A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Knieling, Jörg et al. Research Report Metropolitan Regions - Innovation, Competition, Capacity for Action Position Paper from the ARL, No. 71e Provided in Cooperation with: ARL – Akademie für Raumentwicklung in der Leibniz-Gemeinschaft Suggested Citation: Knieling, Jörg et al. (2007) : Metropolitan Regions - Innovation, Competition, Capacity for Action, Position Paper from the ARL, No. 71e, Verlag der ARL - Akademie für Raumforschung und Landesplanung, Hannover, http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0156-007144 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/62302 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. 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Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, If the documents have been made available under an Open gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. www.econstor.eu Position Paper from the ARL No. 71 Metropolitan Regions Innovation, Competition, Capacity for Action Findings of the Joint Working Group Academy for Spatial Research and Planning (ARL, Hanover) German Institute of Urban Affairs (difu, Berlin) Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, Building and Construction of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (ILS NRW, Dortmund) Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning (IRS, Erkner) Hanover 2007 This position paper was prepared by members of the joint working group on “Metropolitan Regions – Innovation, Competition, Capacity for Action” (ARL, Difu, ILS NRW, IRS): Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Knieling M. A. (pol./soz.), HafenCity University Hamburg, Full Member of the ARL (Chair of the working group) Prof. Dr. Jürgen Aring, University of Kassel, Full Member of the ARL Prof. Dr. Joachim K. Blatter, Erasmus University Rotterdam Prof. Dr. Hans Heinrich Blotevogel, University of Dortmund, Vice-President and Full Mem- ber of the ARL Prof. Dr. Johannes Bröcker, Christian-Albrechts University, Kiel, Full Member of the ARL Prof. Dr. Rainer Danielzyk, Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, Build- ing and Construction of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund, Full Member of the ARL Dr. Busso Grabow, German Institute of Urban Affairs, Berlin Dr. Wolfgang Knapp, Research Institute for Regional and Urban Development, Building and Construction of the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Dortmund Prof. Dr. Hans Joachim Kujath, Leibniz Institute for Regional Development and Structural Planning, Erkner, Correspondent Member of the ARL Dipl.-Geogr. Antje Matern, HafenCity University Hamburg (Business manager of the work- ing group) Dipl.-Ing. Julian Petrin, HafenCity University Hamburg Dr. Hans Pohle, Secretariat of the Academy for Spatial Research and Planning, Hanover Dr. (des) Peter Schmitt, Nordregio Nordic Center for Spatial Development, Stockholm Dr. Gerd Tönnies, Secretariat of the Academy for Spatial Research and Planning, Hanover Dr. Thorsten Wiechmann, Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development, Dres- den Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Horst Zimmermann, Marburg, Full Member of the ARL Translation: Dr. Graham Cass, Baroper Straße 233a, 44227 Dortmund Secretariat of the ARL: WR I “Population, Social Structure, Settlement Structure” Head: Dr. Gerd Tönnies ([email protected]) Hanover, November 2007 Position Paper No. 71 ISSN 1611-9983 Academy for Spatial Research and Planning (ARL) Hohenzollernstraße 11, 30161 Hannover Tel. (+49-511) 3 48 42-0 Fax (+49-511) 3 48 42-41 E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: www.ARL-net.de Metropolitan Regions Metropolitan Regions – Innovation, Competition, Capacity for Action Contents 1 Spatial development and metropolitan regions 1 2 Defining “metropolitan regions” 3 3 The performance of metropolitan regions 5 4 Recommendations 9 1 Spatial development and metropolitan regions Globalisation and spatial changes: For some time now changes to cities and states have been observable which are closely related to the latest phase of globalisation, which has been in evidence since the mid-1970s. Cities (as well as states) play a key role here: not only do they represent the critical locations at which economic and social change unfolds, but they are also important “actors” behind these changes. From the spatial perspective, change is manifested most particularly in the facts that − potential for economic development and capacities for innovation develop par- ticularly in metropolises and/or in metropolitan regions, − the national hierarchy of cities and the spatial division of labour within the economy is overlaid by a global division of labour, with the consequence that new hierarchies of urban centres emerge on a global scale, − as a result of these related trends, new disparities between regions emerge, or existing disparities are amplified, − calls are heard for new institutional structures (“metropolitan governance”). These four manifestations will be explored at greater depth below. The metropolitanisation of potential for economic development and capacities for innovation Spatial concentration of economic activities: Research-intensive industries and knowledge-based services are becoming increasingly concentrated in metropolitan areas. Above all in such areas, innovative companies find opportunities to establish contacts and access information, and to reduce risks. These areas also offer access to specialised resources and employees, as well as to specific routines, traditions, values and other local institutions. Metropolitan regions as complex locations: Metropolitan regions are characterised by a high degree of economic, social and cultural complexity. On the one hand, they represent places to live and to do business which are marked by multiple functional interconnections and linkages, and by production systems shaped by a division of 1 Metropolitan Regions labour. On the other hand, they form the nodes of overlapping and interlocking trade and production networks, finance flows, as well as political, cultural and so- cial networks. Global division of labour and hierarchies of urban regions New division of labour among cities: City or metropolitan regions form part of a newly emerging international system based on a division of labour for competition on a global scale. Such changes as the spatial decentralisation of production or in- ternational connections affecting finance flows and within the knowledge-intensive services sector give rise to new forms of concentration. This leads, on the one hand, to the emergence of a vertically ranked hierarchy of globalised city-regions; at the same time, the relationship between spatial decentralisation and territorial concen- tration alters the position of peripheral locations in the newly emerging spatial structure. Metropolitan regions as polycentric spaces: Through their catchment areas, metro- politan regions link together a number of distinct localities to form one multi- faceted, polycentric spatial pattern. In morphological terms, two structures can be identified: − Metropolitan regions with one dominant urban core and a number of smaller, neighbouring municipal centres (London/South East England, Paris/Ile de France) − Metropolitan regions comprising several cities in close proximity to each other (within daily commuting distance), containing larger centres with no signifi- cant differences in terms of population size and economic significance (Rhine- Ruhr, Randstad Holland). It is important to recognise these two distinct morphological patterns as they can be expected to exert an influence on the social, economic and political relations which exist within the metropolitan regions. New spatial disparities Co-occurrence of growth and shrinkage: The changes described above bring the relationship between centres and their peripheries into even sharper relief. An al- ready unbalanced spatial development is reinforced and a situation emerges where regions characterised by growth, stagnation and shrinkage exist alongside each other. Highly-skilled employment, high-value infrastructure, investment, etc. be- come increasingly concentrated in the larger metropolitan regions. At the same time, these regions specialise with regard to the global and European division of la- bour and forge links with other dynamic metropolitan regions. By contrast, the links between metropolitan regions and their immediate hinterlands and surrounding ar- eas – as well as to other regions with structural weaknesses – may well decline, re- sulting in these areas becoming disconnected from economic development. Metropolitan regions and institutional changes Institutional changes: It is not solely