Simin YAN, Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, Germany
Anna GROWE, Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, Germany
Despite the long tradition of cooperation between German cities and their hinterlands, it is rather difficult for them to develop an integrated governance model, especially in those cross-state-boundary metropolitan regions. Scholars often attributed this to the high degree of local autonomy, territorially fragmented regional identities, and state competition in Germany's federal system. However, the Metropolregion Rhine-Neckar (MRN), with a unique location of a tri-state intersection, explored a way out of the governing dilemma and pioneered cooperative federalism in Germany. To figure out how the cross-jurisdictional cooperation is organized and realized in MRN and how well this model worked in the subsequent planning and governance reality, we draw on a series of interviews with involved officials and planners. Content analysis of transcripts using MAXQDA was employed to decode behavioral, instrumental, and institutional changes over the process. Results show that a clear definition of responsibility, varying means of governance, and the structural collaborative institution, have strengthened the cross-jurisdictional governance in MRN. In particular:
1. It has achieved diversified participants under the public sector's leading. Here, the equity of regional decision-making benefits from a political-constitutional way, as each part - rural and urban - is represented on the board.
2. An integrated regional plan with legal status has been developed through numerous debates and compromises, which, together with other formal and informal governance instruments, ensures the subsequent projects.
3. Regarding governance mechanism, a two-tier networked "strategy-application" governance framework has been built, stimulating the dynamism of administrative and market actors.
Ultimately, we discuss the challenges facing the MRN and further reflect on the need and impacts of high-level government participation in constituting regional identity.
Mots clés : metropolitan governance|cross-jurisdictional cooperation|integrated spatial planning|Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar (MRN)|Germany
A103238SY