Introduction

For the first time in recorded history the world has a higher urban than rural population, and much of this shift has occurred in Australasia. According to the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, Population Estimates and Projections Section (2010), Asia has the largest number of megacities in the world (in 2010) and will have another five by 2025. In this context, urban change has included a rapid rise of urban skylines, with the march of residential towers in places where older, poorer housing once stood. The notion of ‘social mixing’ as a policy construct is therefore far removed from urban (re)building which is largely driven by global economic forces – of private investment – and external to government structures. The exceptions, which include Australia and Singapore, have engaged with aspects of social mixing policy, but these have largely applied only to government-provided, social or public housing contexts. This chapter considers urban change in the Australasian region, and some of the gentrification contexts that, rather than driven by government or policy initiatives, have proceeded viscerally. In this context, notions of ‘social mixing’ are largely absent, and where policies have been attempted, they have targeted social/public housing.

A region in flux

As Japan ‘opened up’ to the world after the Second World War, Tokyo emerged as a global city. Large-scale urban renewal has also accompanied the rise of Singapore, Hong Kong and Sydney (Australia) as international financial hubs. The newly industrialised economies of Malaysia, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) have also experienced dramatic redevelopment since decolonisation. Most recently, China's engagement with globalisation has resulted in another experience of rebuilding, and significant changes to the urban fabric of many larger Chinese cities. The region's entrée into the global economy meant that the processes of urban residential redevelopment have largely moved beyond the realms of conventional notions of gentrification, of the rejuvenation of older inner cities by middle classes.

The few examples of restoration-based gentrification are based on preservation initiatives. In Kyoto, Japan, for instance, urban areas have gained recognition because of their ‘heritage’ appeal, and therefore escaped demolition.