Urban Transformation takes us on a global dérive through a carefully selected series of emerging urban conditions in five continents ; seen through the eyes of more than 50 international architects ; urban planners ; politicians ; and artists including Saskia Sassen ; Robert Somol ; Jean-Philippe Vassal ; Eyal Weizman ; Teddy Cruz ; Keller Easterling ; Rahul Mehrotra ; Enrique Peñalosa. The book makes a pledge for a differentiated understanding of urban culture at the beginning of the 21st century ; embracing cultural idiosyncracy while adhering to a universal ambition: to cultivate the city as the prime arena of human existence ; not only because it is the place where since recently the majority of the global population is living ; but also because the city is the only type of spatial organization able to accommodate an ever-increasing amount of people on earth in a sustainable way.