Metropolitan governance in the European Union. A classification of existing institutional models

Abstract

In the last 40 years, new territorial configurations have emerged in Europe as a consequence of the consolidation of complex spatial relations between core urban centres and their suburbs. Whereas overall agreement exists on the relevance of these metropolitan phenomena, their conceptual delimitation and governance is subject to debate (Zimmermann et al., 2020). On the one hand, methodologies to define and compare metropolitan spaces have been developed, conceptualising them as characterised by densely inhabited urban cores and less-populated municipalities whose labour market is highly integrated with the cores (Dijkstra et al., 2019). On the other hand, metropolitan areas have become both the scope of and the reason for institutional experimentation. Public authorities across Europe have progressively engaged in the development of strategic visions and plans that tackle metropolitan challenges (i.e. housing, mobility, urban planning, employment, economic development, culture etc.), as a way to guide the integration of different spatial developments and engage public and private actors at different scales, beyond the core city alone (Albrechts et al., 2017). Whereas these metropolitan activities often occur via informal inter-municipal cooperation, which varies through time and in relation to the issues at stake, in a number of European countries dedicated, more or less ‘rigid’ institutional structures aimed at metropolitan governance structures have been set up.

Various models of metropolitan governance have been identified, that differ greatly in relation to their level of institutionalisation, the distribution of powers, competencies and resources, their internal structure and the actors involved (Salet et al. 2015; ESPON, 2021). The exact nature of metropolitan cooperation is often unique, and different arrangements also depend on the different multi-level regional governance and planning systems that characterise the European continent and their (path-dependent) changing patterns (ESPON, 2018).

Aiming at shedding light on the matter, the proposed contribution draws on the results of the ESPON METRO and COMPASS projects (ESPON 2018, 2021). First, the paper surveys the various institutional models established in the European Union (EU) countries to handle metropolitan governance. Then, it develops a classification pivoted around four variables: (i) the governance model, (ii) the degree of correspondence between the geographical scope of the institutional action and the actual functional phenomena and (iii) the spatial development and planning competences provided to the institution and (iv) the types of instruments they adopt to practice those competences. The results of the analysis constitute a preliminary compass to navigate metropolitan governance in the EU, as well as to reflect on the pros and cons of the institutional models in place in the different contexts.