Massachusetts Institute of Technology expands Asia Real Estate Initiative

The MIT Center for Real Estate is building regional hubs, student projects, and alumni links across Asia-Pacific and Gulf Corridor cities.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for Real Estate plans to add a Hong Kong hub to the MIT Asia Real Estate Initiative, alongside existing hubs in Tokyo and Dubai.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Center for Real Estate has expanded the MIT Asia Real Estate Initiative with regional hubs in Tokyo and Dubai, and a third planned for Hong Kong, as MIT builds research, education, and industry engagement around urban growth, real estate development, and PropTech across Asia-Pacific and the Gulf Corridor.

The initiative sits within the MIT School of Architecture and Planning and was established in 2022. MIT published the latest expansion details on May 19, 2026, outlining how the hubs will connect MIT alumni, student projects, regional research, and industry engagement in cities facing rapid urbanization.

MIT says the Asia-Pacific region now has more than 2.2 billion people living in cities, citing a February 2026 report from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the Asian Development Bank, and the United Nations Development Program. The same report projects that a further 1.2 billion people will migrate to cities by 2050.

For higher education and built environment technology, the initiative gives MIT a more structured route into applied research, professional education, student internships, and PropTech activity across markets including Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China.

The next steps include student internships with the planned AREI Hong Kong hub in January, an MSRED/AREI trek to Saudi Arabia for next year’s Master of Science in Real Estate Development students, and continued work through MIT courses and alumni-led regional hubs.

Regional hubs connect MIT alumni and industry activity

The MIT Asia Real Estate Initiative is co-directed by Professor Siqi Zheng, Faculty Director of the MIT Center for Real Estate and Director of the MIT Sustainable Urbanization Lab, and James Scott MS ’16, Lecturer, Director of Industry and Professional Programs for the MIT Center for Real Estate, and Director of the MIT Real Estate Transformation Lab.

The initiative is built around three areas of work: sustainable cities and real estate, urban vibrancy and dynamics, and technology and innovation.

"Imagine a region building the equivalent of a Boston every 40 days," says Zheng, the STL Champion Professor of Urban and Real Estate Sustainability. "Asia is not just urbanizing. It’s redefining city life on a planetary scale.

"Drawing on MIT CRE’s deep roots in the region — more than half of international students in our MSRED program hail from Asia, and we have a robust 40-year alumni network spanning the Asia-Pacific countries and Gulf Corridor countries of West Asia — the AREI will naturally extend MIT’s role as a global convening point for real estate thought leaders."

The Tokyo hub is led by Taka Kiura MS ’00, who founded Base-K, a real estate and venture capital investment firm, after more than 20 years at Heitman. Kiura is also CEO and Founder of HyStat, an investment firm focused on backing and accelerating next-generation technologies.

The Dubai hub is led by Ocean Saleem Jangda MS ’25, who works on development innovation partnerships at Majid Al Futtaim Properties. MIT says a Hong Kong hub is also planned.

Student projects and internships added to the initiative

The initiative is also being tied into MIT coursework and student placements. This spring, Zheng co-taught course 15.S67, Special Seminar in Management, in the MIT Sloan-CRE Real Estate Lab with Hong Ru, Visiting Associate Professor in the MIT Sloan School of Management.

The course deployed interdisciplinary student teams on applied projects, including one in Singapore. Zheng has also partnered with MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives, a program under the MIT Center for International Studies, which is offering student internships with the AREI Hong Kong hub next January.

Ryan Othman, who will return to Saudi Arabia after completing his master’s degree this month to launch a real estate development business focused on mid-sized market residential and industrial projects, will lead an MSRED/AREI trek for next year’s students.

"The MIT’s master’s in real estate development is the oldest in the country," he says. "It’s a powerful program with an amazing alumni network, which I’d like to help expand."

PropTech focus follows rapid urban development

Scott’s work focuses on technology and innovation in the built environment, including PropTech across real estate finance, construction, sales, materials, and development processes. His regional focus includes Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and other West Asian countries.

"The sheer scale and pace of development across the Asia-Pacific and Gulf Corridor regions is extraordinary, from landmark projects like the Burj in Dubai to the transformative mega-developments in Saudi Arabia and the remarkable urban expansion seen in cities like Beijing and Shanghai over the past 10 to 15 years," Scott says.

"Boston, by contrast, reflects a more incremental but equally important model of urban evolution," he says. "The difference is not one of ambition, but of tempo and scale, and it underscores the diverse ways cities around the world are driving innovation in the built environment. This also highlights how the AREI can foster two-way learning across different development contexts, creating a platform for shared insights between rapidly evolving markets and more incremental urban ecosystems."

Zheng is currently coauthoring a book with Matthew Kahn titled The Triumph of Asian Cities: Growth, Risk and Resilience in the 21st Century, to be published by Harvard University Press.

MIT’s immediate activity now sits across Tokyo, Dubai, and the planned Hong Kong hub, with student internships scheduled for January and a Saudi Arabia trek planned for the next MSRED cohort. The initiative will continue to use MIT Center for Real Estate alumni, coursework, and regional partnerships to support research and professional engagement across Asia-Pacific and Gulf Corridor cities.