The conference was successfully held
Here are an overview and some notes
more information in INURA Bulletin #21
» Pictures

Monday, September 24
9.00 -10.30 - Centro studi CISL: Welcome and Introduction. Florence: the historical city, the today city, the insurgent city. 10.30 - Historical city safari (2-3 groups) given up in rain!!!. 3.00 - 9.00pm - "Centro sociale" ex-Emerson: Urban movements, "Centri sociali", housing fight movement, Exodus (Luton UK), Kraftwerk (Zurich CH). Videos from Genoa

Tuesday, September 25
9.30 - 2.00pm - Fondazione Michelucci - Fiesole: Multiethnic and plural city,  Porto Franco/Regione Toscana. 3.30 - 7.00pm - Aula Magna University of Florence - CHANGING THE CITY, PRACTICING THE UTOPIA: Augusto Marinelli, Dean of University of Florence, Leonie Sandercock (Canada), John Friedmann (USA), Alberto Magnaghi (Italy-Florence)

Wednesday, September 26
9.30 - Quartiere Le Piagge tour, 10.30 -1.00pm - "Laboratorio di quartiere" Le Piagge, "Contratti di quartiere", community projects and participation. Four Cities Project (Belfast, Brussels, Liverpool, Bristol). 1.00 - 5.30pm - Centro sociale "Il pozzo": Insurgent planning practices. Results of the LAPEI research on Florence

Thursday, September 27 - Friday, September 28: RETREAT

The main topics of the retreat were participative planning and empowerment. There were contributions from Paris, Hong-Kong, Rome, Amsterdam, Ola-Ota. Several discussion groups were formed. There was also a session about the World after 11th of September: The following topics had been discussed. Here are some notes (by M.E).

A  Security Consequences
1.  We....have to realise we are now acting in new environment of fear - reinforced by sept 11.  Racism always there, but now reinforced....dominated by fear....and will influence our behaviour as researchers and activists......Need to be careful what we say in the context of this discourse.
2.  Two levels of impact... national   - city.  on this level people try to increase security, racist profiling and discrimination;  but there will be counter-backlash - a political and discursive space in which new things can come back on the agenda.  we can use this new political space to counterattack.  we can use this.
3.  Planning of fear - cameras, enclosure, surveillance -this repressive regime needs to be opposed .  Start mailing list to coordinate resistance to it.
4.  Participation -   we should demand more participatory structures to make our politicians more accountable and prevent such events.  force a dialog with our politicians.

Urban Development
1.  decentralisation of power ?  quickly saw that there is an opposition between commercial interests which need concentration; power centres which could relocate to more peripheral areas.  EG in Bruxelles they are not sure they want all their meetings in one big ventral building.  But they doubt that it will go far because of vested real estate interests and needs of business for agglomeration.
2.  Segreagation:  likely to be more.  gated communities, restricted areas like City of london, belfast.  But also a positive vision - in the aftermath there might be an enlightenment - need for MORE cooperation, more bridging gaps inside communities.  Could be an improved communality.  Tendency was already going on towards ghetto and single-use zoning - which would now be reinforced so no-one goes in.
3.  Public space - effects on it will be strong - surveillance, more privatisation to make it "safe"; majority of public will welcome this.

B. Reasons / origins for such an incredible attack
1.  Terroristic strike was against american hegemony; 3 main targets were military power (pentagon), political power (??white house) and econ power (WTC).  Noted that groups never claimed credit / revealed themselves.  concluded action had strong symbolic meaning.
later comment:  USA not hegemonic everywhere.  could there be a pluralistic world in which less-consumption-based societies and religious-based societies can coexist??
2.  Branding as "terrorism" ? a one-sided was of looking at it when US military actions Iraq, Lybia etc were equally forms of terrorism, but state-sponsored.  Who dominates the discourse?
3.  ? simply against US hegemony or also ?  against western capitalism ?? west-led modernisation through the world??
4.  positive aspects?  what was it FOR?  Perhaps it was a signal for alternative ways of life.  A strike for a more pluralistic world.
5.  Reaction coming......Is perhaps part of the action itself (might have been predicted, intended).  is US prepared to change its ways and end its global colonialism? 
6.  Any action like this can't be entirely explained rationally.  There is an irrational residual.  dangerous.  one the one hand a jihad, a holy war, on the other a crusade.  This leaves no space for another discourse - move into totally irrational emotionalism.
7.  (added) Oil as the basis for USA hegemony - focus. Has to do with the enormous hunger for energy in the USA.

C.  Economy
1.  Likely positive outcomes - through quasi-keynesian behaviour of governments -
 lots of examples from past
2.  Immediate restructuring effects - scrapping capacity and labour in airlines and other spheres
3.  Capacity of markets to survive.
4.  Possibility of shifts to less-concentrated places, within city, within world.
5.  Long-term consequences - from change of attitude of people.  switch to rail from air?  is it durable or not?   tourism? 
6.  will the US global coalition succeed to keep Russia, pakisatn - US area extending.??  israel.
7.  It is hardly in the interests of capital as a whole to have a situation which will surely be a constant war with the enemy within - with dissent.  Problems of poverty in the world not solved but resistance will be everywhere and constantly suppressed. 

D.  Geopolitics
1.  Optimistic and pessimistic scenarios.  USA as the last remaining nation state.
2.  Categorise clashes - ? as occident versus orient?
3.  Specific position of Europe. EU can't take a position because of UK taking a US approach, everyone else more restrained or critical.  problem for Europe.
4.  Aceleration of developments already under way - accentuates crisis of Euro political cohesion.
5.  Networks have been very important in the discourses.  Networks of terrorism and there may be good networks and bad ones.  Inura is a network.  (does this mean Networks may become more important social agents than states

Italy and USA switch back to big state expenditure / keynesian etc behaviour. Airlines and others taking the opportinuty to CUT jobs and activity - already under way as a response to competition (germany) - but now the opportunity to speed it up general relation disaster <> ecomnomy - e.g. earthquake disaster in turkey is really a disaster, but in advanced economy it is a hige benefit.  Florence 1666 flood led to the fastest boom ever in economy of florence. - great fire of London 1666.  HK fire 1953 of wooden houses led to public housing and govt. Financial market did not break down, but just had a gap.  Not a problem.  Market infrastructure not destroyed. 
Some groups will exploiut for their benefit; HK linked to US (and dollar); not a manuf economy any more; but a financial city.  Affected directly in jobs.  Striong emotional reactions of fear - affects travel behaviour.  Trading activity effects on global balances - can it replace the  us deficit? tourism collapse. deconcentration?? - move HQ and other functions???

Saturday, September 29

9.30 - Back to Florence and departures