This book highlights how cities are transforming in the context of a scale shift in human experience, in the context of a planetary era. Urbanization, in and of itself, brings with it significant transformations. Yet the transition to a planetary era has specific implications for cities. In the twenty-first century, urbanization and planetization combine to reshape cities in ways we can only imagine. This book looks at new futures of the planetary urban arena both in the Global North and South, and it brings fresh insights on these emerging processes, their potentials, and the strategies needed to empower them.

Dr. José Maria Ramos is Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. He has taught and lectured on futures studies, public policy, and social innovation at a number of universities: the National University of Singapore (Lee Kuan Yee School of Public Policy), Swinburne University of Technology (Australia), Leuphana University (Germany), the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia), and Victoria University (Australia). He holds a Doctorate from Queensland University of Technology in Global Studies and Strategic Foresight that won the university’s best doctoral thesis award, as well as a Master’s degree in Strategic Foresight from Swinburne University and Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from the University of California Irvine. José is Practicing Futurist who runs the boutique foresight consultancy Action Foresight based in Melbourne.

Prof. Bharat Dahiya is a post-disciplinary urbanist, futurist, and a thought leader. A former staff member of UN-Habitat, he has advised ministers, mayors, and governments on strategic guidance, policy development, and technical support. His professional work spans international development practice, applied and policy research, academia, and voluntary service. He is Director of the Research Center for Sustainable Development and Innovation at the School of Global Studies, Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, and Extraordinary Professor at the School of Public Leadership, Stellenbosch University, Western Cape, South Africa. Since early-1990s, his research and professional work have focused on sustainable urbanization, urban environment and infrastructure, urban resilience, community-led development, and the current practice and future of urban planning and urban upgrading. During his professional work at the World Bank, UN-Habitat, Asian Development Bank (ADB), United Nations University, UNDP, and Metropolis, he initiated, led, and contributed to analytical and advisory services (AAA) and operational projects on sustainable urban development. He led, conceptualized and coordinated the preparation of the United Nations’ first-ever report on ‘The State of Asian Cities 2010/11’. More recently, he was the lead author of the ‘2026 Asia-Pacific SDG Partnership Report’ prepared with thematic focus on ‘Inclusive Urban Futures: From Inequality to Opportunity’—a joint work of UN-ESCAP, ADB, and UNDP. He has held academic positions in Australia, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Thailand. He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK.