Parten's Profile

Metropolis Association

The metropolises are shaping the 21st century. Whilst individually different, they share modern-day concerns about issues such as urban planning and development, the economy, health, major environmental issues, transport, infrastructure and communications.

Established in 1984, the Metropolis Association is represented by 77 member cities across the world and operates as an international forum for exploring issues and concerns common to major cities.

Metropolis' main goal is to better control the development process of the leading metropolitan areas, in order to enhance the well-being of their citizens. In order to achieve this, Metropolis is the organisation representing regions and metropolitan areas at the worldwide level and is recognised as a major player by large international organisations such as the UN, WHO, the World Bank and others.

The Association has joined forces with the United Towns Organisation (UTO), the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA) and the World Major Cities Summit Conference to form the G4. At its request, that group has been joined by six regional associations representing the local authorities and the cities of the world's great regions. As such, its mission is to represent members and their interests, to relay their messages, to make their ideas and points of view known.

Objectives of Metropolis

1. To foster cooperation between cities in dealing with problems that face major metropolises.
2. To represent the great metropolitan regions of the world, in collaboration with international organisations, other city organisations and civil society.
3. To facilitate an exchange of knowledge within the network of members.

Membership types

Since its formation in 1984, the Metropolis Association has grown considerably, and now has 77 full members and over 40 associate members.

A full member is either a capital city or a city with more than one million inhabitants.
Associate members are organisations such as major corporations, urban planning institutes or research centres.
Honorary members are key international figures who have made a significant contribution to the work of the Association.
Member cities are represented by political leaders, senior technocrats, or their nominees. The membership of various cities differs. For example, Melbourne is represented by the Minister for Planning, through the Department of Infrastructure, as the responsible planning authority for metropolitan Melbourne, whereas Cairo and Buenos Aires are represented by Ministers in their national governments. Other cities are represented by Mayors or Governors.

Metropolis Award

The Metropolis Award sponsored by the Metropolis Association, a Best Practices core partner, is meant to acknowledge a Metropolis Association member city which has been responsible for undertaking an outstanding event, act, project or experience worthy of global recognition for its contribution to better quality of life. The presentation of the first Metropolis Award during the 7th World Congress in 2002 in the city of Seoul marked an important milestone in calling attention to the efforts and activities major cities have undertaken in pursuit of the sustainable urban development goal.

The award winners include:

First prize - Golden Horn Environment Project, Istanbul, Turkey;
Second prize - Integral Rehabilitation of Old Havana, Cuba;
Third Prize - Multimedia City, Montreal, Canada.
For more information: http://www.sustainabledevelopment.org/blp/partners/metropolis.pdf

Contact:

Metropolis Secretariat General

Ajuntament de Barcelona
Placa Sant Jaume, 1
08002 Barcelona, Spain

Tel. 34-93-402 76 00
Fax. 34-93-402 73 73
Email: metropolis@mail.bcn.es