#10 Bordeaux

Reorganization of territorial governance: dynamics and repercussions

France’s recent reforms concerning territorial governance have set in motion a host of simultaneous projects requiring the reorganization of local authorities – a task made even more complex by the fact that relationships between different authorities are also impacted. Nonetheless, local authority chief executives see these reforms as a powerful engine for progress.


Just as the anatomical chart is not the body, the map is not the territory, and the organization chart is not the organization. Static vision may be reassuring, but it is false.

We who are involved in “territorial” questions every day understand the extent to which time, people, relationships and projects constitute the life force of these entities that we call territories. Without them, there is no movement, no energy. It is perhaps this idea that unites us and takes us beyond the different local realities we encounter in Italy, Sweden, Marseille, Strasbourg, Bordeaux or elsewhere.
Time is an essential component of territories: without it, there is no dynamic.

Territorial reform has raised a multitude of challenges regarding effectiveness, where time, in various ways, plays a key role. For example, what is the best way to go about transforming our organizations: gradually or in a big bang?
The answer obviously depends on the context and is far from clear. Hence the value of discussing it among colleagues, enlightened by other practices across Europe, as well as research and statistical data that broadens our scope of reflection.
Éric Ardouin
Chief Executive of Bordeaux Metropole and the City of Bordeaux

PROGRAM

Major regions

Swedish territorial reform
How to merge the country’s 21 counties into 6 regions
> Johan Krabb, Secreatary-General of the Committee for Swedish Territorial Reform

Merging regions
An opportunity to overhaul the administration
> Valérie Chatel, Chief Executive of the Bourgogne Franche-Comté Region [by videoconference]

La Nouvelle Aquitaine
The challenges of public policy and organization arising from the merger
> Jean- Baptiste Fauroux, Chief Executive of the Nouvelle Aquitaine Region

Strasbourg in the new Grand Est Region
What are the opportunities for Strasbourg Eurometropole and the region’s large metropolitan areas?
> Pierre Laplane, Chief Executive of Strasbourg Eurometropole and the City of Strasbourg

Metropolitan areas and counties – or Italian provinces

Territorial and institutional reform in Italy
Their impact at the national, regional and local levels – implications for the Emilia Romagna Region
> Francesco Timpano, Professor of Economics at the Catholic University of Piacenza and 1st Deputy-Mayor of Piacenza

Metropolitan reforms in Italy
Innovative facets and implementation challenges
> Valeria Fedeli, Professor of Urban Planning at Politecnico di Milano

Lyon Metropole: two years later
Initial analysis following the merging of a county and an urban community
> Olivier Nys, Chief Executive of Lyon Metropole

Gironde County and Bordeaux Metropole
The experience of a limited transfer of power from one local authority to another
> Laurent Carrié, Chief Executive of Gironde County
> Éric Ardouin, Chief Executive of the City of Bordeaux and Bordeaux Metropole

Metropolitan dynamics

Regional dynamics and inequalities
What priorities for 2017-2027?
> Vincent Aussilloux, Director of the Economics Department at France Stratégie
> Boris Le Hir, Project Manager in the Economics Department at France Stratégie

Governing metropolitan areas
Challenges and opportunities
> Claire Charbit, Head of Dialogue with Local and Regional Authorities at the Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development, OECD

The Aix Marseille Provence metropolitan area
Creation of the Metropole and integration of six former intercommunal bodies (EPCIs)
> Étienne Brun-Rovet, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of the General Inspectorate
> Vincent Bonnafoux, Deputy Chief Executive in charge of HR of the AMP

Spatial dynamics and territorial reforms
A consensual misunderstanding
> Jean-Marc Offner, Managing Director of A-Urba, the Bordeaux Metropole Aquitaine Town Planning Agency

 Photo Or Hiltch creative commons licence