The 21st century will be the century of the cities. Urban areas are becoming the central organizational form for almost all human societies. The global urban population could increase from just under 4 billion today to 6.5 billion people by 2050 – and urban infrastructures will grow with it. About two-thirds of humanity will then have their homes in cities. The force of the urbanization surge will primarily affect developing countries and emerging economies in Asia and Africa. Almost 90% of urban population growth up to 2050 is expected on these two continents (UN DESA, 2014). Nearly three-quarters of the global urban population will then be living there (UN DESA, 2015). The urbanization surge in the coming decades, and the character of the ‘world cities society’ will thus not be driven and shaped by OECD societies – but these developments will have a huge impact on global and also on western societies.