Table of Contents

List of Figures

Introduction: Financialization, Speculation, and the Production of the Urban Built Environment
Cecilia L. Chu and Shenjing He

Section I. Mega Projects and Speculative Urban Development

1 Property Speculation: Causes and Consequences
Susan Fainstein and Johannes Novy
2 The Financialization of Urban Redevelopment: Speculation and Public Land in Porto Maravilha, Rio de Janeiro
Mayra Mosciaro, Alvaro Pereira, and Manuel B. Aalbers
3 From Spectacular to Speculative Gulf Cities: A Tale of Dubai and Doha
Ali A. Alraouf

Section II. Reconfiguring the State: The Politics and Pragmatics of Speculation

4 Mega-Event Urbanism and the Politics of Speculative Urban Development in Shanghai 
Yunpeng Zhang and Shenjing He
5 Urbanization as Mass Speculative Event: Informal Finance and City-Making in Ordos, Inner Mongolia
Max D. Woodworth
6 El Quiñón: Corruption and Speculative Development in the Spanish Financial Crisis
Marta Catalán Eraso and Cecilia L. Chu

Section III. Forms and Norms of Speculative Housing

7 Speculation in the London Housing Market: Flat Break-Ups, Loft Conversions, and Overseas Buyers
Chris Hamnett
8 Speculative Subdivision of Private Rental Flats in Hong Kong
Mandy Lau
9 Contradictions of State and Household Investments in Public Housing in Singapore
Chua Beng Huat

Afterword
Alan Smart

List of Contributors
Index

About the Author

Cecilia L. Chu is an associate professor in the Division of Landscape Architecture at the University of Hong Kong.

Shenjing He is professor and associate dean in the Faculty of Architecture at The University of Hong Kong.

Reviews

"Two kinds of speculation shape cities: Architects and planners conjecture about the future and imagine spatial forms to accommodate it. Investors conjecture about financial returns from projects delivering imagined forms. Governments and markets speculate in both ways and jointly determine the outcome. The chapters in this collection tell compelling stories about this risky dance."--Christopher J. Webster, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, The University of Hong Kong
" The Speculative City stands out for its geographical scope across six world regions and its focus on the physical environment, which has often been marginalized in urban studies. This collection is a must-read for students looking for inspiring paths that lead to meaningful places."--You-tien Hsing, Professor of Geography and Chair of Global Studies, University of California, Berkeley
"Andrew Carnegie said that speculation was a parasite 'feeding upon values, creating none.' That may still be true, but as the contributors to this first-rate collection show, the values upon which contemporary urban speculation feeds are as much cultural as they are economic, and they are incredibly diverse rather than singular. Combining interdisciplinary perspectives and a wide array of cases from around the world, The Speculative City presents fresh and original takes on this age-old phenomenon, from urban megaprojects to the subdivision of apartments, and much in between." --Jamie Peck, Canada Research Chair in Urban and Regional Political Economy, University of British Columbia