Asian Cities, Globalisation and Cultural Diversity – Challenges of the 21st Century Cities, their populations and city governments as agents of change

Globalisation and the Asian city Economic and social impact of globalisation concentrated in Asian cities International and regional migration of labour as well as businesses bringing ever increasing diversity to cities in Asia

Year Non Residents % Number311,264754,524 Average Annual Growth (%) 9.3 Residents (PRs & Citizens) % Number2735, Average Annual Growth (%) 1.8 Permanent Residents (PRs) % Number112,132290,118 Average Annual Growth (%) 10.0 Citizens % Number2623, ,091 Average Annual Growth (%) 1.3 Total Population%100 Number3047, ,733 Average Annual Growth (%) 2.8

Managing tensions and conflicts of interests Diversity brought by globalisationDiversity brought by globalisation Diversity of urban population already in placeDiversity of urban population already in place

Urban social or political- economic space? Urban space the current and future centre of tensions and conflicts?Urban space the current and future centre of tensions and conflicts? Practically 40% of Asia’s population now live in citiesPractically 40% of Asia’s population now live in cities Argument that class- based urban politics now replaced by pre- modernist, millenarian, faith- based affiliations (Kaplinsky 2008).Argument that class- based urban politics now replaced by pre- modernist, millenarian, faith- based affiliations (Kaplinsky 2008).

New millennium – urban conflicts or politics of the dispossessed Multi-religious urban population Faltering `multiculturalism’ that has been largely ethno- centric

Governance and policy Multi-religiosity, multi- lingualism, multi- racialism have been the approach in many Asian societies So have been preferential policies, assimilationist and other approaches that tend to `flatten’ differences Nation-building held hostage by sectarian politics

Religious revivalism in Asia Islamic revivalism, new Hindu religious movements, increased Christian fellowship activities and new churches Issues emerging such as, the wearing of tudung to schools and the role of Islamic religious schools have been in the spotlight from Paris to Singapore Community centred around religion vs other interests such as, civic causes – much voluntary activities are organised by religious groups

Negotiated urban space From local urban to global urban Question of citizenship vs trans- nationhood among varying classes of trans-nationals from highly mobile and skilled to unskilled and low-skilled migrants

Language most frequently spoken at homeLanguageTotalChinese Malays MalaysIndiansOthers English665,087533,94832,17375,07923,887 Mandarin1,010,5391,008, ,519 Hokkien329,583328, Teochew141,569141, Cantonese163,703163, Other Chinese Dialects 52,41852, Malay406,5495,270371,40124,4345,445 Tamil91, ,62180 Other Indian languages 19, ,522121

Is language at the centre of the effort to manage cultural diversity?

Significant `other’ languages Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Thai, Myanmese, East European languages Should all migrants speak English in Singapore? Singaporean population struggling to speak good English and not Singlish to be globally competitive Elite are trying to be effectively tri- lingual with English, mother tongue and a third Asian or European language like German or French

Can Asian cities manage diversity? World came to Beijing for the Olympics and Beijing had to learn about the world and the accommodation of diversity Singaporeans debating if a dormitory for 1000 foreign workers from South Asia and China should be provided in a middle-class suburban neighbourhood where already 5000 expatriate, largely white and professional community already live and feel perfectly welcome