Asian Cities challenges Western paradigms of urban growth and questions the status accorded globalization in explaining contemporary Asian cities, arguing instead that they are being transformed by three major forces - urbanization and nation-building as well as globalization. The examination of urban life in a sample of middle-sized cities in East, Southeast, and South Asia has implications for our understanding of globalization generally. This is a nuanced study grounded in quantitatively-based findings but enriched by qualitative research that both provides additional evidence and brings the findings alive.