Leader Applicant

Città Metropolitana Di Milano

The Metropolitan City of Milan (MCM) is a local public authority established by the Italian Law 56/2014, that replaced the previous institution “Province of Milan” from the 1st of January 2015. The Metropolitan City of Milan governs the vastest metropolitan urban area in Italy. It includes the city of Milan and other 133 municipalities, representing a functional area of more than 3 million people. MCM implements and coordinates activities of strategic planning, sustainable mobility and urban public transports, including green issues, territorial development, digital agenda and European policies and programming. MCM implements experimental and innovative pilot projects through its Unit for European Policies and Programming to promote the participation of its territory and citizens in European programmes and projects. MCM supports the active participation of citizens in the democratic life and in decision-making processes by gathering citizens and decision-makers to design inclusive and participatory policies for local development.

Associated Partners

Area Metropolitana do Porto

Area Metropolitana do Porto (AMP) is an inter-municipal body that comprises 17 Municipalities and plays a fundamental role in encouraging the cooperation between them, but also between institutions that are catalyzers of widened institutional networks. AMP has assignments defined by law, namely the active participation in the definition of planning policies, management of the economic development strategy, and social and environmental planning. Based on these same skills AMP has assumed the role of intermediate body of the Northern Operational Programme: Territorial Development Programme 2007-2013; Territorial development strategy AMP 2020; AMP has created some networks where stakeholders are invited to participate and exchange their views and needs amongst themselves: Strategic Council for Development; Metropolitan Council of Strategic Planning AMP 2020; Thematic Networks – comprised of councilors responsible for different portfolios in several areas.

Verband Region Stuttgart

Verband Region Stuttgart is the political entity for the Stuttgart Region that comprises the city of Stuttgart and its five surrounding districts. It has a population of 2.8 million and consists of 179 municipalities. Verband Region Stuttgart came into being in 1994 following legislation adopted by the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The region is the first in Germany to have its own directly elected parliamentary assembly, making for fast, effective decision-making on regional issues.
The mandatory tasks given to the Verband Region Stuttgart by law include key issues such as regional planning, local public transport, regional transport planning, landscape planning, business and tourism development and certain aspects of waste management. In terms of voluntary activities, the Region can get involved in sport and culture, among others. Verband Region Stuttgart plays an active role in German and European networks, in competitions and projects.

Area Metropolitana de Barcelona

The Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) is the public administration of the metropolitan territory of Barcelona, with an area of 636 km2 and 36 municipalities with a population of over 3.2 million. It is the largest metropolitan agglomeration in the western Mediterranean and generates half of Catalonia’s region GDP. AMB has powers in the areas of social and economic cohesion, territorial and urban planning, mobility, transport, waste management, water supply, environment protection, social housing and infrastructure in the metropolitan territory. AMB offers public services to citizens and entities and private organizations. Among these services are the management of public spaces such as beaches and parks, the construction of social housing, a network of residual centers, buses, metro and taxi.

Association des Agences de la Democratie Locale – Strasbourg

ALDA is a CSO dedicated to the promotion of good governance and citizen participation, especially at the local level. It encourages cooperation between citizens, local authorities and CSOs. It was established in 1999 to coordinate and support a network of LOCAL DEMOCRACY AGENCIES (LDAs) established in the 90s (project of the CoE). ALDA is the umbrella organization of the LDAs that are self-sustainable and locally registered NGOs, acting as promoters of good governance. ALDA is a membership-based organization with more than 350 members (incl. local authorities, associations of local authorities, CSOs) from over 40 countries in Europe and its neighborhood. ALDA focuses on various themes: European integration, decentralization, civic initiatives, human rights & sustainable development, accordingly with the priorities of the areas of intervention. Furthermore, ALDA implements projects at local level and supports local stakeholders by providing support http://www.alda-europe.eu/newSite/.

Grad Zagreb

According to the Constitution, the City of Zagreb, as the capital of Croatia, has a special status. As such, Zagreb performs self-governing public affairs of both city and county. It is also the seat of the Zagreb County which encircles Zagreb. The city administration bodies are the Zagreb City Assembly as the representative body and the mayor of Zagreb who is the executive head of the City. City administration offices, institutions and services have been founded for performing activities within the self-administrative sphere and activities entrusted by the state administration.
Zagreb is by far the largest city in Croatia in terms of area and population. The official 2011 census counted 792,325 residents, although due to a substantial immigrant influx the number of people residing in the city is much higher. The population of the Zagreb urban agglomeration is about 1.1 million, approximately a quarter of the total population of Croatia.

Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area

Metropolitan Area Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot is an association that gathers 59 municipalities located in the Pomorskie Region with 1,6 mln inhabitants. The work of the association is organized around implementing specific strategies (the Integrated Territorial Investments Strategy and Strategy 2030)  and projects in fields of social development (integration and inclusion), culture, economic development, clean energy, environment, transport and mobility, urban revitalization,  joint purchases of goods and services, spatial planning. A key element of our cooperation is the exchange of experience and good practice in the projects carried out by local governments, their agendas and units. Since February 2014, the Gdansk-Gdynia Sopot Metropolitan Area also functions as the Intermediate Body for Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI).

Città metropolitana di Bari

The Metropolitan City of Bari is a large territorial entity of 41 Municipalities, with regulatory, administrative and financial autonomy in accordance with the principles laid down by the Constitution, by law and by its Statutes. It represents the local community and takes care of its interests, by promoting the social, cultural and economic development of the territory, according to the principles of sustainability, environmental protection and solidarity. It pursues the development of fair conditions, social welfare and cohesion in the use of public services in the metropolitan area by applying the principles laid down in the Constitution and by the general guidelines of the EC. The guiding principle is equality of rights for everyone with particular reference to the most vulnerable groups (women, foreign women, children, immigrants) applying the principle of equal opportunities for all.

Consiliul local al municipiului Craiova

Craiova is situated in the South-West of Romania. It is the residential city of Dolj County and the most important economic, social and cultural center of Oltenia South-West Development Region. Craiova is included within Pan-European Corridor IV. The City of Craiova, with other 24 administrative units within its influence areas, generated an intercommunity development structure called The Metropolitan Area of Craiova City.
Craiova Metropolitan Area reunites 54% of the entire Dolj County population.

The objectives of the Craiova Metropolitan Area are:

• configure a metropolitan development pole of national and cross-border importance;
• draw in an ever-bigger number of private investments in view of sustainable development of the metropolitan area and of its territory-administrative units.
• partnership access of various national and international funding sources, where the local public administrations, the associations between them respectively are eligible as applicants.