02.514 Financing Cities of the Future: Theory and Practice

This course provides students in technology and design with comprehensive knowledge on finance for urban development and management by introducing a range of terms, vehicles, instruments, schemes, and implementations along theoretical frameworks and real-world scenarios. The entire course work consists of three large sections: (I) public challenges; (II) private initiatives; and (III) social technologies. This means that the topics of urban finance covered by this course are not only the fundamentals of conventional government finance for public resource allocation, social wealth distribution, and market stabilization (e.g., market failures, public goods, tax policy, intergovernmental transfers, fiscal decentralization, and interjurisdictional coordination) but also the advancements of unconventional corporate, entrepreneurial, and social finance for competitive and sustainable urbanization (e.g., project finance and public-private procurement strategy, international financial markets and institutions, urban climate and green finance, land marketization and land value capture, real estate investment and asset securitization, and financial technology). The course takers are expected to acquire both hard and soft knowledge on urban finance through a few basic analytical exercises and international case studies for broader social applications and cooperative actions across sectors.

Instructor: Jin Murakami
Time: Monday (3-6pm), Venue: Think Tank 23 (2.413) or Thursday (8.30-11.30am), Venue: Think Tank 13 (1.508)

Week 1: Overview

SECTION I: PUBLIC CHALLENGES
Week 2: Public Goods & Public Finance
Week 3: Fiscal Decentralization & Municipal Finance
Week 4: Megaproject & Public Project Evaluation

SECTION II: PRIVATE INITIATIVES
Week 5: Privatization & PPP Models
Week 6: Corporate Finance & ESG Criteria
Week 7: No Class – Recess
Week 8: International Financial Markets & Institutions

SECTION III: SOCIAL TECHNOLOGIES
Week 9: Revenue Generation Schemes
Week 10: Real Estate Investment & Securitization
Week 11: Green Infrastructure & Climate Finance
Week 12: FinTech, Microfinance, SME Inclusion

FINAL
Week 13: Final Presentation
Week 14: Final Paper Submission & Follow-up Actions