of Public Space (9) Ambiguous Boundary between the Public and the Private Summaries of Chapters 1-5 6. Perspective Two: Current Issues and Debates (1) Identity Formal Identity Functional Identity (2) Sustainability High-Tech versus Low-Tech High-Density versus Low-Density (3) Equality Equal Participation Equal Accessibility Summaries of Chapters 6-9 7. Perspective Three: Major Trends in Design and Theory (1) The "Grey" Relationship between the Public and the Private (2) The Transformation of Traditional Typology (3) Indigenous Decoration, Color and Material in New Applications (4) The Tropical Public Place Summaries of Chapters 10-17 8. Conclusion Pu Miao (ed. ), Public Places in Asia Pacific Cities, 1-45. © 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. 2 P. MIAO 1. The Subject Matter: Urban Public Places A visitor to Kuala Lumpur will hardly forget the experience of strolling among the fragrant fruits sold under the overhang of the five-foot walkway during a tropical downfall.