Prof Ivan Turok is a Research Fellow at Economic Research Southern Africa (ERSA) and holds the NRF Research Chair in City-Region Economies in the Department of Economics and Finance and the Centre for Development Support at the University of the Free State. He has authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and 11 books/monographs. He holds a NRF B1-rating and is the former Editor-in-Chief of the top international journal, Regional Studies. He was recently Executive Director at the Human Sciences Research Council and was Chairman of the Durban City Planning Commission. He was formerly Professor of Urban Economic Development, and Director of Research: Department of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow. Prof Turok was also a Mellon Fellow at the University of Cape Town and Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Strathclyde. He is an occasional adviser to the United Nations, OECD, African Development Bank, UNECA, and several national governments. His recent books include Transitions in Regional Economic Development (2018, Routledge), Value Chains in Sub-Saharan Africa (2019, Springer), and Restoring the Core: Central City Decline and Transformation in the South (2021, Elsevier). He has a PhD in Economics from the University of Reading.