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Alain Bertaud (阿兰·柏图) is an urbanist, a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and a senior research scholar at the NYU  Marron Institute of Urban Management. In 2018, he completed his book “Order Without Design: How Markets Shape Cities.” It has since been translated into Chinese and Portuguese.

Bertaud previously held the position of principal urban planner at the World Bank. After retiring from the Bank in 1999, he worked as an independent consultant. Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked as a resident urban planner in a number of cities around the world: Bangkok, San Salvador (El Salvador), Port Au Prince (Haiti), Sana’a (Yemen), New York, Paris, Tlemcen (Algeria), and Chandigarh (India).

Bertaud’s research, conducted in collaboration with his wife Marie-Agnès, aims to bridge the gap between operational urban planning and urban economics. Their work focuses primarily on the interaction between urban forms, real estate markets, and regulations.

In 2024, Mr. Bertaud received an honorary doctorate from CEPT University in Ahmedabad, India, the first such degree bestowed in the institution’s history.