The Asian International Financial Centres (IFC) are growing in importance within the global economy. Increasingly they are becoming the control centres of financial flows and innovation. In...Show moreThe Asian International Financial Centres (IFC) are growing in importance within the global economy. Increasingly they are becoming the control centres of financial flows and innovation. In particular, the aspiring IFCs of Shanghai and Seoul have remarkably increased in status and competitiveness. This research discusses a possible explanation for their increase in competitiveness. Both cities have large systemic differences from the well-established Western IFCs, as government control and policies have been predominant in the East-Asian region. Nevertheless, they are flourishing in the international financial system based on market mechanism. During the Asian Financial Crisis, Asian centres have undergone many changes and multiple government reform policies have been carried out to enhance the financial sectors. Within this research, the influence of the crisis and changes in the determining factors for competitiveness are scrutinized. The four main determinants constituting an IFC set the parameters for the two case studies of Shanghai and Seoul. The results suggest that the government focus on rapid technological and infrastructural developments have contributed the most to the increase in competitiveness. Moreover, these developments are a part of a shift towards high-end technology industries and services and the overarching government-driven transition towards a knowledge economy.Show less
Sport is never just a game. In an imperial context, it connotes a host of ideals and values directly linked to foreign political authority. In treaty port Shanghai, competition between the city’s...Show moreSport is never just a game. In an imperial context, it connotes a host of ideals and values directly linked to foreign political authority. In treaty port Shanghai, competition between the city’s many national communities was similarly conceived of as a tool to strengthen foreign power. The practice of protest at international sports events by Shanghai’s Chinese population subverted these attempts and enabled protestors to undermine foreign legitimacy. This thesis applies the lens of political culture to examine how meaning was attached to protest at international sporting events and analyse how this was received by Shanghai’s foreign community. Sport has frequently been overlooked in the wider historiography of protest. However, an investigation of the practice of sports protest is highly relevant for providing valuable insights into the nature of social relations. While historians have generally assumed that Shanghai’s foreign society was insular, studying protest shows not only that there was significant contact, but that this was exploited for political aims. Sport provided a unique avenue for protest by encapsulating foreign rituals of rule, which could be spontaneously usurped to mount a symbolic challenge. Comparison with formal colonial contexts illustrates that sport as a channel for protest was shaped by Shanghai’s semi-colonial arrangement, illuminating the broader complexities and vulnerabilities of semi-colonial control.Show less
In early 2016, two different companies, Mobike in Shanghai and Swapfiets in the Netherlands introduced a new type of bike-sharing service that quickly gained popularity. In just two to three years,...Show moreIn early 2016, two different companies, Mobike in Shanghai and Swapfiets in the Netherlands introduced a new type of bike-sharing service that quickly gained popularity. In just two to three years, distinctive and easily recognizable bicycles earned their place on many city streets in China and the Netherlands. Even though these two companies introduced services that were in essence nothing new, they both managed to tweak two different concepts in a way that resulted in staggering adoption rates. No academic studies on Swapfiets have been published. Furthermore, the developments of shared-bicycle systems in China are taking place at such a rapid pace that academic studies written in the last few years and even months quickly become outdated. This study aims to address this lack of literature on Swapfiets and offers more up to date evaluation of the developments on the Chinese bike-sharing market. This study also provides insights in recent developments in the bike-sharing industry and the status quo of bike-sharing in Shanghai as of late 2018. By comparing the development of these two services this study explores the question how their development, sudden growth and popularity can be explained and evaluates to what extent Shanghai could be a viable market for Swapfiets. This is important because bike-sharing is widely promoted as a way of making personal transport more sustainable.Show less
Aan de hand van twee case studies naar de activiteiten van verscheidene Nederlands-Indische communisten in Shanghai gedurende het interbellum, schetst dit onderzoek de transformaties van Shanghai...Show moreAan de hand van twee case studies naar de activiteiten van verscheidene Nederlands-Indische communisten in Shanghai gedurende het interbellum, schetst dit onderzoek de transformaties van Shanghai als Incubator City. Dit onderzoek toont aan dat de voedingsbodem van de Chinese havenstad voor internationale communistische individuen en groeperingen uiteindelijk, als gevolg van een internationale samenwerking tussen verschillende lokale, nationale en koloniale inlichtingendiensten, onvruchtbaar werd gemaakt.Show less
An analysis of how the politics of Japan during the 1930s and 1940s influenced the admission and treatment of both Jewish European and Chinese refugees in the Chinese city of Shanghai.
This thesis is a study on the provision and management of urban green space through the lens of the structure and actors which influence the often socially unequal outcomes. This has been done by...Show moreThis thesis is a study on the provision and management of urban green space through the lens of the structure and actors which influence the often socially unequal outcomes. This has been done by taking Shanghai and New York as case studies using the paired comparison case study method. It has been found that, while there are very different variables in play between the two cities, the outcome of the interaction between structure and actors are oftentimes similar. In addition, the changing of the structures over time, while not analogous, has certainly moved in the same direction. Using urban green space provision as a post-political facade for underlying motives of growth is becoming more common, denying the average citizen a voice in the matter. Environmental gentrification is a real problem which has existed since the start of modern urban green space provision, and an effective solution has yet to be found.Show less
This thesis looks at the air pollution in Shanghai and how Urban Public Green Spaces (UPGS's) can help to prevent it. It gives a brief history of air pollution and describes its consequences. In...Show moreThis thesis looks at the air pollution in Shanghai and how Urban Public Green Spaces (UPGS's) can help to prevent it. It gives a brief history of air pollution and describes its consequences. In this thesis both a classic UPGS and the modern Vertical Forests are described. In the final part of the thesis, a research was conducted to show that UPGS's indeed help to prevent air pollution in urban China.Show less
