ABSTRACT
In Germany, the diversity of governance arrangements for city-regions is high due to the federal structure of the state. National government has only a weak influence on governance and planning in city-regions as spatial planning, regional policies and local government is a domain of the states. One of the rare nationwide initiatives in the field of metropolitan policies is the concept of “European metropolitan regions” which has been introduced in spatial planning (Raumordnung) as a joint initiative of states and the federal government in the late 1990s. This initiative is in terms of impact, however, not comparable as the reforms in Italy and France but indicated a discursive shift in the way city-regions and agglomeration were seen. Much more emphasis was given to internationalisation and global connectivity, competitiveness and soft forms of governance. Also, size matters now. Before this initiative, the policy discourse referred to smaller city-regions as agglomerations or densely populated areas (Ballungsraum or Verdichtungsraum). In comparison to France and Italy, distinct governance arrangements for city-regions have been established much earlier than the 1990s in some states, but these have always been unique and tailor-made solutions. The chapter presents a summary of the state of affairs with regard to city-regions and metropolitan governance in Germany. Two case studies (Frankfurt/Rhine-Main and Stuttgart) are used as illustrative case studies.
