Politics of Scale in Urban Governance
Summary
The politics of scale in urban governance examines how spatial hierarchies—local, city-regional, national and global—are constructed, contested and mobilised to shape policy outcomes and social relations within cities. This field considers scale not as a neutral backdrop but as a politically charged tool through which actors negotiate power, resources and legitimacy. Scholars analyse how decisions over boundary definitions, resource allocation and participatory mechanisms reconfigure the authority of municipal, metropolitan and supranational bodies. Central to this approach is the recognition that governance at one level often recalibrates responsibilities and opportunities at another, leading to tensions between grassroots community interests and broader strategic objectives. Empirical research spans infrastructure planning, environmental regulation and social justice, revealing, for example, how high-level urban master plans may sideline marginalised neighbourhoods or how metropolitan authorities leverage global networks to attract investment. Theories of scalar politics emphasise both the formal structures that order governance across scales and the everyday practices through which residents and institutions enact or resist rescaling. Practical applications include more nuanced metropolitan planning frameworks, equitable service delivery and adaptive governance architectures that can respond to socio-economic and environmental challenges in an interconnected urban era.
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Technical terms
Scale: A conceptual level of spatial or analytical focus, such as neighbourhood, city, region or global arena.
Scalar politics: The power dynamics involved in constructing and deploying scales to advance particular interests.
Rescaling: The process of reorganising governance roles and resource flows between scales.
Metropolisation: The formation and governance of a metropolitan region through coordinated urban and regional strategies.
Multi-scalar governance: A system in which decision-making authority is distributed and exercised across multiple, interconnected scales.
References
- People in PowerPoint Pixels: Competing justice claims and scalar politics in water development planning. Political Geography (2023).
- Scales of participation and multi-scalar citizenship in EU participatory governance. Environment and Planning C Politics and Space (2020).
- Metropolising Marseille. Mission impossible? Challenges and Opportunities of Metropolisation Processes in the Métropole Aix-Marseille-Provence. Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning (2021).
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