Great Asian Streets Symposium

Event Synopsis

The 7th GASS, held in December 2016, themed “Crossroads: Asian streets in the dynamics of change”, asked what roles streets could and should play to cope with the pressing challenges in the rapid and intense urbanisation process, which is imperative for achieving a sustainable urban future in Asia.

The 6th GASS, held in December 2014, themed “Asian Urban Places”, aimed to enhance the understanding of urbanity of Asian streets and public spaces. This sixth reunion aspired to investigate underlying urban transformation processes, discuss contemporary professional experiences and best practices, and explore future visions, design ideas, and planning strategies for Asian cities in a new era.

It played an important role as a catalyst for constructive and creative thinking about Asian cities in the 21st century.
Architecture, National University of Singapore. This gathering proposed a provocative string of themes, “FUTURE ASIAN SPACE”, and was highly successful.
of public spaces in our cities, and regaining vitality of urban life. The 5th GASS took place in December 2008 at the usual location—Department of
The 4th GASS, held in December 2006, addressed a broader theme, “Reclaiming the City.” The focus was on reshaping the built environments, re-appropriating

life, renowned practitioners focused on cutting-edge planning, urban design, and architecture practice of streets and public spaces in Asia.
researchers and scholars presented a variety of historical, social, and morphological investigations into Asian streets and the associated manifestations of
more than 100 participants from all over of the world, including both academics and practitioners, to share and exchange their works and ideas. While
The 3rd GASS took place in December 2004. The expanded theme was, “Street, Urban Space and Representation”. In this third gathering, the GASS hosted

for studies of Asian cities. Selected papers from the first and second symposiums were published as an edited volume.
high-quality papers and cutting-edge discussion. By then, the Great Asian Streets Symposium had become popular as a veritable public space and forum
to the study of streets and public spaces in Asia. In the following year, the 2nd GASS brought together an even greater number of participants with
The first symposium, held on 18 and 19 January 2001, provided an engaging discussion platform for urban researchers and professionals committed

sustainable, and livable cities.
has also created a significant knowledge base, with exemplary policies and design practices that have effectively addressed these issues for resilient,
Asian cities, such as traffic congestion, air pollution, social segregation, environmental degradation, and slum proliferation. On this basis, the GASS community
Over the past decade, GASS has successfully shared and integrated cutting-edge debates and discussions on many problems and challenges that confront

this field.
to establish an Asian-rooted center of excellence to foster, both regionally and internationally, exchange and communication of ideas and studies within
of Singapore (NUS). In response to the long-standing and dire lack of truly Asian perspectives in the literature and research of Asian cities, GASS aimed
The Great Asian Streets Symposium (GASS) was initiated in 2001 at the Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University