10 DEC 2004 (FRI) | 20:15-21:15
Room 222, Hui Oi Chow Science Building, The University of Hong Kong.
Speaker:Prof. Peter J. Rimmer
The Australian National University
Peter J. Rimmer is Professor Emeritus and Visiting Fellow in the Division of Pacific and Asian History, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra. He has a B.A. and M.A. from Manchester University, a Certificate of Education from Cambridge University and a PhD from Canterbury University in New Zealand. A geographer by training, he has previously held a teaching position at Monash University, Melbourne (1965-66) and research positions at the Australian National University (1966-2000). His main academic interests are centred on examining the economic integration of the Asia-Pacific region through an analysis of the evolution of the region’s urban nodes and air, shipping and telecommunications networks within a global context. Initially, his research work on the geography of logistics was focused primarily on Australasia and Southeast Asia but since the late 1970s this has been extended to Northeast Asia (Japan, Korea and China). He is a past editor of Australian Geographical Studies, a consultant to state, federal and international agencies, the recipient of a Professional Service Award from the Institute of Australian Geographers, and an elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (FASSA). He has over 270 publications. His latest book with Associate Professor Howard Dick of Melbourne University is entitled Cities, Transport and Communications: The Integration of Southeast Asia since 1850 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). Currently, he is working with Associate Professor Dick on a second book entitled Perspectives on the City in Southeast Asia: Patterns, Processes and Policy. In 2003 he was appointed Adjunct Professor of Urban Development and Housing in the Centre for Developing Cities at the University of Canberra. Currently, he is involved in Korea with Inha University’s study of Incheon Pentaport: Five Ports in One — seaport, airport technoport, business port and leisure port. He has assisted Inha University with the establishment of the Global U-7Consortium, which has brought seven universities from Australia, China. France, Korea, Israel, and the United States to focus on logistics, business administration and information technology.
Abstract:
This seminar seeks to comprehend the nature of the international urban system and its manifestation in Northeast Asia. Before this task can be undertaken cities in Northeast Asia have to be put into their international context. This is undertaken by invoking the global hub-and-spoke logistics system, which recognizes the importance of Main Street linking Europe, Asia and North America and identifies connections to cul-de-sacs in Africa, Australasia and South America. Global flows of goods, passengers and information through the system are used to identify key hubs in container shipping, air transport and telecommunications. The findings from this analysis are brought together to identify Northeast Asia’s multi-level hubs (city-regions or urban platforms) and their attraction as regional headquarter sites for global network firms. Six pivotal urban platforms are recognized that are centered on Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei. The remaining urban centers are regarded as proto-platforms or ranked as ‘other nodes’. Particular reference is made to Korean attempts to translate Seoul from a proto-platform to a fully-fledged urban platform through initiatives such as Incheon Pentaport — five ports in one.
Organizers:Master of Arts in Transport Policy and Planning, HKU (MATPP)
All are Welcome!!
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