The 2014 Arctic Human Development Report identified "Arctic settlements, cities, and communities" as one of the main gaps in knowledge of the region. This article looks at circumpolar urbanisation trends. It dissociates three historical waves of Arctic urbanisation: from the sixteenth century to the early twentieth century (the "colonial" wave), from the 1920s to the 1980s in the specific case of the Soviet urbanisation of the Arctic (the "Soviet" wave), and from the 1960s-70s to the present as a circumpolar trend (the "globalized" wave). It then discusses the three drivers of the latest urbanisation wave (resources, militarisation, and public services) and the prospects for Arctic cities' sustainability in the near future.