Closing Remarks: The Role of Cities in a Post-Pandemic World

Edward Glaeser is the Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University, Research Programme Director for the International Growth Centre’s Cities Research Programme, and a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. He delivers the closing talk for the NYU New Cities Conference, where he discusses the role cities will play in the post-pandemic world.

On March 11th, the Charter Cities Institute (CCI) and the Marron Institute of Urban Management co-hosted the NYU New Cities Conference in New York City. The event brought together economists, political scientists, architects, and urbanists to discuss the challenges of and solutions to Africa’s rapid urbanization. Africa will see over a billion new residents move into its cities by 2050–the equivalent of 100 megacities –and without innovative solutions, its cities will struggle to translate population growth into economic prosperity.Concerned with growing pressures on already overburdened infrastructure and public services, many policymakers are turning to an ambitious idea: rapid urban expansion and the construction of new master planned cities from scratch. The conference aimed to discuss how new cities, charter cities, and urban expansion will impact Africa’s urban future.