Benjamin Bansal
@bbansal.bsky.social
Mainly development finance and urban studies, writing on my blog since 2012 (www.benbansal.me)
My latest op-ed on Nikkei Asia on what Asian megacities can teach each other. The occasion to finally pen this long-pondered piece was the latest World Urbanization Prospects report by the UN, which dethroned Tokyo as the world's most populous urban agglomeration: asia.nikkei.com/opinion/how-...
How Tokyo, Jakarta and Asia's other megacities can learn from each other
Urbanization in the region should no longer be interpreted through Western models
asia.nikkei.com
February 1, 2026 at 11:23 PM
My latest op-ed on Nikkei Asia on what Asian megacities can teach each other. The occasion to finally pen this long-pondered piece was the latest World Urbanization Prospects report by the UN, which dethroned Tokyo as the world's most populous urban agglomeration: asia.nikkei.com/opinion/how-...
A belated Happy New Year on my blog: benbansal.me?p=5691
February 1, 2026 at 11:21 PM
A belated Happy New Year on my blog: benbansal.me?p=5691
The latest World Urbanization Prospects by UN DESA's Population Division are out. Some big changes vs. the prior editions, which I discuss here: benbansal.me?p=5651
December 11, 2025 at 3:00 AM
The latest World Urbanization Prospects by UN DESA's Population Division are out. Some big changes vs. the prior editions, which I discuss here: benbansal.me?p=5651
My two cents on Katja Hoyer's Beyond the Wall: OK in English, problematic in German: benbansal.me?p=5552
December 11, 2025 at 2:59 AM
My two cents on Katja Hoyer's Beyond the Wall: OK in English, problematic in German: benbansal.me?p=5552
I put together compendia of my architecture-related blog posts, most but not all of them written from 2013-2015. My writings on Tokyo are summarized here: benbansal.me?p=5565
North America, mainly New York, is here: benbansal.me?p=5579
The rest of the world is here: benbansal.me?p=5592
North America, mainly New York, is here: benbansal.me?p=5579
The rest of the world is here: benbansal.me?p=5592
December 11, 2025 at 2:56 AM
I put together compendia of my architecture-related blog posts, most but not all of them written from 2013-2015. My writings on Tokyo are summarized here: benbansal.me?p=5565
North America, mainly New York, is here: benbansal.me?p=5579
The rest of the world is here: benbansal.me?p=5592
North America, mainly New York, is here: benbansal.me?p=5579
The rest of the world is here: benbansal.me?p=5592
Trying to understand the long-term health effects of German reunification on East Germans born between 1975-1985: benbansal.me?p=5520
October 23, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Trying to understand the long-term health effects of German reunification on East Germans born between 1975-1985: benbansal.me?p=5520
Some local economic history from Balmain / Sydney: benbansal.me?p=5341
October 23, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Some local economic history from Balmain / Sydney: benbansal.me?p=5341
Adlergestell by Laura Laabs - a great debut novel about three girls starting school in reunited Germany: benbansal.me?p=5475
October 16, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Adlergestell by Laura Laabs - a great debut novel about three girls starting school in reunited Germany: benbansal.me?p=5475
Some thoughts on 35 years of German unity: benbansal.me?p=5343
October 16, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Some thoughts on 35 years of German unity: benbansal.me?p=5343
Two books on Lemberg/Lviv, highly recommended: benbansal.me?p=5340
October 4, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Two books on Lemberg/Lviv, highly recommended: benbansal.me?p=5340
Some thoughts on Ingrid Robeyns' Limitarianism and a bogus defence of billionaires: benbansal.me?p=5214
October 4, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Some thoughts on Ingrid Robeyns' Limitarianism and a bogus defence of billionaires: benbansal.me?p=5214
Happy 35th German Reunification Day - benbansal.me?p=5343
October 4, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Happy 35th German Reunification Day - benbansal.me?p=5343
Tokyo's small neighborhoods are increasingly under threat from large corporate led redevelopments. My op-ed in Nikkei Asia asia.nikkei.com/opinion/toky...
Tokyo's modernization must not endanger unique neighborhoods
Slowing down redevelopment is vital to protecting the human-scale social fabric that underpins this city's resilience
asia.nikkei.com
August 25, 2025 at 4:00 AM
Tokyo's small neighborhoods are increasingly under threat from large corporate led redevelopments. My op-ed in Nikkei Asia asia.nikkei.com/opinion/toky...
German academia can be a bit of a black box to me, not only in economics (think ordo-liberalism). I read a little about postcolonialism after seeing the litany of negative reviews for Pankaj Mishra's The World After Gaza benbansal.me?p=5270
August 18, 2025 at 11:46 PM
German academia can be a bit of a black box to me, not only in economics (think ordo-liberalism). I read a little about postcolonialism after seeing the litany of negative reviews for Pankaj Mishra's The World After Gaza benbansal.me?p=5270
A few days before the Guardian article, I had posted some thoughts on my blog: benbansal.me?p=5224
‘Everything’s slow in Callan Park’: despite ambitious plans, Sydney’s hidden treasure remains in limbo
‘Everything’s slow in Callan Park’: despite ambitious plans, Sydney’s hidden treasure remains in limbo
Red tape, crumbling buildings and funding difficulties have beset the park for decades, but change may finally be in the air – though not to everyone’s liking
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On the banks of Iron Cove in Sydney’s inner west is one the city’s unsung treasures: 61 hectares of rolling lawns, bushland and sandstone buildings that was once home to Rozelle hospital – originally Callan Park hospital for the insane.
For those who dream big, it could be Sydney’s next Centennial Park, a vibrant parkland attracting visitors from around Sydney. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:32 PM
A few days before the Guardian article, I had posted some thoughts on my blog: benbansal.me?p=5224
Reposted by Benjamin Bansal
‘Everything’s slow in Callan Park’: despite ambitious plans, Sydney’s hidden treasure remains in limbo
‘Everything’s slow in Callan Park’: despite ambitious plans, Sydney’s hidden treasure remains in limbo
Red tape, crumbling buildings and funding difficulties have beset the park for decades, but change may finally be in the air – though not to everyone’s liking
*
Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
On the banks of Iron Cove in Sydney’s inner west is one the city’s unsung treasures: 61 hectares of rolling lawns, bushland and sandstone buildings that was once home to Rozelle hospital – originally Callan Park hospital for the insane.
For those who dream big, it could be Sydney’s next Centennial Park, a vibrant parkland attracting visitors from around Sydney. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
July 26, 2025 at 8:04 PM
‘Everything’s slow in Callan Park’: despite ambitious plans, Sydney’s hidden treasure remains in limbo
It's been ten years that we published the Yangon Architectural Guide. An article commemorating the writing process and reflecting on the time between publication and today was published in Caravanserai, the magazine of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs benbansal.me?p=5281
August 18, 2025 at 11:19 PM
It's been ten years that we published the Yangon Architectural Guide. An article commemorating the writing process and reflecting on the time between publication and today was published in Caravanserai, the magazine of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs benbansal.me?p=5281
Although only written 20 years ago, Sukhdev Sandhu's brilliant Night Haunts paints a picture of a long gone nocturnal London benbansal.me?p=5216
London at night ¶ Benjamin Bansal
benbansal.me
August 18, 2025 at 11:09 PM
Although only written 20 years ago, Sukhdev Sandhu's brilliant Night Haunts paints a picture of a long gone nocturnal London benbansal.me?p=5216
Jessica Ilunga, Jorge Almazan and I have published an article on large-scale redevelopments in Tokyo in Cities a few months back. In it we look at commercial amenities in three case study areas (Shimokita, Tsukishima and Musashikoyama) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
The evolution of Tokyo's commercial amenities: A multi-layered spatial analysis of three mixed-use neighborhoods
This paper examines the evolution of Tokyo's commercial amenities, investigating how deregulations of Japan's urban planning laws in the 1980s disrupt…
www.sciencedirect.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Jessica Ilunga, Jorge Almazan and I have published an article on large-scale redevelopments in Tokyo in Cities a few months back. In it we look at commercial amenities in three case study areas (Shimokita, Tsukishima and Musashikoyama) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Amongst all the very thoughtful articles since the elections, this one resonated the most with my recent experience
‘Woke’ didn’t lose the US election: the patrician class who hijacked identity politics did | Nesrine Malik
Why is this simple explanation being so widely embraced? Because it does not require a commitment to real, structural change, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
December 3, 2024 at 5:20 AM
Amongst all the very thoughtful articles since the elections, this one resonated the most with my recent experience