The participants in this morning's meeting come from five different European countries: Croatia, Finland, Portugal, The Netherlands, and the UK. They are Jo Barnett and Diarmaid Lawlor (UK), Lada Hršak and Professor Tihomir Jukić (Croatia), Tuomas Toivonen (Finland), Professor Stefano Musso (Italy), Professor Rui Braz Alfonso and Tiago Coelho (Portugal), and Sander Lap, Rob van Leeuwen, Bas Liesker, Hans van der Made, Aart Oxenaar and Ingeborg Thoral from The Netherlands. They all are in one way or the other engaged in the professional practice of urban planning or urban design, and some of them practice both. In some countries the distinction between these disciplines is hardly defined and therefore they are being lumped together. That is also evident in architectural education, where urbanism is not taught as a distinct discipline.
   'Given this fact it is very interesting to learn from each other where the action is, says Rogier van den Berg, 'and to know which bodies are involved in the development of urban projects. How big are the differences in the practice of urban planning and urban design in Europe? Let's hear it from our guests.'