Focus – Fascination – Future: Designing tomorrow's cities

This is the theme of this year's Eschborn Dialogue, which takes place on 14-15 June 2005.

A constantly growing percentage of the world's population lives in cities; this proportion is expected to reach two thirds by the year 2030. Most of these cities will be in developing countries. Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul sees the need for development policy to target cities more closely in the future. Firstly, because cities are a focus of poverty, disease and daily violence, but also because they provide ways to escape from poverty.

In the past 15 years, GTZ has supported urban development programmes in more than 20 countries, forming close contacts with administrations, various interest groups and representatives of civil society. At this year's Eschborn Dialogue, representatives from politics, business and research will have the opportunity to speak to development experts about concepts for tomorrow's cities.

Documentation of the Eschborn Dialogue 2005

• Focus - Fascination - Future: Designing tomorrow´s cities
  Eschborn Dialogue 2005: Focus - Fascination - Future