As Charlotte digs out of the recession and banking crisis, one of the nation's leading digital-age thinkers is headed to town to talk about how the city can survive in a world of rising "supercities."

Richard Saul Wurman, an architect who taught at N.C. State University in the early 1970s, rocketed to fame as founder of the TED conference, a high-profile thought-fest in California that draws big-name speakers ranging from Microsoft's Bill Gates to "Avatar" director James Cameron.

In advance of his scheduled appearances in Charlotte on April 7 and 8, Wurman spoke to the Observer via Skype from his Rhode Island home. He wanted to talk about what he sees as one of the biggest trends of the 21st century: the notion that a handful of large, increasingly connected cities are dominating global affairs.

Nations, he believes, are shrinking in importance compared to huge "supercities" like Los Angeles, New York, Moscow and Tokyo, where more and more of the earth's population lives. He's working on an international project called "19.20.21" that uses 19 major cities as case studies on how this urban population boom will affect the planet.

"Fifty-two percent of all the people on earth live in cities," he said. "The world, basically, as far as marketing, education, culture, finance, invention, healthcare, is made up of 40 cities in America, 16 in Europe and 48 in Asia.

He said that government leaders need to give the public truthful, easy-to-understand information so they can see the challenges ahead. That's difficult because cities around the globe don't have a uniform way of defining themselves or sharing information.

He's working, through his "19.20.21" project, to change that.

"Right now we're taking action without understanding," he said. "I'm not trying to make better cities. I'm trying to understand them."

Wurman no longer runs TED, having turned it over years back to the nonprofit Sapling Foundation. He said while he tried to make it the best conference in the world, the foundation expanded its vision in hopes of changing the world.

He'll give two talks in Charlotte in association with Salum International Resources, a Huntersville consulting firm run by his friend Carlos Salum. His topics: "Charlotte as a Learning Community" and "Understanding is Power."

"I sure would like to come and see the person (Salum) has hyped," he said. "I hope people don't have awkward disappointment."

If his audience on Wednesday is any guide, I doubt it. The small group of people who sat in on the conference call lingered afterward, discussing the ideas he'd raised.

That's exactly what Wurman aims for, his friend Salum said.

Look for Eric Frazier's column on online life every Monday. You can follow him on his blog at charlotteobserver.com; Twitter by following @ericfraz; on Facebook under his name, Eric Frazier; or e-mail him at efrazier@charlotteobserver.com.