ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the changing dynamics of the Union of Local Authorities (UIV) during the inter-war period and how these were the products of diachronic individual. Pierre Yves Saunier identifies the UIV as the best example of the emerging 'Urban Internationale' during the inter-war period, in which appropriate tools, methods and people came together to study the modern city. Urban housing conditions, another internationally shared socialist preoccupation, prompted Wibaut's involvement in the European housing and town planning movement. One general thread runs through Wibaut's appearances at the many social gatherings, events and meetings integral to the maturation of transnational organizations such as the UIV and the IF. One example was his effort to ease the relationship between German and French delegates at the UIV congress of 1924 in Amsterdam. Such an interpretative approach towards human action in a particular contingent, historical context enables comparative research in beliefs, attitudes and behaviour that cross traditional national and cultural borders.
