The Comparative Urban Studies Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Program on the Study o f the City, FLACSO-Ecuador organized an international seminar on December 16 and 17, 2004 entitled “Urban Regeneration and Revitalization in the Americas: Toward a Stable State.” There were 14 papers presented by academics, authorities and functionaries from a variety of different professions who focused their presentations on local, national and Latin American examples. A similarly diverse group of more than 80 people attended the meeting. These varied approaches to urban questions greatly enriched both the presentations and the discussions; indeed, the heterogeneity of the seminar was noted as a positive factor