Ranita Ma Tsz Yu, of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, uses shopping malls as a study to assess the aesthetic similarity of urban design across Asia. The essays details the remarkable progress that has been made in development thanks to exports and industrialization but cautions against adopting a one-size-fits-all model of urban development. Instead, cities should take advantage of their own economic strengths, learn from fellow cities via the sharing of data, and include citizens in urban planning, the essay argues.