Bloomberg Center for Cities

The Urban Transformation of Rural China

An event of the Bloomberg Center for Cities

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Nick Smith and Tony Saich event graphic


12:00 pm
Bloomberg Center for Cities, Taubman Third Floor, Harvard Kennedy School

About the Event

Over the past twenty years, China has implemented ambitious new plans for expanding urbanization into rural areas. Smith’s research explores this process of rural urbanization from the perspective of municipal planners, village cadres, and rural residents, as their differing visions for rural China’s urban future collide in the transformation of village space.

Speakers

  • Nick R. Smith, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies, Barnard College, Columbia University and author, The End of the Village
  • Moderator: Tony Saich, Director of the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Introduction: Matthew Lee, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School

Lunch will be offered and registration is requested.

Co-sponsored by the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

This in-person event is open to all Harvard University ID holders.

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We welcome individuals with accessibility needs to participate in our events. Contact us at events@cities.harvard.edu to request accommodations or if you have questions.

Speakers

Nick Smith

Nick R. Smith

Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University

Nick R. Smith is Assistant Professor of Architecture and Urban Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University. His research explores the politics of urbanization and planning, with a regional focus on China and Southeast Asia. Smith is the author of “The End of the Village: Planning the Urbanization of Rural China”. He is currently working on a history of the Shekou Industrial Zone and the origins of China’s rapid urbanization.

Anthony Saich

Anthony Saich

Director, Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia, and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Tony Saich is the director of the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia and Daewoo Professor of International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School. In addition, he is a guest professor at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, China. He also advises a wide range of government, private, and nonprofit organizations on work in China and elsewhere in Asia.

Saich was a trustee member of the National Committee on US-China Relations (2014-2020), is a board member of AMC Entertainment Inc. and International Bridges to Justice, and was the Chair of the China Medical Board (2015-2019). He is also the U.S. Secretary-General of the China United States Strategic Philanthropy. Previously, he was the representative for the Ford Foundation’s China Office from 1994 to 1999. The work at the foundation included programs on legal representation, reproductive health, poverty alleviation, and international affairs. Prior to this, he was director of the Sinological Institute at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

His most recent books include “From Rebel to Ruler: One Hundred Years of the Chinese Communist Party” (2021); “Finding Allies and Making Revolution: The Early Years of the Chinese Communist Party” (2020); and “Governance and Politics of China” (Fourth Edition, 2015).

Matthew Lee
Matthew Lee headshot

Matthew Lee

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management, Harvard Kennedy School

Matthew Lee is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Management at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

A management and organizations scholar, Matthew’s work seeks to advance our understanding of issues relevant to hybrid organizations that simultaneously pursue multiple objectives, including organization design, external evaluation, and innovation.

Matthew’s teaching at HKS focuses on the social impact strategies of private and public sector organizations. He previously taught strategy at New York University and at INSEAD, based in Singapore, and has been recognized by Poets & Quants as part of their “40 under 40” list of best professors. Matthew completed his doctoral studies at Harvard Business School.

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