Description

The Planning Regimes in Asian Cities collection, edited by Andrew Harding & Rawin Leelapatana, examines planning law as an underdeveloped but vital field in Asian legal scholarship, comparing how law structures urban development, decision-making, accountability and public participation across the major Asian cities, i.e. Bandung, Bangalore, Bangkok, Johor, Hong Kong, Metropolitan Manila and Singapore. Together, the papers show that planning is never merely technical: it mediates conflicts over land, heritage, environment, infrastructure, economic growth and political authority.
The volume highlights diverse legal regimes shaped by colonial legacies, constitutional arrangements, executive power, monarchy, informality and citizen mobilisation. It also reveals recurring tensions, including weak legal recognition of planning as a specialist field, limited litigation and appeals, uneven transparency, fragmented institutional authority, and uncertain avenues for community input. By placing Asian cities in comparative perspective, the collection argues for greater scholarly, professional and public attention to planning law. It invites readers to see urban planning as a central site where legality, governance and democratic participation intersect in rapidly urbanising societies facing mounting pressures from development, climate risk and demands for more inclusive cities.

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