Dr. Somik Lall is the World Bank’s global lead on territorial development solutions and its lead economist for urban development in Africa. He has been a core team member of the World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography, senior economic counselor to the Indian prime minister’s national transport development policy committee, and lead author of the World Bank's flagship report on urbanization "Planning, Connecting, and Financing Cities Now" as well as the recent “Africa's Cities: Opening Doors to the World.”

Somik heads a World Bank global research program on urbanization and spatial development and previously founded the urbanization reviews program. He is a recognized expert on development policy related to urban and territorial competitiveness, agglomeration and clusters, infrastructure, and impact evaluation, with over 18 years’ global experience, most notably in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering, master’s in city planning, and doctorate in economics and public policy.