Metropolitan regions in Europe (DFG)

Duration: Fall 2016 - Summer 2021

Funding: DFG

Changing governance and planning in metropolitan regions. An international comparison between Germany, Italy and France.

The function of metropolitan regions is currently being redefined in many European states due to changes in welfare states and increasing global competition. In some states such as France and Italy, but also in Germany, we observe the emergence of scale-specific governance arrangements and planning policies. The developments in the aforementioned states show different paths: in Germany from the bottom up, slowly and therefore depending on regional conditions, in France and Italy rather from the top down with strong incentives by the central government. Different importance is attached to regional planning. The aim of the research project is to describe and then analyze the development paths in national spatial development policy with regard to the concept of metropolitan regions in the three states. The research project aims to find out whether divergent or convergent developments can be observed. Empirically, the comparison is divided into four dimensions: institutional aspects, functional aspects (competition, welfare policy), ideas (reasons and arguments) and spatial aspects. This differentiated approach allows for a more sophisticated description of convergent or divergent developments. The empirical approach follows a multi-level comparison. We compare two regions within each state and a total of three states and six regions. Consequently, we can distinguish between national and local/regional influences.

The research questions are:
- What formats and strategies are observed at which level and how are they justified (dimension of ideas)?
- What public functions are performed in metropolitan regions and what are the implications for strategic coordination at the metropolitan region level?

Publications:

Zimmermann, Karsten (2022) Metropolitan governance and policy challenges, In: Filipe Teles (ed.) Handbook on Local and Regional Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing, (in print)

Zimmermann, Karsten; Feiertag, Patricia (2022) Governance and city region. Policy and planning in Europe. Routledge.

Zimmermann, Karsten (2021) City regional land management and regional governance. In: S. Henn, T. Zimmermann, B. Braunschweig (Eds.) City-regional land management. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Spektrum.

Feiertag, Patricia; Zimmermann, Karsten (2021) Reform of city-regional cooperation in France and Italy. Consequences and effects for spatial planning in urban regions. In: S. Henn, T. Zimmermann, B. Braunschweig (Eds.) City-regional land use management. Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Spektrum.

Feiertag, Patricia (2020) Les métropoles françaises et les pôles métropolitains vus d'Allemagne. In : Demazière, C ; Desjardins, X ; Sykes, O (eds) La gouvernance des métropoles et des régions urbaines en Europe. Des réformes institutionnelles aux coopérations territoriales. Paris : Collection Recherche du Plan urbanisme construction architecture (PUCA). n°240, 167-187. Available here.

Zimmermann, Karsten; Feiertag, Patricia (2019): Return of the metro-model. Governance and planning in metropolitan regions under change. An international comparison of France, Italy and Germany. In: IRMB Papers 61, Special Issue Metropolitan Governance, 16-26.

Zimmermann, Karsten (2018): Politicising the Regional Scale? The Politics of Metropolitan Governance in Germany Brazil and Canada. In: Eraydin, Ayda; Frey, Klaus (eds.): Politics and Conflict in Governance and Planning. Theory and Practice. Milton: Routledge. 151-168.

Special Issue Re-Scaling Metropolitan Governance in Europe, Spatial Research and Planning, Volume 75, Issue 3 sciendo.com/issue/RARA/75/3

Collaborations:

Closely related to the project, we have participated in two international working groups, both sponsored by the German Academy for Territorial Development in the Leibniz Association (ARL) and resulting in an edited volume: International Working Group (IAK) "Planning & Governing the Metropolis", ARL, 2016-2019.

Zimmermann, Karsten; Galland, Daniel; Harrison, John (Eds.) (2020): Metropolitan regions, planning and governance. Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Franco-German working group on "Cities and metropolitan areas in Germany and France: current challenges for spatial planning and urban development", ARL, 2018-2021.

Demazière, Christophe; Feiertag, Patricia; Paris, Didier; Zimmermann, Karsten; Dubois, Jérôme (forthcoming) The development of metropolises in Germany and France. In: Gustedt, Evelyn; Grabski-Kieron, Ulrike; Demazière, Christophe; Paris, Didier (Eds.) Cities and Metropolises in France and Germany: Current challenges for spatial planning and urban development. ARL Academy for Spatial Development in the Leibniz Association, Hannover.

The book is published in English, French and German.