Publications

October 2002
Case

New Leaders for New Schools

Describes the founding, early growth, and expansion plans of New Leaders for New Schools, a nonprofit public education venture that recruits, trains, places, and supports principals in U.S. urban school districts. This case presents the strategic, financial, and... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Education; Education Industry

06 Nov 2017
Research Event

Who is Responsible for the Future of Cities?

“In contrast to the past, the question is not so much whether cities can survive, but whether their growth can be managed and guided, by whom, and for what needs,” said Diane Davis, Charles Dyer Norton Professor of Regional Development and Urbanism, and Chair of the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

March 1991 (Revised May 1991)
Case

TBIRD: The Thai Business Initiative in Rural Development

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

During the period of 1987 to 1990, while Thailand had one of the fastest growing economies in the world (average growth rate of 12%), the income disparity between its rural and urban population (especially Bangkok City) was growing increasingly worse. Mechai... View Details

Keywords: Economic Growth; Management Skills; Programs; Wealth and Poverty; Thailand

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04 Dec 2013
Research & Ideas

The Fantastic Horizon: How to Invest in a New City

issues at all generally brush them off, believing that the problems can and will be solved by better governance and more political will, that states will take care of it. But the third troublesome phenomenon is that governments clearly are stuck and can't View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction; Real Estate

11 Jun 2024
In Practice

The Harvard Business School Faculty Summer Reader 2024

As the vacation season looms, Harvard Business School faculty members share recommendations for a little light reading. Spoiler alert: Lessons in Chemistry tops two of their beach-read lists. For those whose brains can’t—or won’t—turn off, HBS faculty also suggest some... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

23 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

How to Keep Employees Productive: Support Caregivers

senior executives being the big sponsors of caregiving benefits is because they’ve lived it,” Fuller says, offering a seven-point plan for managers who want to follow suit. The case for supporting caregivers Three out of four US workers... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

06 Oct 2020
News

Extremely Transparent and Incredibly Remote

15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

planned and managed in a much more efficient and sustainable fashion than in a dispersed population. Mayors of the world's largest cities agree, with New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg leading a global coalition to craft View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

09 Feb 2016
First Look

February 9, 2016

and urban construction in China tend to focus on “ghost towns” on the one hand or urbanization as China’s silver bullet to growth and reform on the other. In this paper, we detail what China calls its “New... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2008
Book

Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India Are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours

By: Tarun Khanna

China and India are home to one-third of the world's population. And they're undergoing social and economic revolutions that are capturing the best minds--and money--of Western business. In "Billions of Entrepreneurs," Tarun Khanna examines the entrepreneurial forces... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Development Economics; Entrepreneurship; Globalized Economies and Regions; China; India

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January 2011
Case

Masdar and Tianjin: Eco-Cities

By: John D. Macomber

Compares Masdar City and Tianjin Eco-City, two high profile "sustainable cities." Each showcases technological and financial innovation. Is it real? Is it replicable and defensible? The case is intended to introduce main concepts and tradeoffs with respect to rapid... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Model; Development Economics; Urban Development; Cash Flow; Project Finance; Competitive Advantage; Environmental Sustainability; City; Infrastructure

April 2021 (Revised April 2021)
Teaching Plan

Nehemiah Mfg. Co.: Providing a Second Chance

By: Brian Trelstad and John Masko

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 320-008. In 2009, Dan Meyer and Richard Palmer, two veterans of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, founded Nehemiah Manufacturing to build FMCG brands while providing jobs to Cincinnati, Ohio’s beleaguered urban core. Two... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Employment; Human Capital; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Social Marketing; Mission and Purpose; Prejudice and Bias; City; Urban Scope; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Ohio; United States

TeachingInterests

Field Course: Social Innovation Lab

This course provides students an opportunity to address a social enterprise topic with the discipline of business tools and techniques. Students will work in teams, choosing among three types of projects: a) developing a business plan for your own social enterprise;... View Details

July 2004 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Beacon Lakes

By: Arthur I Segel, Robert Barlick Jr and Jose Gonzalez

In September 2001, Armando Codina, the CEO and chairman of Codina Group, is facing the decision of whether to go ahead as planned with its $220 million Beacon Lakes project, a 6.6-million-square-foot warehouse and office park in Miami's Airport West submarket. Although... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Urban Scope; Business and Government Relations; Natural Environment; Expansion; Environmental Sustainability; Real Estate Industry; Everglades National Park; Miami

11 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Digital Designs on the Inner City

for the creation of jobs and wealth among urban families. Moderator Randall Pinkett of M.I.T. Laboratory Anne Habiby, executive vice president of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, a national nonprofit founded by HBS professor... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

October 2001 (Revised August 2005)
Case

Zipcar

By: Myra M. Hart and Wendy Carter

Provides a detailed description of the processes and tasks associated with creating a new venture in an emerging industry (subscription car-sharing for urban dwellers). Chronicles the entrepreneur's concept development, industry analysis, market research, identity... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Leadership Development; Venture Capital; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Plan; Budgets and Budgeting; Management Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Auto Industry; Service Industry

January 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Financing American Housing Construction in the Aftermath of War

By: David Moss and Cole Bolton

At the start of WWI, the United States faced a significant housing shortage. Public officials feared the spread of disease—and even communism—in the nation's cramped urban centers where vacancy rates held near zero and families often "doubled up" in single-housing... View Details

Keywords: Central Banking; Bonds; Mortgages; Government Legislation; Business History; Housing; Banking Industry; United States

October 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

KOKO Networks: Bridging Energy Transition and Affordability with Carbon Financing

By: George Serafeim, Siko Sikochi and Namrata Arora

The problem was massive: two million hectares of African forests were lost annually to charcoal production for cooking, an area equivalent to 13 times Greater London, resulting in one billion tons of carbon emissions yearly. At the same time, an estimated 700,000... View Details