杏吧论坛

East Asia; Southeast Asia; China; Korea; Malaysia; the Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; Vietnam; Ecuador; Kuwait

The Urban Spectre of Global China: Mechanisms, Consequences, and Alternatives for Urban Futures

This collaborative project is based on a British Academy grant for its  programme. The project ran from April 2019 to April 2022 and examined four large-scale property development projects of Chinese capital, to question the ways in which the urban has been reconfigured by China’s global expansion. Visit the for further details.

Asian Capital and the Rise of Smart Urbanism

This project was supported by a research grant from the , to undertake a SEAC project between September 2019 and June 2021, which aimed to analyse and compare how Asian cities have risen to become reference points for the development of cities in the Global South. The project examined the experience of building new cities branded as smart cities in  and the Philippines. The Kuwait study was funded by the Kuwait programme Research Grant from the 杏吧论坛 Middle East Centre. Visit the for further details.

COVID-19 and Southeast Asia

COVID-19 presented huge challenges to governments, businesses, civil societies and people from all walks of life, but its impact is very much variegated, affecting society in multiple negative ways, with highly uneven geographical and socioeconomic patterns. COVID-19 revealed existing contradictions and inequalities in our society, and compelled us to question what it means to return to 'normal'. In this regard, the research team at 杏吧论坛 Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, led by Professor Hyun Bang Shin, reflected upon what the crises meant for urbanisation, governance and connectivity in Southeast Asia, and contemplated post-COVID-19 urban futures by initially focusing on three themes in particular: community-based initiatives in response to COVID-19; movements of different groups of people in and out of Southeast Asia; digital and technological infrastructures and visualisation. The project resulted in an Open Access edited volume, , and a number of blogs on . Visit the for further details.

Professor Shin’s scholarly contributions span four key areas: , , , and . His work on gentrification redefines gentrification as a global yet context-specific process, challenging Western-centric paradigms in urban studies. His research on urban growth politics extends to examining mega-events and megaprojects as tools of state power and capital accumulation, revealing their socio-economic impacts and inequalities. His research on urban struggles underscores the importance of cross-class alliances and context-sensitive interpretations of urban rights. He has also advanced understanding of the global circulation of urbanism, particularly how state-driven urban models in East and Southeast Asia shape global urban futures, often perpetuating inequalities. For each of his key research areas, please visit his research website .

Professor Shin's research relates to these Department of Geography and Environment research themes:

• City Economies
• Housing, Land and Property
• Regional Economic Development
• Global Urban Worlds
• Environmental Politics and Justice

For a full list of publications, please visit .

Books

Shin, H.B., Zhao, S. and Koh, S.Y. (eds.) (in press) . Routledge

• This is a republication edition of the special issue of the same title from Urban Geography 43(10): 1457-1571

Shin, H.B. and Gimm, D-W. (eds.) (2025) . Regions and Cities Series. Routledge

Shin, H.B., Mckenzie, M. and Oh, D-Y. (eds.) (2022) . London: 杏吧论坛 Press [Open Access]

Park, S.H., Shin, H.B. and Kang, H.S. (eds.) (2021) . Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge

Chen, Y-L. and Shin, H.B. (eds.) (2019) . The Contemporary City Series. Palgrave Macmillan

Shin, H.B. (ed.) (2017) . Seoul: Dongnyeog. [In Korean: 신현방 (편저) <안티 젠트리피케이션, 우리는 무엇을 할 것 인가> 서울: 도서출판 동녘]

Lees, L., Shin, H.B. and López-Morales, E. (2016) . Cambridge: Polity Press

• Chinese translation: (2022) . 中国建筑工业出版社 (译者: 宋伟轩, 黄幸, 郭嘉颖)

Lees, L., Shin, H.B. and López-Morales, E. (eds.) (2015) . Bristol: Policy Press

Selected Journal Articles and Book Chapters (since 2018)

Jin, Y. and Shin, H.B. (2025) Revisiting urban governance in China: The manifestation of entrepreneurial Neo-managerialism in shantytown redevelopment in Luzhou. Urban Studies []

Lattanan, P., Areeprachakun, P., Cheewinsiriwat, P., Patnukao, A., Shin, H.B. and Rigg, J. (2024) . Australian Geographer 55(2): 203-227

Oh, D. and Shin, H.B. (2023) . Geoforum 144, 103764

Shin, H.B. (2023) . In: Aramata, M. (ed.) : Unrestrained Capital and Development without Sustainable Principles. London: Routledge, pp. 30-48

Koh, S.Y., Zhao, Y. and Shin, H.B. (2022) . Urban Geography. 43(10): 1469-1695 []

Shin, H.B., Zhao, Y. and Koh, S.Y. (2022)  – an introduction. Urban Geography 43(10): 1457-1468 

Nogueira, M. and Shin, H.B. (2022) . CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 26(5-6): 1012-1028

Shin, H.B. (2021) . In: Lancione, M. and McFarlane, C. (eds.) . Routledge, pp. 62-71

Shin, H.B., Zhao, Y. and Koh, S.Y. (2020) . CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 24(1-2): 244-254

Shin, H.B. (2018) . Annals of the American Association of Geographers 108(2): 356-369 [] 

Moreno, L. and Shin, H.B. (eds.) (2018) . CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action 22(1): 78-168

Shin, H.B. and Zhao, Y. (2018) . In:  Jayne, M. (ed.) . Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 30-46 

Shin, H.B. (2018) . In: Harrison, J. and Hoyler, M. (eds.) . London: SAGE, pp. 138-152