The chair of Alabama A&M University’s Department of Community Planning and Regional Studies has completed a publishing project that could make a global impact.

Dr. Deden Rukmana is the editor of the new 422-page book, “The Routledge Handbook of Planning Megacities in the Global South,” published by Taylor & Francis.

The work is especially significant given the continued growth of megacities (10 million-plus) in the Global South, where urbanization is considered “intrinsically distinct.”  The expectation is that megacities in the Global South will account for 34 of the 41 worldwide by 2030.

Rukmana’s e-book offers earnest comparative analyses, discussing challenges, processes, best practices and initiative of urbanization in Middle America, South America, Middle East, Africa, South Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.  Seven main sections are formed from 29 chapters submitted by “a group of scholars from around the world.”

Moreover, the book is touted as “indispensable reading” for students and scholars of urban planning, particularly as urbanization continues to reshape the global population.

Dr. Rukmana completed master’s degrees at the University of Southern California and Bandung Institute of Technology.  He earned the Ph.D. degree in urban and regional planning from Florida State University.  His research has focus primarily on health disparities, homelessness and poverty within the United States, as well as development challenges in Indonesia.  The department he chairs is part of AAMU’s College of Agricultural, Life and Natural Sciences, where Dr. Lloyd Walker serves as dean.