His work focuses on sustainable urban infrastructure, placemaking, urban governance and alternative futures for African and Global South cities. His research explores climate change, inequality, informality and technology in urban spaces. He is the author of City Futures (Zed, 2008), New Urban Worlds (Polity, 2017, with AbdouMaliq Simone) and Cities Rethought – A New Urban Disposition (Polity, 2025, with Gautam Bhan, Michael Keith and Susan Parnell), and has co-edited nine other books. Pieterse has co-curated the Cityscapes platform and created the podcast The City Show with Tau Tavengwa. He collaborates with organisations and think tanks around the world and has published extensively on urban design and sustainability.