Dealing with metropolitan governance : a case study Madrid

Abstract

The paper studies the complexity of governing and co-ordinating the areas surrounding big cities and the networks created among them. The first part of the paper explores the different traditions in defining what is the adequate institutional form to provide better services for citizens (reform theory and public choice school). The paper also analyses the main elements of the concept that has emerged as an alternative view to the traditional conception of government of metropolitan areas, that is, metropolitan governance.

The second part of the paper is focused on a single example of metropolitan governance: Madrid. The case of Madrid is special because it is not only a large metropolitan region but also the capital of Spain. During the decades of the 1940s and the 1950s, the city enlarged its legal boundaries (with the amalgamation of municipalities), and its surface grew from 66,2 km² to 607 km². The city and its area had different instruments of urban planning until the approval of the Spanish Constitution in 1978. The new State of Autonomies created 17 Autonomous Communities, one of them being the Autonomous Community of Madrid, which included the capital and its area of influence (up to 179 municipalities with a surface of 8.028 km²).

In this case, the key element for assuring a good co-ordination of policies has been the regional government, which has assumed a role of facilitative leader. This success has been based on several factors, such as the public-private co-operation, the consensus among all the actors (political, social and economic) and also some strategically decisions and policies. Moreover, the regional government has elected representatives, some important competences and legal and financial instruments to implement them.

The case of Madrid shows that government and governance can work together in a particular scenario. Without having a formal metropolitan government, the Autonomous Community of Madrid has taken up the leadership of the development of Madrid and its area of influence, introducing some elements typical of governance (like public-private partnerships). At the same time, citizens vote for elected representatives of the regional government, so this means having democratic legitimacy, which is in fact one of the main critics of governance.