Over 100 scientists, architects, journalists, artists and activists address creatively the unprecedented challenges facing an Urban Planet. This title is also available Open Access.Global urbanization promises better services and stronger economies but also carries risks and unforeseeable consequences. Urban Planet highlights the hopes and hindrances of our journey of urbanization and the need for a parallel evolution of our science and systems to ensure we reap the rewards. This title is also available as Open Access.Global urbanization promises better services and stronger economies but also carries risks and unforeseeable consequences. Urban Planet highlights the hopes and hindrances of our journey of urbanization and the need for a parallel evolution of our science and systems to ensure we reap the rewards. This title is also available as Open Access.Global urbanization promises better services, stronger economies, and more connections; it also carries risks and unforeseeable consequences. To deepen our understanding of this complex process and its importance for global sustainability, we need to build interdisciplinary knowledge around a systems approach. Urban Planet takes an integrative look at our urban environment, bringing together scholars from a diverse range of disciplines: from sociology and political science to evolutionary biology, geography, economics and engineering. It includes the perspectives of often neglected voices: architects, journalists, artists and activists. The book provides a much needed cross-scale perspective, connecting challenges and solutions on a local scale with drivers and policy frameworks on a regional and global scale. The authors argue that to overcome the major challenges we are facing, we must embark on a large-scale reinvention of how we live together, grounded in inclusiveness and sustainability. This title is also available Open Access.Introduction; Part I. Dynamic Urban Planet: 1. Global urbanization: perspectives andl£J