The 5th round table of the mayors and ministers organized by OECD (in Marseille) has focused on the way in which national governments and cities can improve cooperation to accelerate and promote sustainable economic growth. Discussions have focused on stimulating infrastructure investments, innovation, consolidating environment sustainability, financial endurance and social inclusion.
Just as the governments try to identify new methods for sustainable growth, the cities rely on reinvention and innovation at rapid pace. The cities are more and more creative in supplying local basic services and sustaining important investments for the future. Although still confronted with a tight financial situation, they have no other option but to answer to the challenges raised by climate change and migrating population.
The round table included a forum on approaching methods of coordinating national and local policies that can help cities turn their potential into account, attention being paid to strategies for financing investments, creating intelligent and eco-friendly cities, promoting attractiveness and accessibility to meet the challenges imposed by demographic changes and creating a more inclusive labour market.
Identifying and promoting connections between economic, social and environmental objectives are possible and vital for the construction of a functional city and sustainability has to be channelled in all three dimensions (economic, environmental and social). Thus, public transport solutions can have a positive influence on the labour market and reduce transport time, labour force costs and greenhouse gas emissions and can increase accessibility (to jobs, education, spare time etc.), all these increasing the life quality. Also, intelligent infrastructure can reduce costs in the business environment (productivity), emissions (environment sustainability) and can increase access to cultural, social and education opportunities.
Two strategic sectors have been identified at the level of metropolitan governance: transport and spatial planning for which the majority of governance bodies is working.
“OECD studies show that over 80% of metropolitan governance bodies work in the regional development and transport sector, over 70% in spatial planning and over 55% in all three sectors”, shows the abstract of discussions.
According to OECD research, around 60% of the metropolitan areas analysed own a specific transport authority; those benefiting from this authority report a reduced pollution level by 9% than in the areas without this authority and citizens are much more satisfied with the public transport system in the metropolitan areas that have this authority.
Spatial planning is considered another sector where actions of governance bodies are adopted and the way in which the authorities supply land for activities influences directly economic interdependencies and life quality; the lack of coordination between cities could double investments and waste public resources.
Thus, the integration of spatial planning and transport policies remains a real challenge for metropolitan areas.
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