Reconfiguring the Governance Structures of the Twenty-first-century City-region: Observations and Conclusions

In this special theme issue of International Planning Studies, we and our international colleagues have presented five papers that elucidate the present state of institutionalized regionalisms in five medium-sized city-regions – Milan, Stuttgart, Portland, Vancouver and Amsterdam – as well as addressing the condition of, and potential for, progressive metropolitan consciousness in these regions. We have gained insights into the different trajectories of the cities with respect to their attempts to reconfigure their metropolitan governance structures. In this concluding essay we will generate some instructive insights into the defining qualities of metropolitan planning in the case-study city-regions and identify complements, trade-offs and conflicts. We will draw out wider implications of the case studies for urban scholarship and for policy innovation and development.