All Things Urban

The Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) is a national education institution committed to the equitable, sustainable and efficient transformation of Indian settlements. IIHS is India’s first prospective independently funded and managed National University for Research and Innovation that focuses on its ongoing urban and development transformation. It is a first-of-its-kind, practice and innovation-oriented knowledge institution that seeks to bridge the conventional excellence, scale and inclusion divide.

IIHS seeks applications for a Research Associate to join the PEAK research project on Bengaluru’s land economy.

India’s cities and their regions are made up of complex economic relationships and produce a diverse range of spatial and social economic outcomes. The relationships, spaces and outcomes visible in India’s cities, are often difficult to understand using economic theories and concepts, which draw on Euro-American development experiences. A key factor structuring the complexity of urban economies is the question of land – and the diversity of social, economic and financial relations that depend on land, land value and land use.

We are looking for a person interested in studying the city and its economy (urban and periurban areas) from the perspective of land & real estate – and land based financing. Candidates with a research interest and practice experience in land & real estate markets, urban land development through public-private partnerships, land-based urban financing and land governance are encouraged to apply.

The Research Associate will be part of the process of expanding ongoing research at IIHS on land, land economy, urban financing and metropolitan governance. Fieldwork is envisaged primarily in the Bengaluru region.

• Assisting with primary and secondary research related to the GCRF-PEAK project on Land Economy and Urban Finance;
• Carrying out literature surveys of existing work on land economy, land value capture and land based financing with a particular focus on India, Bengaluru, and cities of the Global South;
• Collating existing secondary datasets as well as building new datasets (both quantitative and spatial) related to land and real estate markets, land-based public-private partnership projects, land based financing and land value capture in Bengaluru and India;
• Collecting primary data (both qualitative and quantitative) on land and real estate dynamics in urban projects and in urban finance initiatives;
• Application of practice and research based (qualitative and quantitative) methodologies as well as development of new and innovative methodologies pertaining to land valuation, financial structuring of projects, urban economics and land economics;
• Providing writing assistance on reports, academic papers and other outputs as part of the project;
• Involvement with other related research and practice projects at the proposed School of Economic Development at IIHS;
• Providing support to other IIHS activities including academics, research, training, practice and operations;
• Participating in all activities of Institution-building at IIHS; carrying out tasks as assigned by IIHS; and travelling on IIHS work within or outside the country as needed.

• A Master’s degree (or higher) in a relevant field such as (but not limited to) urban economics, land economics, real estate studies, urban planning, public finance or economic sociology;
• 3-5 years of work experience on land and real estate issues, urban finance, public-private partnership structuring;
• Familiarity with real estate data collection and secondary data sources such as revenue records, municipal property tax records; and new real estate datasets being generated in India;
• Familiarity with land valuation techniques, real estate transactional practices will be an advantage;
• Proficiency in Excel;
• An interest in experimenting with or developing new methods as well as building new empirical evidence to study the urban land economy and land-based urban finance.

Candidates with a basic knowledge of GIS or experience with spatial datasets; experience with leading or being part of field–based projects in Indian cities; and working knowledge of Kannada would be at an advantage.

This is a contractual position for an initial term of 11 months, renewable on mutual consent. This offer is on an exclusive basis, which implies that other professional assignments (whether compensated or not) that bear a potential conflict of interest with IIHS cannot be undertaken.

We’re not fully sure whether this role is open to international candidates. If you would need visa sponsorship or work authorisation, we recommend checking directly with the employer before applying.