Ivan Turok

Co-Investigator


Ivan is a co-investigator on the SHLC project, responsible for the Cape Town study.

Ivan is Executive Director at the Human Sciences Research Council. He is Editor-in-Chief of the international journal ‘Regional Studies’, Editor of Area Development and Policy, and Honorary Professor at the University of Glasgow. He is also Chairman of the City Planning Commission for Durban.
Ivan’s research interests include inclusive development and the spatial economy (regions, cities and neighbourhoods); urbanisation and human development; local labour markets and urban unemployment; affordable housing and sustainable human settlements; informal enterprise and informal settlements; agglomeration economies and regional economic development; and urban and regional policies.

Ivan has over 30 years’ experience of research and policy advice. He worked for many years at universities in the UK before returning to South Africa in 2010. He is an occasional adviser to the United Nations, OECD, African Development Bank, UNECA and several national governments. He is the author of over 150 academic publications, journal articles, book chapters and books. His latest jointly-edited book is called Transitions in Regional Economic Development (2018, Routledge). He also co-authored Inclusive Urban Development in South Africa: What Does It Mean and How Can it be Measured? (IDS Working Paper, 2018).

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