Vertical and Horizontal Cooperation of Local Public Authorities in the Process of Territorial Governance

This paper is intended to identify and assess with a critical eye some of the challenges that lie to vertical and horizontal cooperation of local public authorities in the process of territorial governance. Despite complicated relations in a multi-level governance setting, cities are an integral part of the regulation for spatial planning. The paper argues that beyond the decision-making core, strategic planning seeks to coordinate the policies of a large and complex group of actors: public authorities at different levels, from national level to the municipality, private partners, representatives of civil society. The development of cooperation procedures, which is not specific to urban planning and development, runs through all public action. In the Romanian system, spatial planning documents are part of a unidirectional hierarchy of rules: planning documents at the lower level must be compatible with those at the higher level. The paper analyses the way this cooperation goes between the authorities and conclude that expectations for improved governance sometimes have conflicting objectives.