Edgar Pieterse is the founding director of the African Center for Cities at University of Cape Town. He is also provost of the Norman Foster Institute for Sustainable Cities. Previously, Pieterse was special advisor to the premier of the Western Cape from 2004 to 2007. Prior to this, he spent 15 years in research NGOs focused on democratic local governance, creative cities, and just human settlements. Pieterse’s current research explores city-level innovation ecosystems in African cities to embed just urban transitions. Widely published, he serves on international advisory boards of academic centers and regularly advises multilateral development organizations on urban innovation. A Club of Rome member, Pieterse co-chairs the African Mayoral Leadership Initiatives, a venture supported by Big Win Philanthropy and Bloomberg Philanthropies.