Professor Ivan Turok
Professor Ivan Turok is an urban and regional economist and planner with 40 years' experience. He was appointed to the SA NRF Chair in City-Region Economies in 2020. Ivan is also Honorary Research Fellow at the Human Sciences Research Council and was previously a Professor at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. He received the Distinguished Service Award from the Regional Studies Association in 2025. He is currently Editor of 'Area Development and Policy' and 'Development Southern Africa', and is the former Editor-in-Chief of 'Regional Studies'. He was recently Chair of the City Planning Commission for Durban. He is an occasional adviser to the United Nations, OECD, World Bank, UNECA and European Union. He is the author of over 160 academic publications, journal articles, book chapters and books. His expertise includes urbanisation, city-regional economic development, agglomeration dynamics, affordable housing, urban land markets, spatial planning and urban policy.
Research interests
- Urbanisation and city-regional economic development
- Agglomeration dynamics
- Affordable housing and urban land markets
- Spatial planning and urban policy
Selected publications
- Turok, I. (2025) 'Anatomy of an Alliance for Affordable Urban Housing', Environment and Urbanisation, 37(1).
- Turok, I. and Visagie, J. (2025) 'Striking Disparities in Employment', Development Southern Africa, doi 10.1080/0376835X.2025.2456252
- Turok, I., Rubin, M. and Scheba, A. (2024) 'Inclusionary Housing Policy in Cities of the South', Housing Policy Debate, 34(2), pp.207-227.
- Turok, I., Scheba, A. and Visagie, J. (2023) 'Rethinking urbanisation and economic development: A synopsis', Environment and Urbanisation, 35(2), pp.297-309.
- Turok, I. and Visagie, J. (2022) 'The divergent pathways of the pandemic within South African cities', Development Southern Africa, 39(5), pp.738-761.
- Turok, I., Scheba, A. and Visagie, J. (2022) 'Can social housing help to integrate divided cities?', Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 15(1), pp.93-116.
- Turok, I., Seeliger, L. and Visagie, J. (2021) 'Restoring the Core: Central City Decline and Transformation in the South', Progress in Planning, 144, pp.1-31.
- Turok, I. (2021) 'Urbanisation, agglomeration and economic development in South Africa', in The Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy, pp.646-669.