ABSTRACT
Government leaders were dreading a long, hot summer, and it was clear in everything from the debates on federalism to the staffing of agencies that the federal government had abandoned any notion of a 'national urban policy'. Paul Porter, who once helped launch the Marshall Plan in Europe, and who was now a member of the faculty at Cleveland State, developed the idea for a Cities' Congress. The concept of role playing has its roots in turn-of-the-century psychiatry. J. L. Moreno, an Austrian, introduced the concept as 'psychodrama', a technique to assist in psychotherapy. A more exhaustive review of the literature might well find the use of role playing in front of large audiences more common in fields other than urban affairs or government administration. The role play began with a review of the 'facts' of the case in a visual presentation by the Executive Director of the 'Composite City' Eighties Council.
