What if urban planning and design were to prioritise rather than merely accommodate the unbuilt environment? Territorial Urbanism Now! calls for a paradigm shift in the conception of urban transformation. It urges us to favor sustainable systems in order to collectively tackle the challenges of climate change. Until now, urban planning and design professionals have integrated green and active mobility systems in the residual spaces available. In the reverse approach envisioned here, these systems become structuring elements of the territory, supported by a much more frugal built environment.

The contributions by urbanists, artists, architects, and landscape architects in this publication come from research, practice, and teaching. Paola Viganò, Eric Luiten, Sandra Guinand—in conversation with Ali Madanipour, Chris Younès, Christian Schmid, Eric Wieërs, and Maarten Van Acker—Stefan Rettich, Tommaso Pietropolli, Elena Andonova, Julio de la Fuente, Natalia Gutiérrez, Ward Verbakel, Claudia Bode, Philipp Misselwitz, Davide Curatola Soprana, Beatrice Galimberti, Lilli Lička, Hannes Gröblacher, Johannes Bernsteiner, Stefan Devoldere, Anselm Wagner, Susanne Eliasson, Eva Pfannes, Jesse Honsa, and Stefan Bendiks not only introduce a much-needed paradigm shift, but also show us the premises for its realisation.