Greater Paris and metropolitan strategies in Europe

On 23 and 24 May, Paris’ City Hall was the venue for “Greater Paris and metropolitan strategies in Europe”, a conference held as part of the process of reflection undertaken by the City of Paris since 2001 with the aim of integrating the idea of “making a metropolis” into all its policies.

This summary will give readers an idea of the quality of the discussions at the event, of the commitment shown by Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris and first vice president of the Grand Paris Metropolitan Authority (MGP), and of her determination to promote a new model for the metropolitan area, forming an inclusive, supportive and sustainable city which plans for the future, experiments, innovates, generates a vital cultural and social life of its own and radiates out as an influence in the wider world.

States are currently struggling to respond to the challenges brought by the 21st century. In parallel to this, metropolitan areas are becoming key players in the globalisation phenomenon as, thanks to their valuable assets and dynamism, their diversity and their influence, they represent interconnected, attractive urban hubs.

The very task of creating a successful metropolitan area is itself a major innovation. The experiences from around Europe presented at this conference shed light on metropolitan areas’ triple role, first as a political space characterised by the election of a representative, second as a space for social cohesion based on proximity, and third as the economic cockpit for an entire region tasked with highlighting the territory as an attractive opportunity. Moreover, major infrastructure projects can only allow a metropolitan identity to emerge when they give inhabitants a better quality of life and help to rebalance territorial inequalities.