Strategic planning and management of major cities is fast becoming one of the central issues of 21st century risk and crisis management, as well as urban planning in general. The growth of even middle-size cities has gone beyond what their infrastructures were designed to manage, and there is a growing realisation that many of the structural and organisational frameworks that have been designed to support city management are either no longer fit for purpose, or are reaching the limits of their ability to model, understand and engage with the challenges associated with modern major city management.