Dr. Glaeser is a Professor of Economics at Harvard University and is one of the world’s foremost authorities in urban economics. His contributions to the field have been nothing short of tremendous, having published deeply insightful works around the issues of affordable housing, city growth, and the role that cities play in transmitting ideas. His book, The Triumph of the City, does a wonderful job in making his research available and accessible to the general audience. What he does uniquely is to make the argument that much of what is thought of as "obvious" for urban public policy is not truly beneficial. The city brings people together for close contact and can succeed if and only if the city is built around the power of people, human contact, creativity, and collaboration. His TED Talk on this topic is a neat summary of the book’s driving points. Dr. Glaeser also teaches a free course on EDX, called CitiesX, with over 180 videos, giving students a far-ranging look at the past, present, and future of cities by exploring both policy and economic frameworks. We talked lots about housing policy, preventing urban sprawl, how cities should encourage new development, and ultimately the environmental and economic ramifications of it all. Towards the end, Dr. Glaeser gives some fantastic, motivating advice to all students considering a career in the field of urban economics or urban development. Dr. Glaeser can be reached at the following: Website: scholar.harvard.edu/glaeser Triumph of the City: amazon.com/Triumph-City-Greatest-Invention-Healthier/dp/0143120549 CitiesX Course: edx.org/course/cities-x-past-present-future-urban-life-3 Ted Talk: youtube.com/watch?v=ILDwnzQNlGc   Enjoy the show! See more at theurbanloop.com/ep-4-dr-edward-glaeser/