Asian Urbanism

Asia and the Pacific region became majority urban in 2019. According to UN-Habitat, 54% of the global urban population, more than 2.3 billion, live in Asia, and by 2050 the Asian urban population is expected to grow by more than 50%. The extraordinary pace of change and types of transformations occurring in Asian cities are of interest to us all. While the rate of change is new, the tradition of Asian urbanism is not. As Asian cities, both large and small, adapt to their new circumstances, how have heritage and the traditions of Asian urbanism informed current responses to Asian urban modernity and sustainability? Please join us in this roundtable where Professors Eugenie Birch, Randall Mason, and Nancy Steinhardt bring their respective expertise to explore the challenges and opportunities at the intersection of Asian urbanism and heritage conservation.  

Speakers:
Kecia Fong (moderator), Lecturer, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, Editor, Change Over Time
Eugenie Birch, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Professor of Urban Research & Education
Randall Mason, Professor, Historic Preservation / City & Regional Planning
Nancy Steinhardt, Professor, East Asian Art & Curator of Chinese Art, Penn Museum

The Heritage Conservation in Asia Roundtable Series is an initiative of the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation. The purpose of the HCA Roundtables is to draw attention to how heritage and conservation in Asia are central to a raft of broader cultural, governance, urbanistic, and environmental concerns. Issues of national identity, rapid urbanization, sustainable development, international relations, political and religious conflict, civil society, public good, design, public art, and climate change all intersect built heritage and the built environment. As one of the most dynamic regions of the world today, what happens in Asia impacts the globe. The thematically oriented HCA Roundtables are designed to amplify existing Asian heritage-related work at Penn, generate insightful multi-disciplinary discussion, and identify key research questions addressing contemporary contexts, pressing needs, and current heritage conservation practices. Each roundtable features Penn faculty or alumni with diverse expertise and experience whose work in Asia or with Asian diasporic communities offer valuable perspectives and methodological approaches for evolving a global perspective on heritage and a more relevant conservation practice. Come expand your minds and your networks.