GLOBALIZATION AND URBAN CHANGE: TALES FROM VANCOUVER VIA HONG KONG

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to examine some of the sociocultural dimensions of contemporary globalization processes, especially in a "Pacific Rim" context. This broad subject is approached by using the Can$3 billion Pacific Place urban mega-project (UMP) in central Vancouver as a vehicle through which to explore the social processes structuring a trans-Pacific property transaction. I examine the key factors leading the Li Group from Hong Kong to extend their "reach" over space into Vancouver at this particular time in history. Addressing this topic entails attempting to understand (1) the business and personal dynamics of the key actors involved with such global flows of property capital, set within a broader geopolitical and geoeconomic context; (2) the meaning and significance of Vancouver to the actors, especially in the context of immigration flows to the city; and (3) the significance and multiple functions of this type of property development project—the urban mega-project—to the actors. And while this case study is not designed to be representative of the overall nature of the trans-Pacific property development process, it does highlight some important characteristics about Vancouver's changing social and political structure, as well as the need (in theoretical and methodological terms) to produce more modest and provisional accounts about the "global space of flows."