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The metropolitan scale

Author

Listed:
  • da Cruz, Nuno F.
  • Oh, Do Young
  • Badaoui Choumar, Nathalie

Abstract

The growth of metropolitan areas is reshaping the urban landscape and governance around the world, producing new challenges but also opportunities for sustainable development and the management of territories. The ‘metropolitan scale’ is now internationally recognised as a key concept and perspective through which we should consider various socio-economic, spatial and political dimensions. However, our understanding of metropolitan dynamics is curtailed by a substantial lack of information at this scale. Global databases on metropolitan areas are very limited. To tackle the void, this paper employs simple definitions and heuristics to collect and present comparable data for 58 metropolises from five continents. There is a clear trade-off between the accuracy of the data and the comprehensiveness of datasets. We reflect on the experience to emphasise the obstacles that lie ahead of both scholars and policy-makers at all levels of government. A strong system of cities and metropolitan areas and the appropriate governance of these scales may provide the basis for a balanced socio-economic development – but first we will need to know more about these territories and communities.

Suggested Citation

  • da Cruz, Nuno F. & Oh, Do Young & Badaoui Choumar, Nathalie, 2020. "The metropolitan scale," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103316, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:103316
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/103316/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Nathaniel Baum-Snow, 2007. "Did Highways Cause Suburbanization?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(2), pages 775-805.
    2. Shlomo Angel, 2017. "Urban Forms and Future Cities: A Commentary," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 2(1), pages 1-5.
    3. Rudiger Ahrend & Catherine Gamper & Abel Schumann, 2014. "The OECD Metropolitan Governance Survey: A Quantitative Description of Governance Structures in large Urban Agglomerations," OECD Regional Development Working Papers 2014/4, OECD Publishing.
    4. Neil Brenner, 1999. "Globalisation as Reterritorialisation: The Re-scaling of Urban Governance in the European Union," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 36(3), pages 431-451, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fischer, Bruno & Meissner, Dirk & Vonortas, Nicholas & Guerrero, Maribel, 2022. "Spatial features of entrepreneurial ecosystems," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 27-36.
    2. Pereira, Mauro F. & Vale, David S. & Santana, Paula, 2023. "Is walkability equitably distributed across socio-economic groups? – A spatial analysis for Lisbon metropolitan area," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    3. Boeing, Geoff, 2020. "Street Network Models and Indicators for Every Urban Area in the World," SocArXiv f2dqc, Center for Open Science.

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    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General

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