About Me

I am Ali Glisson, currently a PhD candidate at the London School of Economics. I am an economic geographer specializing in the political economy of spatial inequality and comparative regional economics.  My work challenges the binary in urban scholarship that focuses almost exclusively on Superstar Cities or deindustrializing regions.   

My research investigates the city-regions in between—identifying why some regions successfully "pull ahead" of their peers while others fall into development traps and stagnate. My academic inquiry is motivated by my hometown, Tampa, Florida, and my experience in senior-level practice. Before transitioning to full-time research, I operated at the intersection of public policy and private development, most recently leading strategy for Water Street Tampa—a US$4.5bn regeneration project in a rapidly evolving city.  

You can read more about my research interests, my current works-in-progress, teaching practice, and professional experience by taking a look at my CV.