I am glad to have had a relatively productive 2025 on this blog, having penned 24 posts in total, ranging from substantial to travelogue. After I struggled to maintain momentum on this blog for some years (coinciding with more professional demands and a backlog of PhD-related writing), I hope to continue in this fashion in 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are some ideas already. I don’t want to call them resolutions, as they might fall by the wayside organically, but maybe they can act as a reminder whenever I feel I don’t have anything to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
I have a couple of op-eds in mind, including one I plan to publish later this month on the World Urbanization Prospects’ 2025 update and the ramifications of a new methodology and population ranking. I would also like to stray from urban studies into development economics and write a piece or two on something topical that might come up later this year, perhaps in the sovereign debt space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there is a return to the Yangon book. I am in touch with the Goethe Institute in Myanmar over ways of updating the guide without a complete overhaul. This is an interesting project given the political situation on the ground, but also necessary as there is not a lot of documentation of the changing urban condition amid now almost five years under an unwelcome rerun of junta rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I also feel more equipped to embark on an altogether new book project that might tie together a few loose ends of my intellectual journey so far. I envisage a profile of six cities (most of which I have lived in): What kind of social order does this city quietly teach its inhabitants to accept as normal? How does the built environment reflect the social compact in each of them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a chapter each for New York, Yangon, Sydney, Bangkok and Tokyo. In terms of the sixth one, I am torn between London and Dubai. Although I haven’t lived in the latter, it’s probably easier analytically to make a chapter work in the array of the remaining cities. As a move is pending for this year, there’s also room for a mystery city to join the fray. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lastly, I want to match last year’s 24 posts on this blog, so I better get started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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I am glad to have had a relatively productive 2025 on this blog, having penned 24 posts in total, ranging from substantial to travelogue. After I struggled to maintain momentum on this blog for some years (coinciding with more professional … Continue reading