Good practices for improving urban management
A knowledge base encompassing "Norms and frameworks of planning" adopted in seven European cities (metropolitan study-areas) since 1970s, was constructed by COMET partners. Planning tools to confront issues raised by tertiarisation and suburbanization of services in metropolitan areas, description of planning milieu and successful planning strategies were presented. COMET's main objective was the dynamic process optimization of competitive metropolis economic transformation, labour market and competition in European agglomerations operations towards convergence. Research focused on three major aspects; a) governmental capacity, b) economic and spatial development strategies and c) strengths and weaknesses of government in the metropolises. Governmental capacity was assessed according to constitution defined, or government devised central-local and inter-governmental relationships taking into account the typology established by previous studies. In fact, three distinct types have been reported; unitary city-states, hierarchical dualism and dualism with "mediating position" of meso-level government. The results identified polycentric metropolitan configurations; however, spatial and economic planning strategies could harmonize development of different activities within a metropolitan area. Concerning economic and spatial development strategies, effective integration of strategies in both fields was evaluated. Results revealed that government structures and practices affect the integration of the aforementioned strategies and difficulties encountered in inter-jurisdictional co-operation impose a constrain factor. Strengths and weaknesses of government in metropolitan study-areas were also analyzed with regard to the steering of economic and spatial development process. The effect of local conditions on policy-making was associated with the government capacity evaluation results. New insights were given on how self-confinement of inter-governmental practices inhibits cooperation at small-scale processes with a significant impact on economic and spatial development. Similar initiations could safe-guard vital city centres and promote economic development of European urban agglomerations with vast socio-economic added value.
