Based on empirical evidence in Southeast Asia, this paper critically evaluates the concept of sustainable development based on four themes: population growth and distribution, the capitalistic system, ecological systems and the nature of development. It argues that the development of capitalism took place in both Europe and Asia and is thus culturally neutral. Capitalism, however, is associated with materialistic values and the growth of consumption, and hence is a major social process and structure in undermining ecosystems and biodiversity. While the concept of sustainable development has varied interpretations, this paper asserts the need to contextualize sustainable development with an ecosystem paradigm, whether qualified as cultural, human, political or cultural. Given that cities are likely to be the norm of living in the future, it is imperative that governments focus on sustainable urban development. Cities have two very different environmental contexts. The intra-urban area is a human engineered landscape that is confronted by 'brown issues.' These brown issues are exacerbated by the lower circuit of urban dwellers, the poor slum and squatter dwellers. The upper circuit of wealthy, urban residents contribute to the wider extra-urban ecological implications due to their high consumption patterns. They are the major contributors to the size of the ecological footprint. The paper concludes that though there are many prescriptions to curb environmental deterioration and ecological degradation, the long-term solutions will lie in changing consumption habits, lifestyle goals and value systems. These require an ecological prescription in political thinking, economic activities and educational systems.

Although many cities aspire to "global-city status," few have been as explicit as Singapore in its quest to create urban landscapes to project its global aspirations. This paper presents the case of the Singapore River development zone as a "hyper-symbol" of Singapore's global urbanism. By creating a world-class riverfront not unlike the acclaimed waterfronts of London, Sydney, or San Francisco, Singapore's urban planners hope to project the city as a venue worthy of world-class tourism and leisure activities, an important node in international circuits of capital, and a vibrant city for both foreign visitors and local residents. Our paper, however, also argues that local forces and influences play a significant role in the waterfront's development. The Singapore River landscape is the negotiated outcome of both globalism and localism-a dialectical landscape formed by dominant global influences on the one hand, and emerging local processes on the other. Fieldwork comprising a questionnaire survey, in-depth interviews, and on-site observations provide evidence of such global-local interactions. The paper contends that the challenges at the river are symptomatic of the broader Singapore experience as the city-state grapples with issues of national identity, local empowerment, and community rights in the midst of a global convergence of tourists, capital, people, and cultures.

This paper explores the concept of sustainable tourism and how it applies to urban destinations such as Singapore. As tourism is an important industry in Singapore, in terms of employment, business activity and an income generator, the Singapore Tourism Board is continuously looking at potential avenues to make Singapore a competitive destination. We examine the use of thematic zones in Singapore as a strategy to achieve its ambition of becoming a tourism capital of the world. By focusing on a case study of the Singapore River thematic zone (one of the 11 thematic zones identified by the Singapore Tourism Board), we assess the viability of thematic zones in ensuring sustainable urban tourism. The paper closes with some theoretical reflections and policy implications arising from our key findings.

To celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography and the 75 th anniversary of the teaching of geography in the Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, the home of the Journal, this article, based on personal reflections and "objective" academic materials, provides an overview of developments in geography in the Department and Journal. The paper argues that the department's and Journal's "identities", since the post-World War II period, have been shaped by Singapore's changing domestic politics, the changing university academic environment, the personalities and academic interests of heads of the department and the Journal's editors, the state of the changing regional and global political economic environment, and the individual research interests of faculty in the department, and reflects a complex mix of colonial/post-colonial, modern/post-modern, North-South and East-West discourses. While a defined Singapore school of geography has yet to emerge, the article shows that both the department and the Journal have made major strides in meeting the challenges of globalisation and, in the process, have gained international visibility and academic legitimacy. In particular, the Journal has consolidated its position as a major voice for academics in lesser developed countries, its platform for "tropical world" discourse and maintaining its edge in the colonial/post-colonial and modern/post-modern discourses of states within the tropics.

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