Global economic integration and urbanisation are two of the main processes which characterise contemporary globalisation. Urbanisation is so pervasive that urban landscapes now stretch far beyond the traditional city limits such that the city may no longer be the most appropriate unit to reflect how contemporary urban life is organised. Today, city-regions even mega city-regions are considered by some to be the primary spatial scale at which competing political and economic agendas are convened. Moreover, proponents of the new regionalism believe that decentralisation of state power is producing new forms of political economic regulation at supranational and subnational levels which are more appropriate for effective governance. However, it is argued that the geoeconomic logic for city-regionalism is focused too narrowly on the functional economic side of regional development, thereby overlooking how city-regions represent geopolitical constructions both of, and inside, the state. This thesis therefore aims to explore the constitutive role of politics in the construction of mega city-regions. The starting point is to complement North Atlantic accounts of city-regionalism by focusing on the geopolitics of city-regionalism in China. Using the Yangtze River Delta mega city-region as its case study, this thesis stresses that theories of new city-regionalism must increasingly be derived from, rather than applied to, the Chinese case. It is revealed how the unprecedented rate of city expansion, scale of urbanisation, and context of a highly centralised, one-party state, produces a distinctly Chinese city-regionalism that requires a combination of new conceptualisation, alongside refinement and modification of existing theories on mega city-regions.

A conformação territorial da Cidade-Região São Paulo faz dela um meio de produção de riqueza tendo como as vantagens locacionais um dos seus pilares. Uma dessas vantagens é fluidez nas redes de fluxos deste território, uma condição necessária para a valorização do capital. O objetivo de nossa pesquisa é compreender a relação entre a cobrança de pedágio para o transporte de produtos indivisíveis sobre os quais incide a Tarifa Adicional de Pedágio, visto que a operação das rodovias no estado de São Paulo foi concedida à iniciativa privada, que cobra pedágio dos usuários e cobra ainda a Tarifa Adicional de Pedágio- TAP- para os produtos indivisíveis. Ao analisar a reprodução capitalista na Cidade-Região São Paulo este trabalho se debruça sobre sua conformação espacial como o resultado do estabelecimento de condições gerais de produção no seu território, o que confere a ele a capacidade de ser um local adequado à reprodução capitalista. Este trabalho discute os conceitos de valor, valorização do capital, condições gerais de produção valorização do espaço de forma integrada em uma concepção histórica. Considerando que, no Brasil, um dos artifícios em busca da maior fluidez nas redes de fluxos é a concessão da administração de rodovias à iniciativa privada, defendemos que essa fluidez tem um preço muito alto, por meio da cobrança da TAP, para o transporte de produtos indivisíveis, o que afeta principalmente a lucratividade das empresas produtoras de máquinas e equipamentos, o que pode anular em parte as vantagens locacionais que a CRSP oferece para esse setor. / The territorial conformation of the city-region São Paulo makes it into a mean of production of wealth with the local advantages as one of its pillars. One of these advantages is the fluidity in the flow networks of this territory, a necessary condition for capital appreciation. Our research aims to comprehend the relation between the toll collection for indivisible products transportation upon which the Additional Toll Tariff (ATT) incurs, whereas the operation of the highways in the state of São Paulo was granted to the private initiative, which charges tolls from the users and also charges the Additional Toll Tariff ATT for indivisible products. Analyzing the capitalist reproduction in the city-region São Paulo, this work addresses its spatial conformation as the result of the establishment of general conditions of production in its territory, giving it the capacity to be a proper location to the capitalist reproduction. This work discusses the concepts of value, capital appreciation, general conditions of production, space appreciation in an integrated manner and a historical conception. Considering that, in Brazil, one of the artifices when seeking more fluidity in the flow networks is the concession of the highways management to the private initiative; we argue that this fluidity has a high price, through the charging of the ATT, for the transportation of indivisible products, affecting mostly the profitability of the machines and equipments producing companies, which can partly nullify the locational advantages that the CRSP offers to this sector.

A conformação territorial da Cidade-Região São Paulo faz dela um meio de produção de riqueza tendo como as vantagens locacionais um dos seus pilares. Uma dessas vantagens é fluidez nas redes de fluxos deste território, uma condição necessária para a valorização do capital. O objetivo de nossa pesquisa é compreender a relação entre a cobrança de pedágio para o transporte de produtos indivisíveis sobre os quais incide a Tarifa Adicional de Pedágio, visto que a operação das rodovias no estado de São Paulo foi concedida à iniciativa privada, que cobra pedágio dos usuários e cobra ainda a Tarifa Adicional de Pedágio- TAP- para os produtos indivisíveis. Ao analisar a reprodução capitalista na Cidade-Região São Paulo este trabalho se debruça sobre sua conformação espacial como o resultado do estabelecimento de condições gerais de produção no seu território, o que confere a ele a capacidade de ser um local adequado à reprodução capitalista. Este trabalho discute os conceitos de valor, valorização do capital, condições gerais de produção valorização do espaço de forma integrada em uma concepção histórica. Considerando que, no Brasil, um dos artifícios em busca da maior fluidez nas redes de fluxos é a concessão da administração de rodovias à iniciativa privada, defendemos que essa fluidez tem um preço muito alto, por meio da cobrança da TAP, para o transporte de produtos indivisíveis, o que afeta principalmente a lucratividade das empresas produtoras de máquinas e equipamentos, o que pode anular em parte as vantagens locacionais que a CRSP oferece para esse setor. / The territorial conformation of the city-region São Paulo makes it into a mean of production of wealth with the local advantages as one of its pillars. One of these advantages is the fluidity in the flow networks of this territory, a necessary condition for capital appreciation. Our research aims to comprehend the relation between the toll collection for indivisible products transportation upon which the Additional Toll Tariff (ATT) incurs, whereas the operation of the highways in the state of São Paulo was granted to the private initiative, which charges tolls from the users and also charges the Additional Toll Tariff ATT for indivisible products. Analyzing the capitalist reproduction in the city-region São Paulo, this work addresses its spatial conformation as the result of the establishment of general conditions of production in its territory, giving it the capacity to be a proper location to the capitalist reproduction. This work discusses the concepts of value, capital appreciation, general conditions of production, space appreciation in an integrated manner and a historical conception. Considering that, in Brazil, one of the artifices when seeking more fluidity in the flow networks is the concession of the highways management to the private initiative; we argue that this fluidity has a high price, through the charging of the ATT, for the transportation of indivisible products, affecting mostly the profitability of the machines and equipments producing companies, which can partly nullify the locational advantages that the CRSP offers to this sector.

For the first time in history, more people in the world live in urban areas than in rural areas. Almost half of this world urban population now live in metropolitan areas, which are becoming central spaces of world economic and social activity, and where major global challenges happen and should be tackled. Metropolitan areas are defined by urban spaces of integrated mobility flows and markets, but also by high institutional fragmentation and political decomposition. This fragmentation interferes in decision-making processes leading to difficulties for the design and implementation of adequate responses to metropolitan problems. In this context, the study of how metropolitan areas should be governed is gaining relevance in the field of urban studies, among other fields. The normative debates about metropolitan governance has been framed by three traditions. From the 60s to the late 80s these debates were restricted to the ‘old regionalism’ dialectics between the metropolitan reform and public choice scholars. More recently, new regionalism recognize in flexible and cooperative governance instruments the most effective way to deal with metropolitan problems. From this perspective metropolitan areas are governed by complex governance relations between diverse actors through multiple and concurrent instruments, in the form of policy networks, voluntary cooperation, strategic planning, and so on. The Öresund Region is a metropolis that spans from eastern Denmark to southern Sweden, and includes cities such as Copenhagen and Malmö. While it has been largely referenced and praised as an example of cross-border metropolitan area, there is little evidence on how it is governed or which are the main governance instruments or who are the actors involved in the policy-making process. Taking an original approach to the study of metropolitan governance, this paper represents a first attempt to identify and understand the main features of metropolitan governance in the Öresund Region as a system, in a polycentric and multilayered crossborder metropolis. The results suggest that metropolitan governance in the Öresund Region is very ambiguous, with several agents acting in different and non-coincident scales, strongly focused in hard policies and development policies in contrast to social and environmental policy areas. Also, there are persistent barriers to cross-border governance despite the favorable context. And finally, there is a relevant democratic governance deficit, in terms of social actors’ participation and involvement in the metropolitan decision-making process. These first results recommend to go forward with further research in this issue. Particularly to grasp about governance networks operatives, policy-making processes, and citizens’ political orientations to, ultimately, propose improvements for a more effective, comprehensive and democratic governance in the Öresund metropolitan region.

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This thesis examines a protracted planning process in the Saskatoon city-region. More specifically, it examines the planning process which occurred between 1992 and 2004 regarding a residential housing development on The Willows Golf Course. This thesis reveals that the protracted planning process was the result of several factors including: the fragmented character of governance; the planning and development policies and decision-making process in the Saskatoon city-region; the multiplicity of actors; and the political dynamics that arose in an intermunicipal conflict between the City of Saskatoon and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park. <p>The thesis concludes that this case study provides some important lessons for both governments and planners in the Saskatoon city-region as well as other city-regions on opportunities and obstacles for improving planning processes. The first major lesson is that problems emerge when an innovative proposal lands in the context of an antiquated policy framework that cannot adequately deal with it. The second major lesson is that the current regional planning mechanisms are not conducive to comprehensive long-term planning for the city-region. The third lesson is that in some cases the opposition is to changes to the traditional decision-making processes as much as it is to the proposed project. The fourth major lesson is that timely and effective communication is very important for determining character of the political dynamics surrounding a development proposal. Miscommunication can create problematic political dynamics. The fifth major lesson is that economic considerations are inextricably tied to the politics of planning and development.<p>This study concludes with two major recommendations. The first recommendation is that in order to overcome the negative outcomes of fragmented governance systems, formal structures and protocols must be improved to ensure that municipalities continue to communicate effectively with one another in difficult circumstances created by increasing development pressure, especially when they are likely to disagree on a particular development proposal. The second recommendation is that given that there is no guarantee that neighbouring municipal governments can always reach agreement between them, legitimate and efficient dispute settlement mechanisms are required both at the regional level and at the provincial level.

This thesis examines a protracted planning process in the Saskatoon city-region. More specifically, it examines the planning process which occurred between 1992 and 2004 regarding a residential housing development on The Willows Golf Course. This thesis reveals that the protracted planning process was the result of several factors including: the fragmented character of governance; the planning and development policies and decision-making process in the Saskatoon city-region; the multiplicity of actors; and the political dynamics that arose in an intermunicipal conflict between the City of Saskatoon and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park. <p>The thesis concludes that this case study provides some important lessons for both governments and planners in the Saskatoon city-region as well as other city-regions on opportunities and obstacles for improving planning processes. The first major lesson is that problems emerge when an innovative proposal lands in the context of an antiquated policy framework that cannot adequately deal with it. The second major lesson is that the current regional planning mechanisms are not conducive to comprehensive long-term planning for the city-region. The third lesson is that in some cases the opposition is to changes to the traditional decision-making processes as much as it is to the proposed project. The fourth major lesson is that timely and effective communication is very important for determining character of the political dynamics surrounding a development proposal. Miscommunication can create problematic political dynamics. The fifth major lesson is that economic considerations are inextricably tied to the politics of planning and development.<p>This study concludes with two major recommendations. The first recommendation is that in order to overcome the negative outcomes of fragmented governance systems, formal structures and protocols must be improved to ensure that municipalities continue to communicate effectively with one another in difficult circumstances created by increasing development pressure, especially when they are likely to disagree on a particular development proposal. The second recommendation is that given that there is no guarantee that neighbouring municipal governments can always reach agreement between them, legitimate and efficient dispute settlement mechanisms are required both at the regional level and at the provincial level.