ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces rules-in-use as a crucial factor in metropolitan governance arrangements and provides a theoretical framework for my comparative analysis of the rules-in-use for implementing low-carbon development patterns in three metropolitan regions. All three regions have committed to low-carbon development patterns in their Regional Growth Strategies (RGS); however, the RGS in each region has a different significance and role based on the respective planning enabling legislation: The RGS in the Puget Sound region is self-regulated and has a guiding character whereas the RGS in the Stuttgart and Vancouver region is established as a planning document with affiliated procedures under state laws.
