2.5 billion more people will be living in cities by 2050. Nearly 90 per cent of this growth will take place in Asia and Africa. China alone will be home to nearly one billion urban residents by 2030. India is not far behind: but nearly 80 per cent of the urban infrastructure that will exist in 2050 has yet to be built. The decisions we take in the next decades will affect humankind for generations to come.

The Urban Age project has investigated these changes for over a decade. This richly illustrated volume brings together authoritative research and fresh insights that explain the complexities of urbanisation. With 37 essays by leading policy-makers, practitioners and scholars, the publication offers new perspectives on the dynamics of urban change. It tracks how cities like Addis Ababa, London and Delhi have transformed since 1990 and compares patterns of growth, inequality and energy consumption of other global cities including New York, Hong Kong and Rio de Janeiro.

Shaping Cities in an Urban Age does more than put cities on the map. It identifies current trends that are making cities more fragmented, less equitable and environmentally more damaging, and argues powerfully for a more integrated social, environmental and spatial approach that can inform and inspire city-makers that are shaping an increasingly urban world.

Shaping Cities in an Urban Age is the third in the series. Previous titles include Living in the Endless City (2011) and The Endless City (2007).