Something called the World Urban Forum had dragged me here from the humidity and grumpiness of hometown Toronto. It was a massive United Nations affair that seemed to have no particular purpose. On paper, it looked like jolly good fun. Thousands of delegates from governments, unions, city councils, environmental groups, urban activists and even the media had come to town. They were supposed to wander between workshops and seminars on topics as diverse and esoteric as "the role of pop music in disaster relief" and "how to give your slum a corporate brand name to pull in investment". Really, I'm not making this stuff up.
