Asia Urban Lab
We are Matthew Kahn and Siqi Zheng, two urban economists who spend a lot of time thinking about Asia’s cities. The Asia Urban Lab is where we think with people on the ground about what is changing in those cities and why. We want to build this small community to think and discuss together with you.
What puzzles you about an Asian city?
The most useful thing anyone tells us usually starts with a fact that puzzles them. A neighborhood that stays dark at night. A railway or subway that arrives but changes nothing. A neighborhood that becomes expensive for no clear reason. A flood-prone area where prices keep rising.
Tell us the puzzle that you have not thought through, about your own city or another city you are interested.
We read every one of these. We will not promise to answer your specific question, but we will study the puzzles that come in and share the patterns and our analysis we find with everyone who writes to us.
Join a conversation
Small WhatsApp groups, one per topic, open to anyone working on these questions in any city. We meet in person when we are in town and talk online in between.
Notes from us
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One more to test a long title
Read the note: One more to test a long titleTell us the puzzle that you have not thought through, about your own city or another city you are interested. We read every one of…
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Test again
Read the note: Test againThe most useful thing anyone tells us usually starts with a fact that puzzles them. A neighborhood that stays dark at night. A railway or…
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Another test post
Read the note: Another test postUrban Futures Institute is a nonprofit organization (registered in Massachusetts, USA) dedicated to advancing sustainability and technology in urban development and real estate through education,…
An initiative of the Urban Futures Institute
Matthew E. Kahn
Provost Professor of Economics, University of Southern California (USC)
Siqi Zheng
STL Chair Professor of Urban and Real Estate Sustainability, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)