Cities in developing countries are influenced more and more by multinational corporations and international financial institutions because economic globalization has weakened national governments. The fragmentation of the state, however, has fuelled an explosion of nongovermental organisations (NGOs) which have an opportunity to empower urban residents to a degree they never experienced under traditional government structures, say urban researchers. These were some of the conclusions of researchers who met in Washington last month to discuss the findings of the final phase of the Global Urban Research Initiative (GURI).