Major cities are facing an unprecedented set of economic, social and environmental challenges. There is mounting evidence that cities are demonstrating very different capacities to adapt, cope with, and respond to such challenges and this is leading to diverse and unpredictable outcomes. The aim of this conference is to examine the different experiences of cities as they transform. The first part of the conference (morning of Thursday 14 July), will give an overview of cities in transformation in various parts of the world (e.g. United Kingdom, Germany, United States, China). The afternoon of Thursday 14 July will then be dedicated to a discussion of the implications for policies to address spatially unbalanced growth among the cities. The sessions on Friday 15 July are reserved for particular aspects of urban transformation and resilience (e.g. role of institutions, implications of new technologies, consequences of austerity, possibilities offered by big data and smart city technologies, etc.).