Urbanization is a global phenomenon with strong sustainability implications across multiple
scales. We argue that much of the associated challenges, and opportunities, are found in the
global south. We show that urban issues in the global south are distinctly and statistically
different from those in the global north, but our current urban knowledge is predominantly
shaped by research on and from the global north. Cities in the global south have strong
imperatives, and unique but often overlooked capacity, to innovate and experiment for …