City focus for Venice Biennale.

In a change of emphasis, cities and urbanism provide the inspiration for the 2006 Venice Biennale, directed by Ricky Burdett, currently an architectural adviser to the Mayor of London. Sixteen major cities and their 'urban experience' will be re-created as part of the 10th Biennale, taking centre stage in the 300m Corderie dell' Arsenale; the overall title is 'Cities, Architecture and Society'. The event will conclude with a 'Manifesto for the cities of the twenty-first century' intended to outline how architecture and urban design can contribute to 'a more sustainable, democratic and fair world'. Nothing if not ambitious.

Speaking in London at the launch of the Biennale, Burdett noted that the twenty-first century would be the first one to be truly urban, with 75 per cent of the world's population living in urban areas, many in 'mega-cities' of more than 20 million inhabitants. This year's Biennale is intended to provoke thought and debate abo[TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] the nature of that future, and the relationship between buildings, place and activity, not least by inviting various research institutions to take part in the show.

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The 16-city part of the Biennale will be designed by Aldo Cibic and Cibic & Partne[TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] featuring, in alphabetical order, Barcelona, Berlin, Bogota, Cairo, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Milan, Turin, Mumbai, New York, Sao Paulo, Shangh[TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] and Tokyo. Though widespread geographical[TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] (across four continents), the omission of any cities from what used to be called the Eastern Bl[TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] seems a curious omission. No Moscow? Could there be embarrassment that the most plann[TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] cities and economies of the twentieth century were the ones where political culture m[TEXT INCOMPLETE IN ORIGINAL SOURCE] conspicuously failed?

The representation of the featured cities will feature information and data on how they are being transformed in social, economic and cultural terms, and we are promised a visual experience richer than the subject matter might suggest. Of course there will also be a display of new architectural and urban projects that Biennale visitors have come to expect, quite apart from the rich and variable mix always available in the national pavilions, and parallel shows including an exhibition called 'Cities of Stone' where the joys of load-bearing masonry and the Mediterranean tradition will be celebrated, and work from 20 architecture schools worldwide. The Biennale takes place from 10 September to 19 November.