Resilient Metropolitan Regions – Concepts, Main Challenges and Approaches

Kick-Off Workshop of the International Working Group in Valencia

How can spatial planning approaches contribute to a just and resilient transformation of metropolitan regions? What are the specific challenges and opportunities for increasing and governing resilience at the metropolitan level? Which strategic, planning, and organisational approaches in metropolitan regions can be established as "good examples" for other regions and should thus be further developed?

These are the main questions which are to be addressed by the international working group “Resilient Metropolitan Regions - Spatial Planning and Management for Urban Transformation“ that started its work in May 2024. The members of the transdisciplinary working group contribute with their expertise from science and planning practice as well as their experience regarding governance of metropolitan regions in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Austria and Germany. 

The working group is chaired by Petra Schelkmann (Metropolitan Region Rhein Neckar) and Prof. Joaquín Farinós Dasí (University of Valencia) and started its work with a Kick-Off-Meeting on May 23rd and 24th 2024 at the faculty of Geography at University of Valencia. 

Prof. Moneyba González-Medina (University of Madrid) supports the working group as coordinator.

The focus of the first on-site workshop of the group was to discuss the concept and diverging understandings of resilience, the most urgent challenges in shaping resilient metropolitan regions and the main instruments to implement resilience at a metropolitan level. The first goal of the working group is to develop an ARL position paper on the main challenges and fields of action to increase resilience at a metropolitan level. 

The current work is conducted in three online sub-groups, the next on-site meeting is scheduled in February 2025.