Logroño. September 6, 2004

I have pleasure to announce the celebration of the International Forum “Territorios21. New ways of life and living in Europe”, a meeting place to analyse the situation of town planning in medium-sized metropolitan areas at the beginning of the 21st century.

The city of Logroño has been chosen to host the “Territorios21” forum, which will be held on November 8 and 9 and will coincide with the celebration of World Town Planning Day. The Autonomous Community Government and citizens of La Rioja are delighted to offer all those interested in participating in this forum our Congress Centre and Auditorium – Riojaforum –, a modern building equipped with all the necessary facilities to guarantee the success of a congress of this prestige.

This Forum, which has been organised by the Department of Tourism, Environment and Territorial Policy, has been conceived with the intention of becoming a worldwide reference for sustainable urban development. To achieve this, we will receive the invaluable collaboration of the most distinguished national and international experts in this field.

“Territorios21” aims to elaborate on the design of sustainable urban development and foster the habitability of medium-sized metropolitan areas, as means for fostering the improvement of citizen well-being.

Cities and territories all around the world move into the 21st century immersed in a process of change, characterised by competitiveness between them, by the expansion of city boundaries into more extensive regional spaces, with different problems and new opportunities for development. These are the so-called “city-regions”, territorial entities capable of defining a future profile through a commitment to excellence in the areas in which they can achieve competitive advantages.

La Rioja will become the perfect place for meeting, debate and exchanges of ideas between those responsible for urban development policies, architects, landscape engineers, land use planning project designers, road engineers and businessmen/women from the sector.

For this reason, I am confident that this initiative will be of interest to you and that we may count on your presence.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs. Dª Aránzazu Vallejo Fernández
President of the “Territorios21” International Forum
Vice-President of the Autonomous Community Government of La Rioja
Director of Tourism, Environment and Territorial Policy