Metropolitan governance can be defined as a set of institutions, rules, and actions that delineate policies and conditions for the life and economy of a metropolitan region (region interrelated with a city, networks of cities or conurbated areas or areas with continuous high densities all across the territory) (GIZ 2015:11).
Metropolitan governance addresses the problem on fragmentation, inequity, spillovers, and dysfunctional governance system (GIZ 2015: 15). Through an effective metropolitan governance, development areas that transcends territorial boundaries like development planning, transport and traffic management, solid waste disposal and management, flood control and sewerage management, urban renewal, zoning and land use planning and shelter services, health and sanitation, urban protection and pollution controls and public safety (Mercado and Manasan:13) can be given attention thru cooperative undertaking and sharing of resources.
An effective urban metropolitan governance can only be achieved if it operates within the applicable ideal institutional arrangement and adheres to the good urban governance norms of “subsidiarity, equity, efficiency, civic engagement, transparency and accountability” (UN Habitat 2007:6)
Types of Metropolitan Institutional Arrangements:
1. Fragmented Governance – with some Inter-Municipal Coordination (horizontal cooperation among the local governments)
• Ad hoc cooperation among local governments / Case-by-case joint initiatives
•Committees, commissions, partnership agreements, consortium agreements, etc.
• Contracting among local governments
2. Metropolitan / Regional Authority
• Regional authorities (metropolitan council, regional planning authority, service delivery authority, or regional planning & service delivery authority)
3. Metropolitan or Regional Government
• Metropolitan-level local government
• Regional government established by the national government
4. Consolidated Local Government
• Territorial annexation or amalgamation
Some politico-administrative problems/issues encountered by metropolitan governments:
1. Laws / regulations discouraging, limiting, or prohibiting MG arrangements
2. Discouraging higher level government (e.g. due to different agendas)
3. Parochialism and governance fragmentation (lack of local support)
4. Reluctance of richest local governments and their constituencies to engage and share, sub-delegate decisions/ powers to metropolitan arrangements
5. Uncertainty about “who is responsible for what”; overlapping expenditure responsibilities
6. Limited institutional, administrative and/ or financial capacity at local level (GIZ:22)
7. Lack of authority, lack of commitment among the local governments in the area, and lack of financial sources are common pitfalls.
8. The need of metropolitan governance body to earn the command and respect from the local governments it is intended to coordinate.
9. Metropolitan areas with one dominating, core local government, present an additional challenge, to find a way to motivate both large and small local governments for joint, coordinated efforts - in other words, to find “win-win” situations. (GIZ;30)
To address these, the following have to considered:
1. Establish appropriate metropolitan governance structure based on the national and local context (the legal framework, local government responsibilities, the particular issues and opportunities for the area, institutional capacity and tradition, etc.).
2. Weigh in the (a) potentials for economies of scale and service efficiency as well as the need to address spill-overs and regional disparities; versus (b) the impact on the access of citizens to their local government as well as their respective responsiveness and accountability.
3. Demand or encourage cooperation among local governments through the regional or national government, through intergovernmental systems, legal frameworks, or specific financial incentives (GIZ;10)
References
Anderson, Mats. Metropolitan Regions as Governance Systems: Unpacking Metropolitan Governance for Sustainable Development. Discussion Paper. GIZ and UN Habitat. August 2015
Inclusive and Sustainable Urban Planning: A Guide for Municipalities. Volume 2-Urban Situation Analysis. UN Habitat 2007
Metropolitan Regions as Governance Systems: Unpacking Metropolitan Governance for Sustainable Development. Discussion Paper. Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. GIZ 2015.
Mercado, Ruben G. and Manasan Rosario G. Metropolitan Arrangements in the Philippines: Passing Fancy or the Future Megatrend?: An Inquiry Into the Evolution and Dynamics of Metropolitan Arrangements in the Philippines Under a Decentralized Regime.
The Metropolitan Century: Understanding Urbanisation and its Consequences OECD (2015), OECD Publishing, Paris as cited at Metropolitan Regions as Governance System. Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Discussion Paper. GIZ. August 2015
