Cities for Profit examines the phenomenon of urban real estate megaprojects in Asia--massive, privately built planned urban developments that have captured the imagination of politicians, policymakers, and citizens across the region. These controversial projects, embraced by elites, occasion massive displacement and have extensive social and economic impacts. Gavin Shatkin finds commonalities and similarities in dozens of such projects in Jakarta, Kolkata, and Chongqing.

Shatkin is at the vanguard of urban studies in his focus on real estate. Just as cities are increasingly...