Presentation: "Risks and Opportunities
for Super Cities in the Global Economy"

Professor Peter Hall, the founder of the concept "World Cities," is a leading authority on the origin and development of the world's large cities. He is the author or editor of nearly 30 books on cities, urban and regional planning and related topics, including The World Cities, Great Planning Disasters, London 2000, Silicon Landscapes, Cities of Tomorrow and Technopoles of the World.

Professor Hall is a member of the British Deputy Prime Minister's Urban Task Force, established in 1998. He was Special Adviser to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment on Strategic Planning, with special responsibilities for East Thames Corridor (Thames Gateway) and Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Currently Professor of Planning at the Bartlett School of Architecture and Planning at the University College London, Professor Hall has also been a professor at the London School of Economics, the University of Reading, and the University of California at Berkeley.

Presentation: "Madrid's Main Thoroughfare and
the Super Projects in the North"

Ricardo Bofill is one of the leading architects in the world. He is currently designing Madrid's massive Paseo de la Castellana urban redevelopment project.

Mr. Bofill was born in Barcelona and studied at the School of Architecture in Geneva. He founded Taller De Arquitectura, an international team of architects, engineers, sociologists and philosophers that has created many acclaimed developments in city planning, transport, housing and offices. The company's work in city design includes major projects in Bordeaux, Bologna, Madrid, Boston and Kobe.

Among Mr. Bofill's long list of significant structures are the Palacio Nacional de Congresos in Madrid (the site of the 1999 Super Cities Conference), the Barcelona airport, the Catalan National Theatre in Barcelona, the Mertz Auditorium in Paris, the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University (USA), the headquarters for the SWIFT banking firm in Brussels, office blocks in Paris for Christian Dior and for Decaux, and a 55-story skyscraper in Chicago.

José María Álvarez del Manzano is the Mayor of Madrid and President of the Board of the Municipality of Madrid. Under his leadership Madrid is investing billions of dollars in modernization and expanded infrastructure to move boldly into the 21st century as a global leader.

Mayor Álvarez del Manzano is a member of the European Parliament and a member of the European Union Committee on Regions. He is also President of the UCCI (Union of South American Capital Cities) and Vice President of the Ibero-American organization for Municipal Cooperation.

Presentation: "The Technology and
Knowledge Foundation for Super Cities"

Michael Wakelin has more than 30 years of experience as a strategic visionary and planner of large-scale urban and regional developments. In this capacity he has planned and designed a large number of successful Bechtel new town projects. Mr. Wakelin's area of specialization has emerged as strategic planning and development related to knowledge-creating strategic regions. His work includes super city planning and infrastructure megaprojects throughout the world.