Brave new ‘megaregional worlds’? Reflections from a North European perspective

Smas, Lukas; Schmitt, Peter

doi:10.4337/9781782547907.00013

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…It might sound somewhat paradoxical to argue this but 13 the danger with the 'brave new world of megaregions' (Smas and Schmitt, 2015) is we focus too much on the megaregion itself. We have observed a tendency in much of the work that has taken place on megaregions to -either consciously or subconsciouslyneglect engaging with other competing urban and regional imaginaries.…”

Section: Megaregional Futures and The Future Of The Megaregionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also see derivations, mutations, and realignments of spatial concepts -such as Smas and Schmitt's (2015) idea of 'soft megaregions' -so the challenge is not simply to identify megaregions, but to recognize their position, role, and status within the broader spectrum of urbanregional space. The following quote emphasizes this point and provides a useful framing for the context in which future studies of megaregions (and other spatial imaginaries) need to be considered:…”

Section: Megaregional Futures and The Future Of The Megaregionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Smas and Schmitt (2015), for example, point to attempts in Northern Europe to establish 'Norden' across spaces which share cultural, historical, and political commonalities, yet are now experiencing diverging development paths in respect of territorial policy and politics, and urban and regional planning. Likewise Glass (2015) draws attention to the reinvention of the US Midwest as the Great Lakes megaregion in an attempt to preserve the legitimacy of this imagined space as a viable political authority.…”

Section: Megaregional Glocalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Megaregions reconsidered: urban futures and the future of the urban

Harrison¹,

Hoyler²

2015

Megaregions

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Section: Megaregional Futures and The Future Of The Megaregionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Megaregional Futures and The Future Of The Megaregionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Megaregional Glocalizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Megaregions reconsidered: urban futures and the future of the urban

Harrison¹,

Hoyler²

2015

Megaregions

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“…seminal work on the 'Urbanized Northeastern Seaboard of the United States'.Harrison and Hoyler (2015: 17) identify megaregional integration and visions developed to this end as levers of assertion in a globalised economy, where actors, localities and regions are well--connected to global networks of economic exchange and information flow.In the Baltic context, the concept of 'megaregion' is used to express the ambition of involved actors to jointly gain in global significance (Baltic Development Forum think tank, 2014). However,Smas and Schmitt (2015) have shown that the Baltic Region does not constitute a unified urban megaregion. They do identify a 'Nordic capital megaregion' formed by Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki, but emphasize the existence of "significant discontinuities" (p. 160).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of environmental issues in the adoption processes of European Union macro-regional strategies

Gloersen

Balsiger

Cugusi

et al. 2019

Environmental Science & Policy

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European macro-regional strategies (MRSs) are established around physical features such as seas, mountain ranges and river basins. They focus on a new type of policy-making area (the 'macro-regions') while seeking to design and implement innovative governance approaches. They are therefore considered innovative both in their geographical focus (in the context of EU policies) and in their approach to policy design, adoption and implementation. The present article argues that the analysis of this development can usefully be informed by different theories referring to the notion of 'functions', drawn from political science on the one hand, and from geography and planning on the other. On this basis, it applies a multidisciplinary perspective to the analysis of the role environmental issues have played in the emergence and adoption of macro-regional strategies. This allows for a comprehensive assessment of the role of environmental issues in the adoption of macro-regional strategies, as well as some of their inherent weaknesses.

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“…This has prompted accelerated attempts -especially for the metropolitan city-regions -to 'catch up' in the international competition, often with hastily adopted concepts and practices that do not 'ground' into local realities (cf. Smas & Schmitt 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

Governing a just future: what and how to govern? – commentary to Jones

Bäcklund

2019

Fennia

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In dealing with the topic of “governing the future”, it is fundamental to understand how different practices define justice in content as well as in processual sense. Premises of justification can be seen as essential indicators of the future direction of societal decision-making in governance networks, as well as in determining whose realities play a part when defining future imaginaries. We are dealing with a complex entity and we need to ask whether a future as such can be distinguished from how it is produced in different governing practices? I would also like to emphasize that the concept of ‘governance’ needs to be taken under careful scrutiny. Governance has not replaced government, as most often both of these management logics are present simultaneously. This is creating tensions within the public sector. My comments to the issues presented in Rhys Jones’ article (in this issue) are grounded in planning theory and my ongoing research concerning justification of new spatial planning practices in the Nordic countries.

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Brave new ‘megaregional worlds’? Reflections from a North European perspective

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Megaregions reconsidered: urban futures and the future of the urban

Megaregions reconsidered: urban futures and the future of the urban

The role of environmental issues in the adoption processes of European Union macro-regional strategies

Governing a just future: what and how to govern? – commentary to Jones

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