The new centre, a constituent unit of the School of Creative Practices and Entrepreneurship (SCoPE) at the University, aims at addressing the interconnected challenges of urban growth and cultural economies in the post-pandemic context of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2014, 54% of the world’s population was urban, according to UN Population 2018 data. By 2050, over two-thirds of the world’s population will be urban. Cities are engines of economic growth, but they are also custodians of tangible and intangible heritage. The economic value of India’s vast heritage – whether in the built environment or design traditions – remains little understood.

These are the major challenges of India’s urban – and creative – future that Anant National University’s Centre for Urbanism and Cultural Economics (CUCE) has been set up to address. How do we understand the economic and cultural value in the context of human settlements and design excellence? How can we develop holistic and sustainable models of urbanism addressing the United Nation’s agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly around Sustainable Cities and Communities, in the post-pandemic city?

The Centre on Urbanism and Cultural Economics(CUCE) will, among other objectives:

• Focus on research-informed praxis

• Prepare a new generation of enquiry-led practitioners and practice-attentive researchers in the field of local, urban and regional development studies and cultural economics

• Analyse the role of economic mechanisms in the functioning of the culture and creative industries

• Foster a business perspective and apply tenets of entrepreneurship to create, manage and grow business ventures centring on culture and creative arts

If you would like to affiliate with us, please share the following:

• Full CV with the record of research and publications

• Letter of intent/motivation: Why are you seeking an affiliation with CUCE/SCoPE/Anant?

• What is your proposed work plan and terms of reference? Please write to us for the CUCE format

• Research or teaching proposal with measurable outcomes. Please mention any resources/support that may be available from the home institution

• Please explain how your previous research or work demonstrates commitment to ethical practices

• Three written references. At least two must be from academia