Harvard University economics professor Ed Glaeser will speak this morning at The University of Memphis Holiday Inn. Glaeser is the keynote speaker at local nonprofit Leadership Memphis' annual community leadership luncheon, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. today.
Glaeser will share his ideas on urban development as detailed in his new book "Triumph of the City: How Our Greatest Invention Makes Us Richer, Smarter, Greener and Happier."
Leadership Memphis marketing coordinator Ken Hall said Glaeser's premise is to "strive for density in more urban areas."
"When people move to areas like Germantown and Cordova, there is less interaction going on," he said. "Cities tend to attract smart people, so many smart people interacting in one place creates a lot of synergy amongst one another."
Hall added that a city's ideal economy is based on the people's interactions and relationships with one another.
Glaeser, the Fred & Eleanor Glimp professor of cconomics at Harvard, has been hailed as a national authority on urban development.
Tickets are no longer available for the luncheon.
