Podcast Summary: LSE Public Lectures and Events – "Cities and Globalisation"
Date: January 20, 2014
Host: Vernon Henderson (Professor of Economic Geography, LSE)
Speaker: Edward (Ed) Glaeser (Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University)
Episode Overview
This lively lecture, led by renowned urban economist Ed Glaeser, explores the profound global transformations driven by urbanization, the economic rationale for cities, and the roles that cities play in growth, innovation, and confronting challenges such as poverty, climate change, and resource scarcity. Glaeser argues for the centrality of cities in a globalized world and offers comparative insights across continents, with examples from the US, India, China, and beyond. The lecture includes a spirited Q&A, touching on policy, sustainability, education, and the future shape of successful cities.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. The Case for Urbanization and Cities in Globalization
- Opening Argument: Despite historical preferences for rural living (citing Gandhi's adage about Indian villages), Glaeser asserts:
"With all due respect... he was completely and totally wrong... The future of India is in cities." (02:17)
- Urbanization Trends: Since the 1960s, urbanization has surged, especially in developing countries.
- Benefits of Urban Living: Urban countries have, on average, five times higher incomes and much lower infant mortality than rural ones.
- Persistent Challenges: Acknowledgement of severe challenges—slums, poverty, governance issues, and vulnerability to disasters—in rapidly urbanizing places like Kinshasa, Karachi, and Port-au-Prince.
2. Historical Context and the New Urbanization
- Cities and Empires: Previously, large cities existed mainly as capitals of well-governed empires, able to marshal resources and manage complexity.
- Globalization’s Role: Today, cities can import food, rely on international exports, and receive aid; their growth no longer directly tied to local agricultural productivity.
- Urbanization at Lower Wealth Levels: Many modern developing cities are urbanizing at income levels twenty times lower than the US or Europe in the early urbanization phase.
- Disaster Response: Disaster outcomes (e.g., earthquakes in Chile vs. Haiti) are closely tied to government competence and wealth, emphasizing the need for better-managed cities in the face of climate threats.
3. Economic Mechanisms: Agglomeration and Productivity
- Agglomeration Economies: Higher density correlates with greater productivity—this effect is strongest in rapidly developing countries.
"The connection between urbanization and productivity is remarkable, particularly in the developing world." (20:10)
- Life Satisfaction: Despite criticism, urbanites report higher life satisfaction than rural residents, especially in poorer countries.
- Urban Growth and Policy Caution: Given strong links between urbanization and economic growth, policies that restrict urban migration are usually ill-advised.
4. Urban Decline, Renewal, and Economic Structure
- US Cities’ Booms and Busts: Glaeser recounts the decline of major US cities (Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland) due to changing transportation technology, declining manufacturing, and population movement to the suburbs and Sun Belt.
- On manufacturing exodus:
"As transportation costs fell, firms moved to lower cost locales." (33:10)
- On manufacturing exodus:
- Short-term vs. Long-term Success: Cities dominated by a single large firm/industry (e.g., Ford in Detroit) are vulnerable in the long run, while cities with many small firms and entrepreneurs adapt and thrive.
- Entrepreneurship and Resilience:
"Successful cities are marked by three things: smart people, small firms, and connections to the outside world." (36:15)
- Entrepreneurship and Resilience:
5. Innovation, Skills, and Urban Success
- Learning Machines: Cities foster innovation and knowledge transfer, as seen in historical and modern clusters (Florence, New York finance, Silicon Valley, Boston).
- On face-to-face interaction in the Digital Age:
"Anyone who knows the hard part about teaching is not knowing your subject. It's knowing whether anything you're saying is getting through. …We are a social species." (49:49)
- On face-to-face interaction in the Digital Age:
- Education and Human Capital: The presence of skilled, educated citizens is the single best predictor of urban prosperity and growth.
- Quantitative Evidence: A 10% rise in college graduates is typically associated with an 8% wage increase in a city, for all workers.
- On city skills:
"Those places with lots of small firms have done much, much better in terms of employment growth." (49:05)
6. ‘Demons of Density’: Urban Challenges and Policy Imperatives
- Poverty, Disease, Crime, Congestion: Cities must invest in clean water, infrastructure, education, and quality-of-life measures to become and remain livable.
- On public-private partnerships:
"Public-private partnerships are not a panacea... Our own history reminds us how easily PPPs can be subverted." (49:05)
- On public-private partnerships:
- Housing Supply and Affordability:
- Cities like London, New York, and Mumbai face unaffordable housing due to restrictive land-use policies and building regulation.
- On Jane Jacobs:
"Jane Jacobs was wrong: when cities try to freeze themselves and don’t allow added density, they ensure middle-income people are priced out." (51:23)
- Environmental Impacts: Dense cities, counterintuitively, are far less damaging environmentally per capita than sprawling suburbs.
7. Optimism About Cities’ Future
- Despite enormous challenges, Glaeser ends on an optimistic note:
“I remain hopeful... that the genius of humanity shows it most clearly when we learn from each other in cities.” (52:57)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the transformative power of cities:
"Cities are density, proximity, closeness... We get smart by being around other smart people." (23:10)
- On the tragedy of Detroit-style decline:
"This vertically enclosed plant doesn’t need the city, doesn’t give to the city... Successful cities are marked by three things: smart people, small firms, and connections to the outside world." (36:35)
- On infrastructure folly:
"It is easy to screw up with transportation projects, as with large scale infrastructure… the hallmark of declining cities is that they have an abundance of infrastructure relative to demand." (42:13)
- On cities and environmentalism:
"...If Thoreau cared about nature, he would have done more good by staying home in Cambridge than going out and cooking chowder and destroying the woods... The real lesson is that we do least damage to nature when we cluster together in cities." (51:50)
- On urban optimism:
"When we’ve been connected with each other, the genius of cities to help us make each other better is just remarkable." (52:57)
Q&A Highlights and Insights
Is Low-Density Success Possible? (53:52)
- Glaeser acknowledges multiple successful urban forms, including car-based clusters like Silicon Valley, but stresses the critical role of diversity and choice.
"The virtue is in choice. The virtue is in having lots of different opportunities of where to live if people are paying for the social cost of their actions." (55:25)
How Can Cities Avoid Repeating Each Other’s Mistakes? (56:54)
- Importance of rigorous cost-benefit analysis over copying trends blindly:
"Cities are doing a fairly good job learning from each other, but not a great job necessarily figuring out why that doesn't work for them." (57:18)
Should We Let Some Cities Decline? (58:41)
- People, not places, deserve policy support:
"It is not the job of the federal government to ensure Detroit’s population rises... it is the job to make sure the children of Detroit have opportunity." (59:10)
- Proximity to thriving regions matters for regeneration ‘odds’.
Policy Priorities for Developing World Mayors (61:37)
- Education and ‘externality management’ (clean water, sewage, congestion) are top priorities.
- Opportunity to introduce pricing and infrastructural reforms before democratic checks make them politically difficult.
On Urban Sustainability and Exurb Growth (63:43)
- The main environmental concern is how China and India urbanize; the urban form chosen matters more than anything US or Europe does now.
On Democracy, Cities, and Reform (68:01)
- Democracy makes necessary but arduous policies (like congestion pricing) harder, not impossible.
"I believe strongly in democracy... cities in fact are part of that history." (69:25)
- Women’s education seen as crucial to democratization and urban prosperity.
On Regeneration Potential for Inner-City Districts (73:58)
- Proximity, skills, and education are vital; no UK neighborhood is ‘doomed’ as Detroit may be.
Advice for Urban Educators (74:15)
- Focus on teacher quality and prudent adoption (rigorous evaluation) of educational technology.
Lessons from US Government Decentralization (77:59)
- Local innovation is valuable, but excessive localism can hamper redistribution and result in service duplication.
- Balance required between central and local control.
On City Affordability Risks (80:48)
- Restrictive regulations risk turning global cities into exclusive enclaves; more supply is the antidote.
Can We Learn from Dubai or Singapore? (82:52)
- Singapore praised as a strong success story due to human capital and infrastructure; less certain about Dubai.
Urbanization in China – Small Towns vs. Big Cities (85:10)
- China needs a mix; Glaeser supports reform (like changing the hukou system), variety in urban forms, and greater central accountability for land acquisition/right protection.
What Determines a City’s Maximum Size? (89:22)
- Limits set by government competence and provision of services, not a universal threshold. Improving infrastructure, housing, and governance expands the ‘livable’ city size.
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Introduction (Vernon Henderson): 00:00–01:48
- Opening argument: The folly of anti-urban ideology: 01:48–03:36
- Global urbanization data: 04:00–09:00
- The historical urban hierarchy & globalization: 16:00–25:00
- Why do cities matter for productivity & life satisfaction? 25:00–34:00
- American case study: urban decline and resurgence: 34:00–44:00
- Cities as engines of knowledge and innovation: 44:00–49:30
- Housing, regulation, density, and the environment: 49:30–52:57
- Closing optimism: 52:57–53:27
- Q&A Highlights:
- Low-density urbanism/Silicon Valley: 53:52–56:54
- Learning from other cities: 56:54–58:41
- Letting cities die: 58:41–61:37
- What should a developing country mayor do?: 61:37–63:43
- Urbanization sustainability: 63:43–67:49
- Democracy’s role in cities: 68:01–73:58
- Urban education: 74:15–77:59
- Decentralization lessons: 77:59–80:48
- City affordability: 80:48–82:52
- Learning from Dubai/Singapore: 82:52–85:00
- China’s urbanization model: 85:10–87:14
- What determines city limits: 89:22–91:36
Tone
Light-hearted, deeply informed, occasionally humorous, and always candid. Glaeser blends extensive economic analysis with vivid storytelling and an unshakable enthusiasm for cities’ potential, while not shying away from urban failures and challenges.
Final Thoughts
This episode is a masterclass in the economics and realities of urbanization. Ed Glaeser frames cities as indispensable engines of modernization, problem-solving, and environmental sustainability, but also issues a clarion call for better managed infrastructure, inclusive growth, and wise policy intervention—especially in the rapidly urbanizing Global South. The message is clear: cities, managed well, are humanity’s greatest invention and hope for a prosperous future.