I am both pleased and honored to introduce this book to readers, and I want to take a few moments to explain why. Michael Romanos and Christopher Auffrey have produced a volume which will be of immense value to several different types of people. Planners and other specialists concerned with the development of the Southeast Asian region and the issues and opportunities associated with urban growth and sustainable development will find much to interest them in this book. But the book, I believe, has much wider appeal, and that is what I want to touch on briefly here. The University of Cincinnati, where Michael, Chris, and I work, is attempting to globalize itself - to develop its institutional capacity for international activities, to infuse its curriculum with international themes, and to promote and increase global competence among its graduates. Many American universities are doing this, of course. In the process, we are seeing some very interesting experiments in pedagogy, as faculty look for "learning moments" in new and sometimes exotic places. Michael, Chris, and their colleagues have, it seems to me, developed an outstanding model for learning across national and cultural boundaries. In the chapters which follow, you will read the results of their work. What will be less apparent, however, is the process by which that work was produced.

Inhalt

Foreword. Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Assessing the Potential for Sustainable Development in the Intermediate Size Cities of Southeast Asia: The Experience from Thailand; M. Romanos, C. Auffrey. Part I: Cultural Dimensions and the Underlying Context for Development. 2. Buddhism and Sustainable Development; L. Matz. 3. The Emerging Role of Citizens in Planning and Public Decision-Making in Thailand; K. Kahle, T. Wagner. Part II: Key Components of the Local Economic Structure. 4. Manufacturing in Chiang Mai Province: Products, Patterns, and Sustainable Balance; H. Stafford. 5. Sustainable Development and Sustainable Employment in the Manufacturing Sector of Chiang Mai; R. Barry. 6. The Handicraft Sector in Chiang Mai: Its Role in Sustainable Urban Development; C. Chifos, J. Looye. 7. The City of a Thousand Smiles: Sustainability and the Pursuit of Tourism in Chiang Mai; M. Romanos. Part III: Environmental Management Issues in Development. 8. Environmental Management in Thai Cities: Local Challenges, State Responses; M. Romanos, et al. 9. Water Resources for a Sustainable Chiang Mai; X. Wang, L. Liu. 10. A Study of Changing Traditional Urban Solid Waste Management Approaches to Sustainable Practices; J.A. Meyer Schultz. 11. Building a Geographic Information System; L. Liu, X. Wang. Part IV: The Built Environment's Role in Sustainable Development. 12. Land Use and Urban Growth in Chiang Mai: Lessons for More Effective Urban Development; B. Setiawan, D. Rahmi. 13. Towards a Sustainable Urban Form in Chiang Mai; B. Scheer, D. Scheer. 14. The Informal Settlements of Chiang Mai: Lessons of Sustainability for Other Intermediate Size Cities; C. Auffrey. 15. Preservation of Cultural and Historic Heritage as a Tool for Sustainable Development; H. Rincon, D. Rahmi. A Sense of Place: Visual Documentation of a City and Its Prospects for Sustainability; J. Hughes. Contributors. Index.