On Friday, March 29, 2013 the Atlantic Council’s Strategic Foresight initiative (SFI), of the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security, hosted a roundtable discussion with Dr. Monica Brezzi head of the territorial analysis and statistics unit, regional development policy division, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Dr. Robert D. Hormats, US under secretary of state for growth, energy and the environment, and Dr. William Tompson, head of the urban development program, regional development policy division, directorate for public governance and territorial development, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The three discussed the foreign policy implications of urbanization. Dr. Tompson touched upon the issue of inequality within urban spaces and Dr. Brezzi noted the shift of urban areas as administrative units to economic functional areas. Dr. Hormats stressed the growing importance of conducting foreign policy on the sub-national level. The discussion was lively and substantive–bringing to the surface a number of themes such as the importance of economic engagement at the city-level to highlighting the value of working with foreign mayors and governors.