METRO - The role and future perspectives of Cohesion Policy in the planning of Metropolitan Areas and Cities. Policy brief: The role of metropolitan areas in the EU cohesion policy

This policy brief focuses on the role that metropolitan area plays, and may play, in the development, management and implementation of the EU cohesion policy. The information it includes is drawn from the ESPON METRO project, and in particular from the 9 in-depth case studies that have been analysed through the project: Barcelona Metropolitan Area, Brno Metropolitan Area, Brussels-Capital Region, Metropolitan City of Florence, Metropolitan Area of Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot, Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Métropole de Lyon, Riga Metropolitan Area, Metropolitan City of Turin. More in detail, the provided information discusses the different levels of engagement of metropolitan areas around Europe with the different stages of the EU cohesion policy development, the various programmes and instruments that have been put in place in different contexts as well as the coordination mechanisms that, in different metropolitan areas, have been put in place to ensure a stronger coherence between metropolitan governance and policy and the EU cohesion policy. The document also reflects on the engagement of the business actors and the civil society, as well as on the role that metropolitan areas are playing in the framework of the Recovery and Resilience Facility.