The strategic objectives of the OECD highlight economic development, social cohesion, and effective governance. The capacity of cities to grow and change, and the problems that arise as cities evolve, are directly relevant to these objectives. The theme of sustainable development, which ties these objectives together, is more visible than ever before. A major question to be answered in the future concerns the degree to which cities will have to change if progress toward sustainable development is to be made. Comprehensive urban policies must be articulated clearly if the public is to understand how urban change can make cities better places in which to live and work.
Public support is essential to both institutional reforms and investment.
The technical nature of many urban problems, and equally, of many urban solutions, makes it difficult to communicate a vision of cities that people can understand and that they will find attractive. Information and analysis remain the basis for urban policy, but they must also enter into the public realm of urban culture. . The Belfast evaluation and seminar papers are being prepared for publication, and a final report on urban sprawl and the regeneration of urban brownfields will also be published in 2000. The Belfast study will be complemented by additional studies of other cities demonstrating a capacity for an urban renaissance. The Territorial Development Policy Committee adopted a set of principles of metropolitan governance.