Jan Nijman

Title/Position: Founding Director, Urban Studies Institute; Distinguished University Professor, Geosciences
Department/Faculty/Institution: Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University
Degree(s)/School(s): PhD (Geography) University of Colorado at Boulder
E-mail: jnijman@gsu.edu

MCRI Projects: A2: Governance; B3: Land and Housing Markets; B5: Regional Governance and Suburbanization; C2: North America Research Cluster; C4: South Asia Research Cluster

Background: A native of the Netherlands, Nijman received his M.A. degree in geography from the University of Amsterdam, and his Ph.D. in geography from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Before joining GSU, he spearheaded urban research and teaching programs at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Miami. He presently holds a secondary appointment as Professor of Urban Studies at the University of Amsterdam.

His primary research interests are in urban theory, urban and regional development, and global comparative urban studies, with regional expertise and extensive field work experience in North America, West Europe and South Asia. Current research projects focus on suburbanization and metropolitan transformations in the United States and Canada; the historical origins and future prospects of Amsterdam’s 400-year old designed Canal District; and the relationship between urbanization and development in India. Nijman is the author of five books and more than 100 other publications in a wide range of international journals such as IJURR, Annals of the AAG, Cities, Regional Studies, and Urban Geography.

Nijman’s professional honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Nystrom Award for best doctoral dissertation in Geography in the United States, the University Teaching Award at the University of Miami, and the J.B. Jackson book award from the Association of American Geographers.

Research Interests: Urban and Regional Development; Comparative Urbanism; Globalization; History of World Cities.

Selected Publications:

Nijman, J. (2016). Naissance d’une ville mondiale. Problèmes d’Amérique Latine. 96: 19-37.

Nijman, J. (2015). The theoretical imperative of comparative urbanism. Regional Studies. 49 (1): 183-186.

Nijman, J. (2015). India’s urban future: Views from the slum. American Behavioral Scientist. 59 (3): 406-423.

Nijman, J. & Clery, T. (2015). Rethinking suburbia: A case study of metropolitan Miami. Environment & Planning A. 47: 69-88.

Nijman, J. & Clery, T. (2015). The United States: Suburban imaginaries and metropolitan realities. In P. Hamel & R. Keil (eds.) Suburban Governance: A Global View. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, pp. 57-79.

Nijman, J. & Shin, M. (2014). Megacities. In P. Knox (ed.) Atlas of Cities. Mapping the Origins, Development, and Impacts of Urbanization. Princeton University Press.

Nijman, J. (2013). The American suburb as utopian constellation. In R. Keil (ed.) Suburban Constellations. Berlin: Jovis, pp. 159-167.

Nijman, J. (2012). India’s urban challenge. Eurasian Geography and Economics. 53 (1): 7-20.

Nijman, J. (2012). Mumbai as a global city. A theoretical essay. In B. Derudder, M. Hoyler, P.J. Taylor & F. Witlox (eds.) International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities. Edward Elgar Publishing, UK, pp. 447-454.

Nijman, J. (2011). Miami: Mistress of the Americas. University of Pennsylvania Press.

Nijman, J. (2010). “ study of space in Mumbai’s slums. Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie. 101: 4-17.

Nijman, J. (2008). Against the odds: Slum rehabilitation in neoliberal Mumbai. Cities 25: 75-87.

Nijman, J. (2007). Comparative Urbanism. Special guest-edited issue of Urban Geography. 28.

Nijman, J. (2007). Place-particularity and deep analogies: A comparative historical essay about Miami’s emergence as a world city. Urban Geography. 28: 92-107.

Nijman, J. & Grant, R. (2006). Globalization and the corporate geography of cities in the less-developed world. In N. Brenner & R. Keil (eds.) The Global Cities Reader. New York: Routledge, pp. 224-237.

Nijman, J. & Grant, R. (2000). The Global Crisis in Foreign Aid. Syracuse University Press, 2nd edition.