Metropolitan Areas in Spain. A Diverse and Unknown Reality

Alba, Carlos R.; Navarro, Carmen

doi:10.1007/978-3-322-90882-7_11

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Considering the structural elements of the political system, we expect that, among the different choices at hand they have evolved towards the new regionalist model of coordination networks and avoided centralising institutional reforms. The infeasibility of the institutional reform in the Spanish system has to do with the absence of interest on the part of the regional authorities -responsible actors for creating these structures -in setting up new levels of government that they perceive as competitors (Alba and Navarro, 2005). The density of the coordination networks will mainly depend on political variables, such as actors' behaviour, political leadership, and incentives from upper levels of government (Heinelt and Kübler, 2005).…”

Section: Metropolitization Dynamics In Spainmentioning

confidence: 98%

Metropolitanization of Spanish Urban Areas: Trends, Challenges and the Special Case of Madrid

Navarro

2011

Eur Polit Sci

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Urban growth and metropolitanization have characterised the spatial development of Spain in the second-half of the twentieth century. However, there is as yet no stabilised institutional model of how to respond to the governance challenges that Spanish metropolitan areas face. The article explores the organisation of metropolitan governance in Madrid, Spain's largest metropolitan area. It argues that state reforms in the wake of democratisation, EU accession and increasing international competition have led to the establishment of the Autonomous Community of Madrid as a strong metropolitan government.

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Section: Metropolitization Dynamics In Spainmentioning

confidence: 98%

Metropolitanization of Spanish Urban Areas: Trends, Challenges and the Special Case of Madrid

Navarro

2011

Eur Polit Sci

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“…In our survey, some questions are related to the mayors' role in this system of multilevel governance and the way they conceive institutional reforms and the models of metropolitan governance. Despite evidence of a metropolitanization process, the Spanish political system has not responded to this phenomenon (Alba and Navarro, 2005). The central government has not given incentives for the creation of metropolitan areas and this issue has not been important in the political agenda.…”

Section: Metropolitan Arrangements In Spanish Mayors' Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mayors' perceptions on local government reforms and decentralization in Spain

Tejado

Magre

Tomàs

2018

Rev. Esp. Cienc. Polít.

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This article analyses Spanish Mayors' perceptions on three areas of possible reforms that are currently on the local government agenda: re-scaling, amalgamations and metropolitanization. This study shows two main features: On the one hand, a relative homogeneity regarding mayors' perceptions of reforms and, on the other hand, a consistent difference in the mayors' orientations from two groups of autonomous communities. The first ones acceded to the "fast track" decentralization process that unfolded in Spain since 1978, due to the pressure exerted by their political leaders; the second group acceded to autonomy in a later wave, equating the distribution of power in all the territories of the state. Specifically, it is found that homogeneity in responses is only apparent when the two groups of mayors are considered. Thus, those from "fast track" regions are more in favor of decentralization towards their regions and structures of coordination or cooperation between levels of government than mayors in "slow track" autonomous communities. We conclude that, in a scenario of shared power and multilevel interdependence, fast-track mayors tend to protect more intergovernmental agreements that favor spaces where they can control the formulation of policies that affect them.

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“…Similarly to the definition of urban regions in Europe (Tomàs, 2015b), in Spain there are alternative definitions of "the metropolitan", with an extension and number of municipalities that change according to the specific agency or institution. Being aware of the plurality of definitions of the metropolitan phenomenon, Table 1 shows the list of most populated urban areas in Spain (more than 500.000 inhabitants) based on the data of Digital Atlas of the Urban Areas in Spain: Despite evidence of a metropolitanization process, the Spanish political system has not responded to this phenomenon (Alba and Navarro, 2005). The Spanish Constitution of 1978 establishes that the State is territorially organized into three levels of government: the central government, the regional tier or the Comunidades Autónomas (CCAA) and the local tier (formed by 8,114 municipalities and 50 provinces).…”

Section: "The Metropolitan" In Spainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining Metropolitan Governance. The Case of Spain

Tomàs¹

2017

RuR

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In this paper I examine the characteristics of metropolitan governance in Spain. In the first part, I briefly analyse the different theoretical conceptions and the existing models of metropolitan governance in Europe. I argue that metropolitan governance is explained by the interrelations between the specific institutional context (intergovernmental system) and political culture (attitudes towards metropolitan cooperation). This institutional milieu sets the conditions for the action of political actors and favours the existence of a specific model of metropolitan governance. In the second part, I study the case of Spain, which is interesting for two main reasons. First, it exemplifies well one of the problems of metropolitan governance: the permanent gap between institutions and the process of metropolitanization. Second, in Spain there is a diversity of models of metropolitan governance, which is useful to analyse the reasons for this variation. To do so, I focus on five urban areas (Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao and Sevilla), analysing their models of metropolitan governance and particularly their degree of institutionalization and the type of institutional arrangements that have been made.

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Metropolitan Areas in Spain. A Diverse and Unknown Reality

Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

Metropolitanization of Spanish Urban Areas: Trends, Challenges and the Special Case of Madrid

Metropolitanization of Spanish Urban Areas: Trends, Challenges and the Special Case of Madrid

Mayors' perceptions on local government reforms and decentralization in Spain

Explaining Metropolitan Governance. The Case of Spain

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