The production of Asian public space: the role of the transnational developer

ABSTRACT

Accounts of projects generally credit design vision to the landscape architect or architect, relegating the role of the developer to the client. This essay offers an alternative perspective, arguing for the recognition of the Asian developer as an agent of transnational design innovation. While there has been ample discussion of the wealth to be made in the Asian property market, little attention has been paid to the developer’s motives and ambitions beyond economic gain. Through the discussion of two transnational development companies, CapitaLand and Swire Properties, we demonstrate the role these Asian-based developers have played in establishing an emerging urban public domain in some dense Asian cities.

KEYWORDS:

• Asian transnational developer
• privately owned public space
• space production
• contemporary design practice
• landscape architecture

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Correction

Disclosure statement

Dr Jillian Walliss and Ruiqi Shen have no relevant financial or nonfinancial relationships to disclose.

Correction Statement

This article was originally published with errors, which have now been corrected in the online version. Please see Correction (http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2024.2347684).