The world urban population is expected to double within the next 25 years, causing major changes and raising major challenges worldwide. Traditional boundaries between the so-called developed North and the global South tend to disappear, while interconnectivity between the local and the global level is growingly meaningful and complex. This upheaval sets great threats and yet, numerous opportunities also ought to be caught. We need to reinvent our cities.

We need to rebuild the urban fabric, to foster new urban models, to develop new sets of methods. There is no need for simplistic theories, and this is why this book Strategic City is a plea for profound changes in planning, based on a pragmatic approach. Where is Strategic City? It is a city that is everywhere in the world, it is another name for contemporary urban challenges and the cities of tomorrow.

Strategic City addresses planners and urban professionals, as it directly derives from the Vancouver 2006 World urban Forum. It reflects the issues that major planning networks have raised since then, in connection with UN-Habitat. Strategic City is based upon communication and dialogue, meant to speed up partnerships. It is above all the achievement of a three years research and development programme worldwide, gathering original contributions from high level practitioners and research institutes from Europe and the Americas, from Africa and Asia. This uniquely innovative work has raised strong support from professional networks as well as private and public partners.