Center for Asian Studies

■Risako Ishii (Researcher / Associate Professor, Faculty of Law)

Research Title
Development and business: A case study of collaboration between local governments and businesses in the Philippines during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose of Research
This research examines the role that businesses can play in solving development issues, taking collaboration between local governments and businesses in the Philippines as an example. It is an extension of the applicant's ongoing research on collaboration between local governments and external actors in local government service delivery in the Philippines. The term "businesses" refers to the corporate entity itself and its CSR department, as well as foundations established by companies as CSR actors. This research will focus in particular on cases of collaboration between local governments and businesses during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A Zoom interview survey conducted with local actors from 2022 to 2023 using a research grant confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend of businesses and their CSR-related organizations replacing roles traditionally played by aid agencies and NGOs. Cases of local governments strategically seeking collaboration with businesses are also becoming more prominent. These collaborative relationships have not only been used for emergency support during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also have continued to the present day in the post-COVID era, potentially changing the way government services are provided.

Based on the above concerns, this granted research project aims to clarify how the collaborative relationships between local governments and businesses formed during the COVID-19 pandemic have been inherited and developed as of 2024. To this end, the applicant will conduct field surveys and interview those involved in cases where collaborative relationships have been confirmed in previous surveys to understand the current state of the collaborative relationships, as well as interview the beneficiaries of the services provided to consider the effectiveness of the collaboration.

■Takashi Nishibori (Visiting Researcher)

Research Title
A study on small-shared spaces in low-income residential districts in Bangkok, Thailand.
Purpose of Research
Living environments built up from environmental, historical and social backgrounds remain in the recent transformation of the urban spaces in Asian countries.  These living environments have the spaces with regional characteristics based on locational and physical characteristics and usages such as “Small shared spaces with the ambiguous boundaries between public and private”, “Spaces with the ambiguous boundaries due to changes of building composition and social background”.

The purpose of the research is to be use as a part of understanding of the locational characteristics of urban landscapes and living environments in Asian cities, by classification and analyzing those spaces, not only from the aspect of improvement of functional quality, but also from the aspect of the importance of the local habits and cultures.

The international influenced has been noticeable in Thailand through the recent years, although there have been changes in dynasties and the territory occupied. Western countries have not colonized Thailand; many parts of its original culture remain.  It can be confirmed that there are many living spaces with special characteristics due to environmental and social background remain, in particular, the area where low-income people are living in.

The boundaries in public places are ambiguous in these areas where many low-income residents living in Thailand such as  “A space where a part of public land is semi-enclosed and is used by a limited number of surrounding residents”,  “A space formed by a series of buildings such as row houses that is belong to the limited number of people, but is also open to the public”,  “A space that is used on a limited basis by surrounding communities in publicly specified spaces such as public roads and railways”,  “A space where public land is used as if it were part of a private space”.

In order to systematically organize these small shared spaces, which are usually used by a limited number of people, taking the Klong Toei district, which is close to the center of Bangkok and has been researched in recent years as a large residential area for low-income people, as an example, to investigate usage classification, usage status, building layout, alley formation, survey of distribution within district, and interview with residents.  Including analysis of the relationship with local historical and traditional buildings formation and communities, to make lead understanding of one aspect of the urban landscape in Asian cities.