Stephan Heblich is a Professor of Economics at the University of Toronto. He is also affiliated with the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, CESifo, CEP and the NBER. His work at the intersection of urban, environmental, and economic history studies how the geography of cultural and environmental amenities and productivity shapes where people and firms locate, driving differences in house prices, skills, innovation, and development. Because present-day outcomes often reflect long-lived legacies, he draws on economic history to identify how past policies, infrastructure, and shocks continue to matter.