Nine Urban Biotopes- Negotiating the Future of Urban LivingNine Urban Biotopes - Negotiating the Future of Urban Living (9UB) was an international, socially engaged art project delivering artistic research and cultural exchange. It did this both within and among social citizen and art initiatives in cities in South Africa and Europe in 2014.The participating initiatives all distinguish themselves by addressing vital matters of concern with regard to contemporary urban living in innovative ways. They work about and respond to issues of safety and housing, youth and migration, education and environment, mobility and economic subsistence. They do so ›on the ground‹ and ›in the thick of life‹ in each city, which is the reason why they are referred to as ›urban biotopes‹ giving the overall project its name.The aim of 9UB was to establish both a ›trans-local‹ and ›trans-continental‹ dialogue by interweaving and connecting new context-specific, socially engaged art projects into the existing social activities of these biotopes. It did so in order to expose, discuss and share different ›intentions, methods and techniques‹ of imaginative urban practices for building ›sustainable cities‹ and, in order to learn from each other, theoretically and practically.From January through September 2014, nine artistic projects were produced in nine urban settings. Four European artists - Armin Linke, Antje Schiffers, Marjetica Potrč and Anthony Schrag - worked in South Africa while at the same time five South Africans - Athi-Patra Ruga, Dan Halter, Taswald Pillay, Terry Kurgan and Rangoato Hlasane - worked in Europe. Three projects ran simultaneously; each for a period of three consecutive months.By combining, linking and implementing 9UB within a South African – European partnership structure – local answers to global questions were discussed such that they were able to shed light on a range of sustainable solutions and innovative ideas regarding urban development issues on both sides of the equator. As the final product of the project, this e-Publication both reflects this process and expands its terrain by including contributions from a range of writers, photographers, public intellectuals, urban practitioners and activists including  Bruno Latour, Michael Keith, Sophie Hope, Michael Guggenheim, Marcos L. Rosa, Adam Greenfield, Taryn Mackay, Henk Borgdorff and Alexander Opper amongst others.