TY - UNPB
T1 - Metropolitan Governance through Soft Spaces
T2 - Insights from Hamburg Metropolitan Region
AU - Jacuniak-Suda, Marta
AU - Walsh, Cormac
AU - Knieling, Jörg
AU - Othengrafen, Frank
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - The spatial governance of metropolitan regions is increasingly pursued through the use of variable geographies which typically transcend the official administrative boundaries of urban and regional government. Following Almendinger & Haughton (2009, 2010) we refer to these variable geographies as soft spaces. More precisely soft spaces may be understood as a particular type of space, which are the result of a deliberate strategy constructed by governing actors to represent a geographical area in a particular way that lies outside of the political-administrative boundaries and internal territorial divisions of the nation-state (Walsh et al. 2012, 5). Soft spaces may have fuzzy boundaries but may also have well-defined perimeters which remain stable over time. This paper, reflecting on initial case study research in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region seeks to further explore the relationship between soft and hard spaces in metropolitan governance. Specific attention will be given to the question of boundaries and the spatiality of governance arrangements in the metropolitan region. Finally the paper will explore the potential for soft spaces to move beyond existing territorial spatial perspectives to facilitate collaborative working at the metropolitan scale. The paper is an early output of the international research project "Soft Spaces, Spatial Planning and Territorial Management in Europe" funded by the Hamburg Research and Science Foundation.
AB - The spatial governance of metropolitan regions is increasingly pursued through the use of variable geographies which typically transcend the official administrative boundaries of urban and regional government. Following Almendinger & Haughton (2009, 2010) we refer to these variable geographies as soft spaces. More precisely soft spaces may be understood as a particular type of space, which are the result of a deliberate strategy constructed by governing actors to represent a geographical area in a particular way that lies outside of the political-administrative boundaries and internal territorial divisions of the nation-state (Walsh et al. 2012, 5). Soft spaces may have fuzzy boundaries but may also have well-defined perimeters which remain stable over time. This paper, reflecting on initial case study research in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region seeks to further explore the relationship between soft and hard spaces in metropolitan governance. Specific attention will be given to the question of boundaries and the spatiality of governance arrangements in the metropolitan region. Finally the paper will explore the potential for soft spaces to move beyond existing territorial spatial perspectives to facilitate collaborative working at the metropolitan scale. The paper is an early output of the international research project "Soft Spaces, Spatial Planning and Territorial Management in Europe" funded by the Hamburg Research and Science Foundation.
M3 - Working paper
BT - Metropolitan Governance through Soft Spaces
ER -
