Metropolitan governance(or not!) in Poland and the United States

Abstract

In this paper, we address the issue of metropolitan governance by examining its current state and the factors responsible for that state in Poland and the U.S. We find that, despite numerous differences between the two nations, the state of metropolitan governance is quite similar in both. That is, neither country exhibits examples of well-developed metropolitan governance. What is even more interesting is that the factors responsible for this situation are quite similar in both countries. Our principal finding is that political factors (mainly having to do with citizens’ preferences and the resulting lack of support for metropolitan institutions) have prevented the development of metropolitan governance in both. Moreover, because of the strength of these political factors, the current state of metropolitan governance in Poland and the U.S. is not likely to change in the foreseeable future, even under the presumed pressure of economic competitiveness.

Metropolitan challenges and reform pressures across Europe – the perspectives of city mayors

“…(1) for metropolitan reform: fears of meso and local level about losing their powers or even being abolished; unwillingness of central government to empower metropolitan areas by giving them special legal status; reluctance of central government to engage in a difficult political problem (it's hard to satisfy everybody with the details of the reform) which therefore never moves to the top of the political agenda (Lackowska and Norris 2017). These problems show the importance of intergovernmental relations for metropolitan reform.…”

Metropolitan Colours of Europeanization. Institutionalization of Integrated Territorial Investment Structures in the Context of Past Cooperation in Metropolitan Regions

“…This was the period when "metropolitan" legislative initiatives appeared, proposed both by local milieus connected with particular metropolitan regions and by national institutions. One of the factors hindering the implementation of such solutions, not only in Poland but also in other countries (Lackowska/Norris 2014), was the limited political importance of the issue of metropolitan governance. Due to the difficulties connected with setting up a general legal framework for the operation of metropolitan regions, a "do nothing option" (Goldsmith 2005: 82) is often chosen, in the hope that the local governments will deal with organizational and functional problems somehow, without any special solutions from above.…”