Metropolitan area governance body: Composition and methods of formation

Abstract

The paper aims to systemize the main approaches to solve the issue of designing a management system for metropolitan area. In particular, it focuses on such elements as the composition and method of forming agglomeration authorities, which are typical for different metropolitan governance models. The study was performed for each of the main metropolitan governance models: one-tier, two-tier, regional, voluntary. The paper presents the author’s tool in the form of a set of morphological matrices which can be applied for designing the elements under consideration pertaining to the sphere of the governing system. The proposed matrices cover the absolute majority of existing and potential variants for the composition and methods of forming governing bodies. Each matrix is described in detail and the features of its construction are formulated. The paper gives examples of possible solutions generation to the composition and methods of forming government within various metropolitan governance models. The features of the proposed tool include systematic of alternatives creation, signifi cant number of proposed alternatives. Not only metropolitan areas, but also other territorial entities (urban districts and municipal districts, urban and rural settlements) can become objects of design. The use of a complete set of morphological matrices makes it possible to obtain more than 270 thousand variants that meet the demand of the modern diversity of institutional contexts, changes in the balance of political and other interests (“center-periphery”), national cultural characteristics of territories and other conditions. The use of matrices allows us to optimize the process of generating alternatives without building intermediate schemes. It is important for civil and municipal servants, as well as other stakeholders. This tool should assist in increasing the efficiency of their work on managing metropolitan area.