106
accomplishing much in a short time, and moreover, have been fi rst and foremost,
effective adversaries of competing causes; slaying dragons has always been a sure
route to leadership success. However, in this chapter we argue that environmental
problems are not most effectively solved through processes. Finding common
ground, negotiation, and cooperation are better suited to most of the complex, longterm problems facing environmental leaders.
This chapter examined how educators, students, and other people in higher academic settings can work together to build transformational leadership capacity to
help drive more sustainable urban development practices. In relation to universitybased higher education, we linked customized leadership development activities
(based on activity theory) with prominent urbanization issues in Guangzhou. This
provided a system to produce educational reports, papers, and conferences. The
process of building knowledge and skills as well as social networks, then fi nally led
to behavioral change in a variety of proposals presented by students. Thus, this
chapter argues that building transformational leadership capacity within a higher
academic setting is another way educators can lead our society to desirable behavioral change and sustainable urban development. Such leadership development initiatives are essential in contemporary environmental learning, and they can be both
meaningful and worthwhile.
This indicates that the APIEL can go alongside a socially critical approach, but
more importantly, it focuses on experience where fi eldwork takes place within an
activity system. We have observed how students assimilate an approach that refl ects
the complexity of thinking and learning in relation to the environment. Feedback
from multiple sources was collected and used to evaluate and improve the activity.
This research is both ongoing and challenging.
Acknowledgments The GPRD Unit was successfully conducted with solid support from Sun
Yat-sen University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and special thanks are
extended to Prof. Shiyu Li at SYSU and Prof. Guanghao Chen at HKUST for their strong support.
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
1. Jiang Y, Shen J (2010) Measuring the urban competitiveness of Chinese cities in 2000. Cities
27:307–314
2. Lever WF, Turok I (1999) Competitive cities: introduction to the review. Urban Stud
36:791–794
3. Wang J (2009) Art in capital: shaping distinctiveness in a culture-led urban regeneration project in Red Town, Shanghai. Cities 26:245–254
4. Vygotsky LS (1978) Mind in Society: the development of higher psychological processes.
Harvard University Press, Cambridge
K.J. An
accomplishing much in a short time, and moreover, have been fi rst and foremost,
effective adversaries of competing causes; slaying dragons has always been a sure
route to leadership success. However, in this chapter we argue that environmental
problems are not most effectively solved through processes. Finding common
ground, negotiation, and cooperation are better suited to most of the complex, longterm problems facing environmental leaders.
This chapter examined how educators, students, and other people in higher academic settings can work together to build transformational leadership capacity to
help drive more sustainable urban development practices. In relation to universitybased higher education, we linked customized leadership development activities
(based on activity theory) with prominent urbanization issues in Guangzhou. This
provided a system to produce educational reports, papers, and conferences. The
process of building knowledge and skills as well as social networks, then fi nally led
to behavioral change in a variety of proposals presented by students. Thus, this
chapter argues that building transformational leadership capacity within a higher
academic setting is another way educators can lead our society to desirable behavioral change and sustainable urban development. Such leadership development initiatives are essential in contemporary environmental learning, and they can be both
meaningful and worthwhile.
This indicates that the APIEL can go alongside a socially critical approach, but
more importantly, it focuses on experience where fi eldwork takes place within an
activity system. We have observed how students assimilate an approach that refl ects
the complexity of thinking and learning in relation to the environment. Feedback
from multiple sources was collected and used to evaluate and improve the activity.
This research is both ongoing and challenging.
Acknowledgments The GPRD Unit was successfully conducted with solid support from Sun
Yat-sen University and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and special thanks are
extended to Prof. Shiyu Li at SYSU and Prof. Guanghao Chen at HKUST for their strong support.
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
1. Jiang Y, Shen J (2010) Measuring the urban competitiveness of Chinese cities in 2000. Cities
27:307–314
2. Lever WF, Turok I (1999) Competitive cities: introduction to the review. Urban Stud
36:791–794
3. Wang J (2009) Art in capital: shaping distinctiveness in a culture-led urban regeneration project in Red Town, Shanghai. Cities 26:245–254
4. Vygotsky LS (1978) Mind in Society: the development of higher psychological processes.
Harvard University Press, Cambridge
K.J. An