Print Email Facebook Twitter Overcoming barriers to institutional integration in European second-tier urban regions Title Overcoming barriers to institutional integration in European second-tier urban regions Author Viseu Cardoso, Rodrigo (TU Delft OLD Urban and Regional Development) Date 2016 Abstract Within the debates about the socio-economic advantages of cohesive urban regions, several barriers to institutional integration are said to exist, especially when a metropolitan government is absent and integration relies on inter-municipal cooperation. Some barriers are associated with different urban region structures, such as the asymmetric power relations and sociocultural contrasts between municipalities in systems with dominant core cities, or the lack of a leading city to overcome fragmentation and provide a shared identity in polycentric urban regions (PURs). This paper investigates whether urban regions formed around second-tier cities, whose features depart from both dominant core and PUR models, are able to mitigate these barriers when pursuing integration strategies. The analysis relies on interviews with municipal leaders in three representative European case studies, examining how they perceive the barriers to inter-municipal relations in second-tier urban regions. The findings show that perceptions vary not only between regions, with the three cases following different trajectories of integration, but also within regions, according to the geographical and socio-economic context of municipalities and the legacy of past relations. In general, barriers to integration are not minimized without explicit efforts to rebalance power relations, approach political cultures, mobilize core city leadership and develop a metropolitan identity. Subject institutional integrationinter-municipal cooperationmetropolitan identitySecond-tier citiesurban regions To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:89684bc7-3c43-4d7d-8238-a5503e929adb DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2016.1251883 Embargo date 2018-05-01 ISSN 0965-4313 Source European Planning Studies, 24 (12), 2197-2216 Bibliographical note Accepted Author Manuscript Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2016 Rodrigo Viseu Cardoso Files PDF FINAL_Integration_second_ ... egions.pdf 386 KB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:89684bc7-3c43-4d7d-8238-a5503e929adb/datastream/OBJ/view