The cities of Asia and the Pacific are at the epicentre of development in what is arguably, the most populous, culturally distinctive, and economically powerful region in the world. 16 major cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai, Manila, Jakarta, Bangkok, Singapore, Auckland, Kuala Lumpur and Santiago, located in countries as diverse as Mexico and Vietnam, Samoa and India, China and Australia, exemplify the changing patterns of development across this vast region of the world.

1. Introduction: Asia and the Pacific Ian Shirley & Carol Neill Part I Asia 2. Vietnam: Hochiminh Nguyen Minh Hoa & Son Thanh Tung 3. Thailand: Bangkok Apiwat Ratanawaraha 4. Singapore: Singapore Ooi Giok Ling & Kog Yue Choong 5. Philippines: Manila Francisco Magno, Miguel Puzon & Annabelle Verdote 6. Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur Er Ah Choy, Katiman Rostam, Abd. Rahim Md. Nor & Melasutra Md Dali 7. Japan: Tokyo Emiko Kakiuchi 8. Indonesia: Jakarta Haryo Winarso & Yudi Saptono 9. India: Mumbai Sujata Patel 10. India: Pune Rajeshwari Deshpande 11. China: Shanghai Lingyan Qu, Tianjiao Chu & Ian Shirley Part II Pacific/Oceania 12. Samoa: Apia Fonoti Lafita'i I. Fuata'i 13. New Zealand: Auckland Carol Neill & Ian Shirley 14. Fiji: Suva Biman Chand Prasad & Manoranjan Mohanty 15. Australia: Melbourne Paul James & Andy Scerri Part III Pacific Rim 16. Mexico: Guadalajara Carlos Barba Solano, Benjamín Chapa García, Elena de la Paz Hernández Águila, Roberto Hernández Hernández & Ofelia Woo Morales 17. Chile: Santiago Manuel Tironi, Valentina Pozo & Mattia G. Barbera 18. Conclusion: The World's Experimental Laboratories Ian Shirley & Carol Neill