On 1 January 1934, the former suburbs of Oerlikon, Seebach, Affoltern, Schwamendingen, Altstetten, Albisrieden, Höngg and Witikon were merged into the political community of Zurich, giving the city its final shape. This anniversary was duly celebrated in 2009 and also made possible a moment of retrospective and prospecting. The platform for this look back to the future was provided by a panel event in the run-up to the CityRegion.Net workshop at the end of September 2009. In addition, the city of Zurich wanted to dedicate a short portrait to the "new" quarters. While these short portraits primarily take a historical perspective on the former neighbouring communities, the panel event offered a political view of the topic of incorporation, federalism and today's regional forms of cooperation between the city and the surrounding area.