Abstract
This book seeks to contribute to the literature on global cities through an in-depth analysis of the production and consumption of arts and culture in major cities. In practice, the authors do so through a series of ethnographic analyses of the discourses and material realities underlying cultural and artistic spaces in five major Asian cities (Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei). Part of the material covered in the book is based on research output modified or extracted from peer-reviewed journal articles; this does not hinder the overall originality or consistency of the book. The material is cogently organised in 12 chapters: there are two major parts containing five chapters each (one for each of the focal cities), with an introductory chapter spelling out the rationale for the book and a concluding chapter discussing a number of overall insights emerging from the different case-studies.
The introductory chapter commences by noting the dominance of ‘economic approaches’ in global cities research. This observation is used to make the case for a more diverse literature acknowledging other dimensions of global city-formation, including the significance of arts and culture. Somewhat ironically, however, the discussion of the relevance of arts and culture is partly couched in terms of its (assumed) economic potential. Furthermore, although the stated dominance of ‘economic’ renderings of global city-formation is probably not incorrect, I did feel the introductory discussion overstated things. Indeed, over the years, global city research has evolved into an increasingly diverse body of scholarship (Van Meeteren et al., 2016), with the present book being but one of many attempts to decentre and diversify this literature. It would therefore have been more accurate to cast this book as part of an ongoing research program rather than a shining exception to an alleged state of affairs. Part of this somewhat incomplete framing of the book within the literature may in turn be due to the fact that there are relatively few post-2010 academic references – quite surprising for a book addressing a fast-evolving literature. In any case, I suspect a more up-to-date treatise of the literature would have resulted in a more nuanced positioning of the book. That said, this by no means devalues the overall merit of the remainder of the book, and the authors furthermore do a great job explaining how and why arts and culture are relevant in this conceptual context. In their introductory discussion, they usefully and convincingly make the case for considering both (1) archetypal flagship projects (with the explicit purpose of creating symbolic icons and images) and (2) initiatives to support more organic local cultural practices as we try to make sense of how major cities fare in a globalising world.
The (sometimes fuzzy) bifurcation between ‘art’ as purposefully iconic on the one hand and a range of local cultural practices on the other hand is at the root of the two formative parts of this book. The five chapters in the first part deal with the construction of cultural mega-facilities (e.g. the National Grand Theatre in Beijing), while the chapters in the second part address a broad range of art ‘clusters’ (e.g. the remaking of some of Shanghai’s old industrial spaces into creative precincts). The latter emerge and evolve by virtue of an often very diverse set of initiative-takers, including businesses, local governments or sometimes even outright organic growth (i.e. through a complex set of actors that do not purposefully seek to change the urban landscape, but end up doing so regardless). Each of the chapters is largely self-contained and very informative, and should also be of use for those interested in these projects irrespective of the book’s framing in the global city literature. Indeed, given that most (but not all) of the inter-city comparisons and overall insights for the literature-at-large are discussed in the final chapter, most of the case study chapters can be read as standalone elaborations of specific projects.
The final chapter steps back from the rich empirical detail to draw a set of broader conclusions about art and culture, their imprint in urban landscapes and their relevance for understanding global cities. It is only here that the authors consider the bearing of their focus on Asia, although they are careful not to overstretch: no notions of ‘Asian exceptionalism’ are explicitly advanced, although there is some unelaborated pitching of the results versus a putatively ‘Western’ reading of global cities at some point. Or, put differently: although it would probably not have been a bad idea to clarify or justify the focus on Asia in the introduction, the authors do not really present this as a linchpin in their line of argument, making it secondary to the book’s remit altogether – the book focuses on Asian cities in empirical terms, but not really on ‘Asia’ in conceptual terms. In addition to a discussion of some general patterns and idiosyncrasies in the case studies, the major conclusions mainly reiterate the rationale for the book: culture, both iconic and as a more localised practice that does not explicitly attend to grander goals, matters as we make sense of the contemporary trajectories of major cities. After reading the book, I was convinced that this is an accurate vantage point, suggesting that the authors have succeeded in their stated objective to make the case for considering arts and culture in this literature.
It should be clear that there are many things to like about this book. First and foremost, it is a well-written and original contribution to the global city literature (albeit that the uniqueness of shifting the focus away from ‘the economy’ is probably somewhat overstated), and it therefore deserves to be widely read and cited. Second, its significance clearly surpasses what is promised by the title and the introduction: although the book is indeed pitched as being about arts/culture in Asian global cities, it also draws on and contributes to a range of other debates, including on urban boosterism and regeneration, megaprojects, clusters and urban development in major Asian cities. Researchers specifically interested in these research domains and/or specific projects will also find many interesting ideas and empirical detail in this book, which can indeed be read and appreciated without paying much attention to how it is framed in the global city literature. Third, although not explicitly mentioned in the book, it does more than addressing the assumed dominance of economic renderings of global cities. The ethnographic approach allows for a refreshing bottom-up perspective on how global cities are produced (cf. Watson and Beaverstock, 2014), and the book thus also represents an innovative methodological contribution. That said, I was a bit disappointed by the relative lack of details on the ethnographic methodology: there is only a very short and formulaic subsection in the opening chapter, making it relatively unclear how the research was carried out; I imagine some of the papers have more detail on this.