For the first time in history, more people live in metropolitan areas than outside them. The world's population, which doubled from 3 billion in 1960 to 6 billion in 2000, is projected to reach about 9 billion by 2040. Two-thirds of the world's population will live in metropolitan areas by then. How may these billions be accommodated with a good quality of life? After all, the planet's natural systems, plant and animal resources and economic systems are already stressed. It is because of theses global and national challenges that metropolitan areas must not only become regions of sustainability but ones of resilience - and perhaps they must first learn to be resilient. The learning process is a role that state and land grant universities are uniquely qualified to fill. This can be accomplished through their collective power to convene. As shown in this book, no other institution enjoys the collective power to convene all the interests and with it state and land grant universities can move the world toward a resilient metropolis.