The editor's page

Abstract

For a long time I have considered any opportunity to collaborate with Dr Ingrid Leman Stefanovic a privilege. This time the opportunity was offered by the international Symposion on 'The Natural City" sponsored by the University of Toronto and the World Society for Ekistics which took place on the campus of the university and was organizedand chaired by her on behalf of both sponsors. I wish to thank her for having accepted to act as guest editor for this volume of Ekistics in spite of her very heavy commitments due to her role as Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Environment, University of Toronto. I also wish to express my admiration for her inspired and inspiring introductory statement on the concept of the natural city (see pp. 168 and 169). In this Symposion, an international and interdisciplinary group of approx. 100 experts and a fairly large number of other participants and students held a very intensive three-day program - 4 plenary and 28 special sessions, with several papers and discussions in each (see p. 162) - determined to challenge the erroneous but still prevailing perception of "human settlements" and "nature" as independent of each other; and to stress the need for the general adoption of the integration of these two notions - which is inherent in the approach of both convenors of the Symposion.