Asia-Pacific

An automobile tour through Bangkok explores the city that epitomizes urban decentralization in Asia.

As its population declines and homes are taking up more space, home designers in Japan are looking to the self-sufficient designs of space stations to guide the development of environmentally sustainable homes.

An agreement has been reached between 18 countries to move forward on a long-sought plan to connect railways between Singapore and Turkey, creating a vast network expected to boost the economies of currently remote areas.

The Tokyo suburb of Kakamura has shown great appeal to expatriates because of its availability of space and proximity to scenic natural resources -- attributes that sharply contrast the dense and bustling big city one hour away.

The five newly approved underground and elevated rail transit projects are aimed at easing the notoriously congested traffic of Thailand's capital.

The South Korean government has announced plans to create at least one new town and to increase the size of older cities, hoping to decrease the population density and increase the housing supply.

The city is preserving its historic neighborhoods while adapting buildings for economically productive uses.

As Asia ascends, we can learn a lot from how they preserve their past and celebrate the historic urban form.

Osaka, Shanghai, and Tokyo are considered top Asia Pacific cities in terms of real estate investment and development prospects, according to Emerging Trends in Real Estate Asia Pacific 2007, just published by the Urban Land Institute.

The new Thai military junta is freezing big box stores expansion programs in an effort to protect the remaining small stores.

While carbon dioxide has received the most attention as the primary greenhouse gas, methane, while less prevalent, is far more powerful in its ability to retain heat. The melting permafrost in Siberia represents a major source of methane emissions.

As a new international port sets to open in 2010, a nearby rural area in South Korea is being scouted to be the nation's next major metropolis.

Rapid economic expansion has created rampant pollution in China, and officials are determined to clean it up in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Despite a still tenuous political situation, this war-battered region in the Northern Caucasuses of Russia is beginning to show signs of life.

Lured by billions of dollars in government investment, brand new research equipment and facilities, and the opportunity to conduct research unfettered by social politics, biotech researchers are increasingly setting up shop in Singapore.

Coal mining in northern China is ravaging many of its villages. Mining goes on without regard to the environmental destruction it causes and the devastating effects on China's rural villages.

Deserts on each side are moving in on one of few agriculturally viable pieces of land in Northern China's Minqin county. Thousands have been displaced as sands engulf land and the food it once grew.

As Japan's population shrinks, the Japanese government bans the development of new shopping malls or amusement centers exceeding 108,000 s.f. in suburban areas to prevent the 'hollowing out' of urban centers.

One of the world's largest lakes, shrinking for half a century, is making a dramatic comeback.

The metro government has decided to restrict development around three historic buildings, in order to preserve views. Some developers object.