DPU60: 'Cites as Engines of Economic Growth' Revisited - DPU60 Dialogues in Development

Nigel Harris speaks on urban economies and city development strategies in our November Dialogues in Development event. Respondents Le-Yin Zhang (DPU) and Billy Cobbett (Cities Alliance) weigh in with their opinions on the subject and Nigel's paper. The speakers are followed by a Q & A session. The concept of ‘cities as engines of economic growth’ has become ubiquitous since the 1990s. However, when Nigel Harris first raised the economic significance of cities in the mid-1970s, it was a seen as outlandish in an international development context where all the focus was on rural development. The debate turns to discussing the concept in the contemporary context. Speakers: Nigel Harris is Emeritus Professor of the Economics of the City at UCL and former Director of the DPU (1982-89). He is an economist and specialist in Urban and Economic Development and the Economics of Migration. He has worked with the World Bank and UNDP in many assignments in Taiwan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Nepal, Brazil and Mexico. William (Billy) Cobbett is Director of the Cities Alliance, a global partnership promoting the role of cities in sustainable development. Prior to the Cities Alliance he was at the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in Nairobi, where he designed and launched the Global Campaign for Secure Tenure. Le-Yin Zhang directs the MSc in Urban Economic Development and is a senior lecturer at the DPU. She is a development economist specialising in economic development and the management of cities. Her publications range from industrialisation, city development strategies, to climate change and the green urban economy. She has worked with organisations such as the UN-DESA and the UNFCCC as a consultant. Chair: Julio D. Davila, Director of The Bartlett Development Planning Unit.