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Research

Our research serves to establish the economic, legal and moral arguments for charter cities. Topics include new cities, decentralized governance, industrial policy and special economic zones, cultural economics, urban geography and economics.

Governance Handbook

Charter cities are new cities with new rules. The Governance Handbook is the first comprehensive guide that lays out what these rules should be, and how they should be administered.

All Research

A Zambian Road to Nowhere

A Zambian Road to Nowhere: The History of Big (Road) Infrastructure and the 2011-2022 Zambian Road-Building Boom

For decades, policymakers, donor organizations, and academics have engaged in a debate over economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, proposing different policy responses over time. In recent years, there has been a renewed emphasis on the significance of infrastructure, especially due to the exorbitant transportation costs in the region. The question remains: can improved road infrastructure help sub-Saharan Africa surmount the geographic distance barriers that impede economic growth? This paper seeks to delve into the potential long-term economic effects of Zambia’s road construction boom between 2011 and 2022.

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Web3-enabled Harbergeorgism: A Policy Mechanism for Charter Cities

Charter cities, and special jurisdictions more broadly, can boost economic growth, prompt institutional reform, and allow for diverse policy experimentation. However, how to conceptualize the optimal economic model to guide the development of a charter city or special jurisdiction remains unclear. Web3-enabled Harbergeorgism is one such model that is well-suited to the charter city context.

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Paul Romer and the Suez and Panama Canals

This paper contributes to the growing literature around charter cities and new city developments and makes a case for the salience of the charter city model from two surprising case studies – the Suez and Panama Canals.

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charter cities in africa

Working Paper Series on Charter Cities in Africa

This working paper series on charter cities in Africa is a joint effort of the Charter Cities Institute and the African Centre for the Study of the United States at the University of the Witwatersrand to highlight the scholarship of African scholars interested in how charter cities will shape the future of the continent across various themes and disciplines.

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research agenda

CCI’s Research Agenda

CCI’s new research agenda outlines the 5 research topics most important to the charter cities movement and helps guide our research on urban governance, economic growth, and poverty alleviation.

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barefoot planning

Barefoot Planning

Barefoot planning proposes to dynamically organize private development and public goods without a static master plan by employing barefoot planners, a new class of community-level planning practitioners.

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optimizing cities

Optimizing Cities for Crises

Curiously, some cities have, over time, become better at preparing for crises, while others have not. This paper explores how to optimize cities for crises, as well as growth, learning, and other seismic changes.

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