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Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic at the Metropolitan Level. Evidence from Europe

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New Metropolitan Perspectives (NMP 2022)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems ((LNNS,volume 482))

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Abstract

Metropolitan areas progressively joined cities as catalysts of European development, putting traditional governance models into crisis and triggering episodes of institutional experimentation. Also the European Union has progressively adapted its cohesion policy to cater to the needs of metropolitan areas, and arguments in this direction have multiplied as a consequence of the role that the latter could play in tackling the pandemic. Aiming at shedding some light on this issue, the contribution draws on the results of the ESPON METRO project, discussing how selected metropolitan areas in Europe have reacted to the pandemic, and to what extent they have been able to use the EU cohesion policy. Overall, whereas metropolitan areas appear well positioned to react to the pandemic and to contribute to plan its aftermath, the collected evidence shows that the scope and magnitude of their activity has been rather limited: a situation that may contribute to threaten European social, economic and territorial cohesion.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The ESPON METRO project (The role and future perspectives of Cohesion Policy in the planning of Metropolitan Areas and Cities. https://www.espon.eu/metro) analyses the role of the EU Cohesion Policy in the planning and implementation of metropolitan policies.

  2. 2.

    https://ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/filename/200629_Analysis_survey_COVID_local_finances_EN.pdf.

  3. 3.

    http://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/the-territorial-impact-of-covid-19-managing-the-crisis-across-levels-of-government-d3e314e1/.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DIST | Politecnico di Torino, Viale Mattioli, 39, 10125, Turin, Italy

    Giancarlo Cotella & Erblin Berisha

Authors
  1. Giancarlo Cotella
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  2. Erblin Berisha
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Correspondence to Giancarlo Cotella .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento PAU, Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Reggio Calabria, Italy

    Francesco Calabrò

  2. Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabr, Reggio Calabria, Italy

    Lucia Della Spina

  3. University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    María José Piñeira Mantiñán

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Cotella, G., Berisha, E. (2022). Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic at the Metropolitan Level. Evidence from Europe. In: Calabrò, F., Della Spina, L., Piñeira Mantiñán, M.J. (eds) New Metropolitan Perspectives. NMP 2022. Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems, vol 482. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06825-6_95

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