ИСТИНА

The present article contains some preliminary results of research works done at the UNESCO Chair on Global Problems and Emerging Social and Ethical Challenges for Large Cities and Their Population at the Faculty of Global Processes of the Lomonosov Moscow State University(Moscow, Russian Federation showing that the urbosphere can be considered as a global system and the urbanization as such can be interpreted as a global complex socio-natural process. Global problems of mankind appear as linked in a way or another to cities and city settlements subjected as seats of civilization activities to global social, ethical and ecological challenges. Urbosystems are seen as closely associated with the sustainable development of the human civilization. Consistent development features of the urbosphere correlate harmonically with co-evolution and fractal-cellular models of geosphers. The forming of a planetary system of cities is going on and the system of city settlements ever more appears as the ground of the global network structure of the mankind. The role of UNESCO and UNESCO Chair contribution are examined and conclusions drawn. Keywords: urbosphere, urbosystem, education for sustainable development (ESD), soft power, UNESCO, UNESCO Chair, Consortium on Global Studies, Faculty of Global Processes of the Lomonosov Moscow State University Programm see http://globalstudiesconsortium.org/meetings/moscow2013