The Internationalisation in Cities and Metropolitan Regions
“The Covid-19 pandemic is over!”, an affirmation and statement which many cities across the world are about to announce loudly. An end date really seems to be in hand reach. But what does this imply in terms of re-launching the territorial activities, the securing of the urban built environment against future risks and above all the internationalisation of the “new urban” and telling the story globally?
A lot has been debated and written during the pandemic of the changes we experience in cities and their metropolitan regions due to Covid-19 with effects such as the profound digital disruption, the center-periphery commutes or the “new” opportunities of networking intelligence. Cities will likely remain centers of innovation and wealth creation, and at macrogeographical scale the power of local economic drivers will not alter, once this crisis is over.
However, certain characteristics and features when it comes to cities’ attractiveness will change and become more decisive considering that urban hotspots still face air and noise pollution, the climate change consequences and often are lacking green space. “Soft” factors such as safety and security, access and commitment to healthy actions and mobility, quality of life promotion, zero-km food -to name a few- will dominate the identity and image of urban spaces in addition to the “normal” city’s strengths in the near future. In addition, internal spatial boundaries will be less relevant in the new context, opening opportunities, but at the same time a challenge, to successfully brand the city abroad.
Finally, and in the European context, the multiple funding opportunities released by the many international Donors (e.g. EU NextGeneration, MFF 2021-2027, EEA & Norway Grants) will influence and help to design and develop, largely boost building back better our life in cities.
As a consequence, strong expertise and knowledge, generating thought leadership with a multi-actor approach (i.e. public-private and public-public partnerships), a systematic internal and external communication (incl. the citizens), marketing using multiple channels and sufficient resources is needed in addition to the support at the internationalisation of the respective metropolitan areas, so to position them on the global map. A coherent territorial development, as the physical, social, economic and cultural aspects combine to deliver the brand promise and to communicate it internationally.
A good example in this context of how such a metropolitan internationalisation strategy has been recently developed is the one of the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (BMA), aiming to create a smart, sustainable and inclusive strategy for the mid-to-long term.
There is no doubt that the Barcelona brand has assets and potential that bring economic, social and positioning benefits but that at the same time also generate negative effects such as the impact on the environment, the massification of tourism, security or the high price of housing.
One of the big questions when talking about the positioning of a city or metropolitan region in the global scale is why we are known. Barcelona, for example, is worldwide recognised for FC Barcelona, Gaudí buildings, urban planning, big events such as the Mobile World Congress, the Mediterranean Sea, gastronomy, etc. But are these the assets that we want to continue promoting in order to attract new opportunities? In the metropolis of Barcelona very innovative projects are developed. For example, the Low Emission Zone around Barcelona to improve air quality, which is the largest in southern Europe, the Alba Synchrotron to conduct cutting edge synchrotron light based research and development, the D-Factory in the field of 3D printing and Industry 4.0, metropolitan green infrastructure projects around the Llobregat and Besós rivers, natural parks and green connectors, etc. We are also global leaders in sectors such as health, food, creative industries, mobile or video games that concentrate an ecosystem of companies, research centers and administrations that are tractors of new opportunities.
Barcelona also hosts the headquarters of numerous city networks and also of different international organisations. Among the networks we can highlight United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), Metropolis, MedCities, Educating Cities, CIDEU, Ascame, etc. International institutions and organisations include the Union for the Mediterranean, the EIT-Urban Mobility, the European Mediterranean Forest Institute and the UN-Habitat Resilience Hub. The headquarters of these organisations generate a relevant institutional and economic activity and are also a good source of local and international talent attraction. Barcelona is also one of the non-capital cities with the largest presence of consular offices with more than a hundred delegations.
Having an internationalisation strategy is a way to set one’s own profile, define priorities, generate local and international alliances, and be accountable to the citizens.
The Internationalisation Plan for the Barcelona Metropolitan Area 2021-2025
The metropolitan phenomenon is a territorial, economic, social and environmental reality shared by the different regions of the world. According to UN-Habitat data from 2020, there are 1,934 metropolitan areas in the world with more than 300,000 inhabitants, representing around 60% of the world’s population. However, there are very few experiences of metropolitan institutions such as the Barcelona Metropolitan Area with their own system of governance, an important budget and the provision of services at the supra-local level. This makes the BMA an institution that generates a lot of interest and has a very important internationalization potential.
The BMA is a unique local government in Spain that occupies a territory of 636 square kilometers, 3.3 million inhabitants and 36 municipalities including Barcelona. The BMA has a long tradition of international activity linked to its competencies: urban planning, mobility and transport, water and waste management, housing, public space and green infrastructure management, housing, economic promotion and social cohesion.
Because of political will, in July 2021 the BMA approved the first internationalisation plan 2021-25. It is one of the first internationalisation plans made by a metropolitan government. The Plan has a duration that goes beyond the current political mandate and for its drafting more than 30 individual interviews and meetings with focus groups (city councils, BMA technical services, public and private stakeholders and international partners of the BMA) have been held with the participation of more than 100 people.
The Plan is structured in five strategic axes that mark the international action of the BMA: 1) Lobbying the European and international political agenda 2) Attraction of European and international funds 3) Innovation and knowledge management 4) International economic projection 5) International cooperation.
These axes prioritise different projects and also different ways of action such as coordination with metropolitan city councils, bilateral relations with other metropolitan areas, international city networks and alliances with strategic partners. The Plan also proposes how the BMA intends to act in the different geographical areas of the world with a clear commitment with Europe, the Mediterranean regions, the United States, Canada and Latin America. Asia and Africa have an important role to play, but due to lack of resources, they have a different level of prioritization.
The Plan defines a set of measures for annual monitoring and reporting, mid-term evaluation and the possibilities to adapt the Plan to new priorities or changes in the global context.
For more details please consult (soon available in ENG, too): https://www.amb.cat/ca/web/amb/actualitat/publicacions/detall/-/publicacio/pla-d-internacionalitzacio-2021-2025/12086499/11696
Other references & back-ground readings
Cities and internationalization: 4 trends that are shaping a new scenario of opportunities
By Marta Galceran, Sergio García i Rodríguez & Albert Tapia | 2021
The internationalisation of metropolitan spaces
By World Association of the Major Metropolises, Metropolis Observatory Issue Paper 09 I 2021
Attractiveness. City´s internationalisation pathway to smart growth
By URBACT, edited on 13 August 2018
Authored by: Alexander Heichlinger, GovInsight & Xavier Tiana, Barcelona Metropolitan Area
