Research Statement:
My main interest is on the examination of the global-local tensions at different scales and for different
actors and domains. Employing mixed method approaches, I do this in a number of ways: looking at local
place-based communities and how these efforts at place making contrast with state efforts at city building;
examining activities in the new economy and how these are shaped by local, state and global forces;
migrants (particularly students) and their experience of the city.
Research Areas:
Urban Studies,
Sociology of Youth
Academic/Professional Qualifications:
1979 B.A. (Economics, Sociology), University of Singapore
1980 B.Soc.Sci. Hons. 2nd Upper (Sociology), National University of Singapore
1984 M.Soc.Sci. (Sociology), National University of Singapore
1986 Ph.D. (Sociology), University of Chicago
Current Projects
Principal Investigator, Research Grant, “Globalising Universities and International Student Mobilities in East
Asia”, Survey among International Students in Nine Universities in Five Countries (N=4500) Interviews with
Officials and Student Representatives, Graduate Email Survey. (2009-2012)
Consultant, Social Attitudes of Singaporeans Survey, Ministry of Community Development [N=3200] 9
focus groups. (2009-2010).
Major Publications:
1. K.C. Ho (2009) “The Neighbourhood in the Creative Economy: Policy, Practice and Place in
Singapore” Urban Studies 46: 1187-1201.
2. G. Theborn and K.C. Ho (eds.) (2009) “Capital Cities and their contested roles in the Life of
Nations” CITY vol 13(1)
3. M. Douglass, K.C. Ho and Ooi Giok Ling (eds) (2008) Globalization, the City and Civil Society
in Pacific Asia Cities (Routledge)
4. K.C. Ho and M. Douglass (2008) “Globalization and Livable Cities: Experiences in PlaceMaking in Pacific Asia” International Development Planning Review, vol.30(4)
5. K.C. Ho (2006) “Globalization and Southeast Asian Capital Cities” Pacific Affairs vol.78 (4): 535-
541
6. K.C. Ho (2006) “Where do community iconic structures fit in a globalizing city?” CITY vol.10 (1):
91-100
7. Daniels, P.W. K.C. Ho and T. Hutton (eds.) (2005), Service Industries, Cities and Development
Trajectories in the Asia-Pacific, (Routledge)
8. Bunnell, T, L. Drummond and K.C. Ho (eds.) (2003) Critical Reflections on Cities in Southeast Asia,
(Brill).
9. K.C. Ho (2000) “The Global Economy and Urban Society in Pacific Asia” International Sociology 12
(3): 275-293.
10. S. Chiu, K.C. Ho and T.L. Lui (1997) City States in the Global Economy, (Westview)