Matthew McCartney

Sep 18, 2024 | chartercitiesinstitute.org | Vivian Wang |Matthew McCartney

In 1960, the per capita GDP of East Asia exceeded that of Sub-Saharan Africa for the first time. That year, the average person in both regions made approximately $1,100 (in 2010 dollars); today, the average East Asian makes 11 times that, but the average Sub-Saharan African only makes 1.4 times as much. Historically, countries have risen to middle-income status by industrializing. It was the industrial revolutions of the 1700s and 1800s that made the West rich.

Aug 16, 2024 | chartercitiesinstitute.org | Matthew McCartney

The premier literature award in the UK is the Booker Prize; in 2020 it was won by Scottish writer Douglas Stuart (now resident in the US) for his first novel, Shuggie Bain. The novel opens in Glasgow 1992 with the 16-year protagonist Shuggie living alone in a one-room rented apartment, we rewind 11 years to Glasgow in 1981 and find out his backstory.

Aug 13, 2024 | chartercitiesinstitute.org | Matthew McCartney

Well, apart from medicine, irrigation,health, roads, cheese and education,baths and the Circus Maximus,what have the Romans ever done for us? (Monty Python and the Life of Brian, 1979)What does a 5,000-year-old road in England tell us about the governance of England over those centuries and how does its story help Africa think about its own urbanisation in the next century?

Aug 12, 2024 | chartercitiesinstitute.org | Matthew McCartney

The Charter Cities Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to empowering new cities with better governance to lift tens of millions of people out of poverty.

Aug 9, 2024 | chartercitiesinstitute.org | Matthew McCartney

The Charter Cities Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to empowering new cities with better governance to lift tens of millions of people out of poverty.