The International Journal of Urban Transformation (IJUT) is a bi-annual academic journal dedicated to a scholarly investigation and research, and analysis of urban issues and trends affecting best practices in urban missiology and applicable in the areas of the world, not least among the urban poor. As such, this journal is a forum for the exchange of ideas and research between urban missiologists and practitioners who are interested in advancing the kingdom of God.

The International Journal of Urban Transformation (IJUT) is a bi-annual academic journal dedicated to a scholarly investigation and research, and analysis of urban issues and trends affecting best practices in urban missiology and applicable in the urban areas of the world, not least among the urban poor. As such, this journal is a forum for the exchange of ideas and research between urban missiologist, and practitioners, interested in advancing the kingdom of God.

Cities continue to be at the forefront of culture. Now that over half of the global population lives in cities we're confronted with the reality of not only living in urbanized areas, but understanding them, loving them, and planting churches there. IJUT Volume 4 examines urban church planting and the nuances of that topic around the world. Whether we're exploring planting in gentrifying neighborhoods in Washington DC or Brooklyn, New York, learning about case studies of church planting in cities like Colombo, Sri Lanka and Singapore, IJUT Volume 4 gives you a well-rounded framework and perspective for this topic.The journal is broken down into three sections: Featured Articles, Case Studies, and Book Reviews.Contributors: Lisa Hoff (Ontario, California), Matthew Watson (Washington DC), Lloyd Chia (Portland), Stephen Stallard (Brooklyn), Linda Bergquist (San Francisco), Frank Rudolph Stirk (Vancouver, British Columbia), Kevin Baggett (Panama City), Michael Crane (SE Asia), Scott Carter (SE Asia), Lori Adams-Brown (Singapore), Bryce McFarland (South Asia), Matthew Brichetto (New Orleans), Kurt Holiday (Johannesburg), Sean Benesh (Portland).The International Journal of Urban Transformation (IJUT) is a bi-annual academic journal dedicated to a scholarly investigation and research, and analysis of urban issues and trends affecting best practices in urban missiology and applicable in the areas of the world, not least among the urban poor. As such, this journal is a forum for the exchange of ideas and research between urban missiologists and practitioners who are interested in advancing the kingdom of God.

In this issue of the International Journal of Urban Transformation, we will address the responsibilities and roles of Christians in providing community and economic development to those who need it most. Our focus is not on providing a temporary fix or a fast solution to deeply ingrained societal problems, but instead to concentrate on areas where a Gospel centered approach to community development can bring holistic transformation to urban communities. Through the voice of experienced practitioners, our desire is to provide a new vantage point which informs a more complete model of urban missions for the future.

While designers possess the creative capabilities of shaping cities, their often-singular obsession with form and aesthetics actually reduces their effectiveness as they are at the mercy of more powerful generators of urban form. In response to this paradox, Designing Urban Transformation addresses the incredible potential of urban practice to radically change cities for the better. The book focuses on a powerful question, "What can urbanism be?" by arguing that the most significant transformations occur by fundamentally rethinking concepts, practices, and outcomes. Drawing inspiration from the philosophical movement known as Pragmatism, the book proposes three conceptual shifts for transformative urban practice: (a) beyond material objects: city as flux, (b) beyond intentions: consequences of design, and (c) beyond practice: urbanism as creative political act. Pragmatism encourages us to consider how we can make deeper and more systemic changes and how urbanism itself can be a design strategy for such transformations. To illuminate how these conceptual shifts operate in vastly different contexts through analysis of transformative urban initiatives and projects in Belo Horizonte, Boston, Cairo, Karachi, Los Angeles, New Delhi, and Paris. The book is a rare integration of theory and practice that proposes essential ways of rethinking city-design-and-building processes, while drawing critical lessons from actual examples of such processes.

Following the signing of the peace agreement and the end of three-and-a-half years of siege, Sarajevo simultaneously experienced a double transition, from war to peace and from socialism to capitalism, that was marked by an increasing international intervention. This book presents a study of the urban transformation of Sarajevo during the post-war period and considers both the role and the impact of the international community in its spatial and ethnic configuration. Part I focuses on the period of maximum international involvement developed at local level, from December 1995 until 2003, and comprises chapters on the ethno-territorial division of the city, the reconstruction of its ethnic diversity and the liberal transition fostered and imposed internationally. Part II deals with the impact of these policies on the current spatial, functional and ethnic configuration in the area of Sarajevo.

The book addresses urban transformations towards sustainability in light of challenges of global urbanization processes and the consequences of global environmental change. The aim is to show that urban transformations only succeed if both innovative scientific solutions and practice-oriented governance approaches are developed. This assumption is addressed by providing theoretical insights and empirical evidence pointing particularly at 3 concepts or qualities which are determined here as being central for achieving urban sustainability: resource efficiency, quality of life and resilience. Urban case studies from several international research projects illustrate our conceptual approach of urban transformations towards sustainable development. Thus, the book reaches far beyond a mere additive description of single case studies. It incorporates the results of condensed synthesis, resulting from comparisons and evaluations. It provides, based on cross-cutting reflection of single cases and different scales and methods of analysis, general and transferable findings. They do not only consider the scientific sphere but deliberately go beyond it discussing transferability of knowledge into practice, governance options and the feasibility of policy strategies in order to pave the way for sustainable urban transformations to happen today and in the future.