Publications

Find at Harvard

December 2013
Article

Land Politics and Local State Capacities: The Political Economy of Urban Change in China

By: Meg Rithmire

Despite common national institutions and incentives to remake urban landscapes to anchor growth, generate land-lease revenues, and display a capacious administration, Chinese urban governments exhibit varying levels of control over land. This article uses a paired... View Details

Keywords: China; Land Politics; Urban Planning; Local Government; Northeast China; Property Rights; Urban Development; Property; Government and Politics; China

December 2005 (Revised September 2007)
Case

Canyon Johnson Urban Fund

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Alexa Arena

Basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson and K. Robert Turner, managing partner of Canyon Johnson Urban Fund (CJUF), raised $271.7 million for investments in urban real estate. The fund considered two projects, both located in Hollywood, CA. The first was located on... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Projects; Business and Government Relations; Public Opinion; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; Los Angeles

Fast Answer

Urban development

How do I find articles on urban development and environmental issues in city planning? EBSCO covers studies on various topics in the field of urban development, such as third world View Details

Article

China Gambles on Modernizing Through Urbanization

By: Kristen Looney and Meg Rithmire

Contemporary discussions of urbanization 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 Urbanization Policy.”... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Development Economics; Problems and Challenges; China

Find at Harvard

Read Now

22 Feb 2022
News

New Urban Order

security. But by the end of 2021, TuSimple had completed an 80-mile run from Tucson to Phoenix without a human driver in the truck’s cab. Routes are currently focused on the “middle miles” in the southern United States, with plans to... View Details

Keywords: Kathleen Fu, Deborah Blagg, Julia Hanna, and Maureen Harmon; illustrations by; energy; environment; sustainability; entrepreneurship; Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation; Transportation; Water, Sewage and Supply Systems; Utilities; Construction of Buildings; Construction; Waste Management and Remediation Services; Corporate Services

April 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Exporting Livability: Investing in New Urban Centers

By: John D. Macomber and Essie Alamsyah

Can Singapore urban design, policy continuity, and system of laws be exported outside of Singapore to accelerate the effective development of new urban agglomerations? Nina Yang, CEO of Sustainable Urban Development at Ascendas-Singbridge, a large real estate company... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Projects; Design; City; Business and Government Relations; Expansion; Real Estate Industry; China; Singapore

Video

2010 HBS Social Venture Track Business Plan Winners

09 Jan 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Economic Transition and Private-Sector Labor Demand: Evidence from Urban China

Keywords: by Lakshmi Iyer, Xin Meng, Nancy Qian & Xiaoxue Zhao

01 Jun 2011
News

The Best-Laid Plans

Runway, Good Start Genetics, EGG-energy, Urban Water Partners, RelayRides, and Birchbox, among others — the Business Plan Contest has grown and evolved from its first iteration in 1997. Back then, 37 teams... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; contests; Health, Social Assistance; Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services; Professional Services; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

30 Apr 2024
Blog Post

IFC India: Urban Adaptation in a Changing World

across the country. Urban Adaptation & Mumbai’s Climate Action Plan By 2030, India is expected to be the third largest economy in the world with a GDP of almost $8.5 trillion. Historically, countries... View Details

March 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Nayana Mawilmada: Transforming Urban Development in Sri Lanka

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

In February 2018, Nayana Mawilmada (Nayana), investment head for the Sri Lankan government’s ambitious $40 billion Megapolis project, must weigh an attractive job offer to move from the public sector to the private sector. A massive government project aimed at... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Decision Making; Public Sector; Experience and Expertise; Strategic Planning; Work-Life Balance; Transportation; Risk and Uncertainty; Power and Influence; Personal Development and Career; Real Estate Industry; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; South Asia; Sri Lanka; Boston; Virginia; United States

01 Apr 2002
News

Urban Evolution - HBS Research on the Inner City

Ward - once synonymous with out-of-control crime rates, gang warfare, antiquated public housing, crumbling schools, and degrading poverty - have begun to show indications that there may be a way out of the hopeless downward spiral. In their 2000 book Comeback Cities: A... View Details

Keywords: Paul Grogan; Peter Tufano; David Crockett; Diana Barrett; Real Estate

Teaching Interest

Overview

By: John D. Macomber

Teaching and research interests center around the matching of private and instituional capital into large public infrastructure and resilience projects that shape the future of cities and urban environments around the world. The world's population is increaslingly... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Infrastructure Finance; Water; Cities; Urbanization; Transportation; Architecture; Urban Planning; Construction; Africa; Latin America; Climate Change

01 Sep 2010
News

Big Turnout for Business Plan Contest

The dream of starting their own business inspired 110 teams of students to enter the 2010 HBS Business Plan Contest, which awarded $170,000 in cash and in-kind services to winners and runners-up in separate business venture and social... View Details

Keywords: contests; awards; Natural Gas Distribution; Utilities; Water, Sewage and Supply Systems; Utilities

18 Aug 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Business Plan Contest: 15 Years of Building Better Entrepreneurs

the Aldrich classrooms on the Harvard Business School campus where other people's ventures are the usual topic of discussion. Judges—a mix of angel investors, VCs, serial entrepreneurs, and industry executives—score the plans on criteria... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Education

October 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Cottle-Taylor: Expanding the Oral Care Group in India

By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh

Brinda Patel, director of oral care products for the India division of a consumer home-care product company, develops a data-driven marketing plan for toothbrushes. She believes her plan can support a 20% increase in unit sales based on rising demand for modern... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting; Budgeting; International Marketing; Product Planning ＆ Policy; Sales Promotions; Marketing Plans; Products; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Emerging Markets; Forecasting and Prediction; Advertising; Product Launch; Budgets and Budgeting; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry; Health Industry; India

01 Jun 2000
News

HBS Business Plan Contestants Pin Their Hopes on the Internet

The HBS entrepreneurial spirit was evident on May 1, when nearly nine hundred students and guests jammed into Burden Auditorium for the finals of the School's fourth annual Business Plan Contest. The winning entry, Bang Networks, provides... View Details

1975
Chapter

Planned Reduction in Electrical Energy Use in Nashville: A Preliminary Assessment

By: J. K. Sebenius and B. D. Lichter

Keywords: Energy Conservation; Urban Scope; Planning; Energy Industry; Tennessee

January 2020
Case

Sunset Limited or Full Speed Ahead? Amtrak Talks to Congress

By: John D. Macomber

Richard Anderson took the helm of Amtrak in 2017 after leading a successful turnaround at Delta Airlines. Amtrak is a US state owned enterprise with about $3.5 bn in annual revenue (and a large operating loss) that is responsible for substantial segments of passenger... View Details

Keywords: Railroad; Passenger Transportation; Urbanization; Cities; U.S. Congress; Infrastructure; Transition; Transportation; Rail Transportation; Climate Change; Urban Scope; Strategic Planning; Business and Government Relations; Rail Industry; United States