Institutional Influences on the Integration of Multilevel Governance and Spatial Policy in European City-Regions

Abstract

Spatial policies for the city-regions of Europe have to be formulated in increasingly complex conditions. These conditions are outlined in the first part of the article. It is argued that the key for a successful policy response is in the organization of connectivity between the domains of the private sector, the internal regional policies, and the transregional policies. However, city-regions exist within different institutional settings, and organizing connectivity has to adapt to such differences. The article constructs a typology of these varied institutional settings based on research of nineteen European city-regions. Each type of institutional framework has its particular risks and opportunities, and these need to be taken into account in generating the appropriate form of informal planning strategy and maximum connectivity.