The role of cities in the next economic cycle and the drivers for their success will be a dominant theme at the ULI Trends Conference set to take place in Amsterdam on 22 June.

According to conference chair Gerard Groener, CEO of retail specialist Corio, cities will increasingly compete against each other, rather than country versus country. 'As I look at the new economic cycle from the bottom up, rather than "top down", the importance of cities will increase. For both consumers and companies, country borders do not really exist any more. People choose cities or regions to go to; investors build their asset allocation on cities and consumers choose to go to Munich , Milan or Madrid , not Germany , Italy or Spain .'

In order to 'sell' themselves to investors in an increasingly competitve global market, cities must provide 'clear information on demographics, economic potential and business culture', Groener stresses. Close cooperation between the public and private sectors is also crucial to a city's success, he adds.

Other topics covered by the trends conference include sustainability and China .The winners of the ULI Europe Awards for Excellence 2011 will also be announced. For Groener, who is also chair of ULI Netherlands, the trends conference is about sharing ideas and objectives. ‘One of my main conference objectives is to emphasise the importance of enhanced public-private sector cooperation, look for opportunities with new technology and prepare for an era of "sustainism",’ he says. ‘I always pick up new ideas at ULI events and look forward to repeating that experience in Amsterdam .’

The full preview of the ULI Trends Conference appears in the June edition of PropertyEU Magazine. Click on the link below to subscribe