February 20, 2011
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
Cities and urbanization has been a constant theme of development — and consequently of this blog. Urban economist Ed Glaeser in his book, “Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener, Healthier, and Happier” argues … Continue reading
December 19, 2010
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
A wonderful side-effect of blogging is that readers help you with your education. Long-time readers know of my obsession with urbanization as an instrument of development. So whenever an article on the importance of cities and urbanization appears in the … Continue reading
July 11, 2010
by Atanu Dey
7 Comments
Rediff recently published a slide show titled “India’s soaring ambition: 5 new cities by 2015“.(Hat tip: Sudipta Chatterjee.) I am thrilled to see that some Indian leaders are thinking big. Narendrabhai Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat leads in thinking … Continue reading
February 1, 2010
by Atanu Dey
10 Comments
In the February 2010 issue of Pragati I argue why India needs new livable, sustainable and well-managed cities. The text of the article appears below, for the record.
September 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
Cities are the engines of growth. Therefore, a policy that promotes urbanization of the population is an indispensible instrument for economic growth and development. In the following TED Talk, Paul Romer, a world-class growth economist at Stanford, makes the case.
May 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Urbanization of the population implies greater demand for housing in cities. There has to be a portfolio of housing options available for the diversity of people which constitute a city. I am familiar with the property prices in the San … Continue reading
May 6, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
In a short article in SEED magazine, theoretical physicist and president of the Santa Fe Institute, Geoffrey West explains “why the future of humanity and the long-term sustainability of the planet are inextricably linked to the fate of our cities.” … Continue reading
April 20, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
One of the consistent themes of this blog has been that India should think big. My favorite quote in this context is from Daniel Burnham, the fabled Chicago architect who said that we should think big: Make no little plans. … Continue reading
April 9, 2009
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
Navi Radjou’s blog post titled, “India’s Rural Innovations: Can They Scale?” in harvardbusiness.org concludes with: I strongly believe that the only way India can sustain its long-term economic growth is by unleashing and harnessing the creativity of its grassroots entrepreneurs, … Continue reading
March 31, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
Nicolai Ouroussoff writes that “We long for a bold urban vision” in his NY Times piece “Reinventing America’s Cities: The Time Is Now.” Below the fold are some selected excerpts. India too needs a bold urban vision, as I have … Continue reading
March 3, 2009
by Atanu Dey
5 Comments
That’s the title of the course I am conducting at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. It is a small class of about 15 students. It’s a half-credit elective in the final term of the year. We have had two … Continue reading
February 21, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
“The Economics of Urbanization” is the title of a course that I plan to teach at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, starting next week. I am looking forward to being at the ISB for the next five weeks. The … Continue reading
January 31, 2009
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
I have been promoting that idea — that the solution to rural development lies in urban planning — for a few years. The RISC model (Rural Infrastructure & Services Commons) is about planting the seeds of in situ urbanization in … Continue reading
January 15, 2009
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
One in every ten people lived in urban areas a century ago. Now, for the first time ever, most people live in cities. By 2050, the United Nations projects, almost three-quarters of the world’s population will call urban areas home. … Continue reading
December 14, 2008
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
Nandan Nilekani on his Imagining India blog makes an excellent case why Indian cities need to have local control rather than being controlled by state or central government agencies.
September 10, 2008
by Atanu Dey
1 Comment
If you needed more convincing on the matter of why India needs to build cities (and not futz around in villages), here’s a video of a TED presentation by Jaime Lerner. A video made more delightful by the way he … Continue reading
July 29, 2008
by Atanu Dey
4 Comments
The following is an article by me that appeared in ISB’s in-house magazine insight June 2008 issue. There is a definite positive relationship between the size of the habitation and the productivity of the population.” The full article is below.
April 15, 2008
by Atanu Dey
0 comments
The April 12th, 2008 Wall Street Journal has an article, “The Rise of the Mega Region” (Hat tip Pankaj Kumar) which argues that rather than entire countries, the proper unit of analysis in the context of economic growth and competitiveness … Continue reading
December 5, 2007
by Atanu Dey
2 Comments
19 cities of the world with 20 million people in the 21st century See 19.20.21 for a quick overview of the defining megatrend of the 21st century: the rise of supercities. In the year 1800, less than 3% of the … Continue reading
November 1, 2007
by Atanu Dey
6 Comments
Golf, not Chess Economic growth in a sense, and to a much larger extent economic development, is more akin to a game of golf than a game of chess. In golf, the opponent’s moves matter very little; you may as … Continue reading