Metro in Progress - transition and changes in metropolitan construction

The INTA ‘Community of Competence on Metropolisation’ and the Deltametropolis Association are developing a worldwide comparison of Metropolitan Strategies through the ongoing Programme Metro in Progress.

Urban development is undergoing transitional changes: territories are widening from the district level to the city level; from the city to the agglomeration; and from the agglomeration to the metropolitan area, leading to new urban patterns influenced by the global economy and changing lifestyles. In this context, we ask: How significant are the relationships (particularly in terms of cooperation) between the different territories?

Metro in Progress has been established to offer solutions for many of our respective members (i.e. regional authorities, provinces and municipalities) when confronted with designing and/or implementating metropolitan strategies.

This publication offers the initial outcomes of the first series of interviews and meetings with a range of stakeholders, addressing metropolitan challenges and dilemmas. It starts with an explanation of the conditions which are necessary when implementing a metropolitan strategy and the options which are available to put this into practice. This is followed by the interviews, which cover a broad range of issues: the scale of the metropolitan area, governance and municipal cooperation, new forms of urbanity, metropolitan eco-systems, the innovative economy within the metropolitan area, and metropolitan sustainability. By addressing these issues, the debate on socio-economic development and the governance of larger territories is moved forward