ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a broad coverage of urbanism and urban design as conceived and practiced in other countries, especially those from the Global South, which are going through major urban transformations and explosive urban growth. It shows that urban design initiatives and innovations in the Global South may also apply to similar circumstances in the Global North. While collective enthusiasm certainly expands the challenges, promises, and responsibilities for the practitioners of urban design, it may also place untenable and unrealistic expectations on what they can deliver even in the bottom-up and participatory scenarios envisioned and encouraged in many of these writings. Fundamental changes that are envisioned in this prospectus for urban design are likely to be slow and incremental–a caveat worth noting. Almost all of the contributions were grounded in specific locations and circumstances, with a whiff of best practices.
