Strasbourg

The conurbation of Strasbourg and the Ortenaukreis, located on the West and the East bank of the Rhine river, covers about 850.000 inhabitants. In 1995, cross-border strategic planning became a central objective so as to facilitate a cross-border spatial cohesion: the white paper on strategic planning was the first political will to get a global co-ordination on spatial use in the area. The search for efficient governance enabling the implementation of the strategy became more and more central in the political process.The decision was then taken to officialise a network of French and German local authorities : a convention was signed by local authorities to establish a Eurodistrict in 2005. It's not a registered structure having its own status but a web of political and technical competences and legitimacies.In parallel to the thematic actions, a strategic framework has been built-up during the past few years to have a global view of issues and expectations for the cross-border area: the Strasbourg-Ortenau Metropolitan Project (2004-2007). Website:

The important issue is now to facilitate the organisation of that metropolitan area and to have structural actions strengthening a sustainable conurbation in a competitive world-wide environment. An intensification of the cross-border territorial cohesion requires an evolution of the governance in the coming years.
Today, the two national spokesmen leading the Eurodistrict agree on the necessity to explore new methods of governance so as to pass from the existing cooperation to a more integrated form of collaboration, through the establishment of a co-decision process.
The EGTC is considered as a step to move progressively towards a European local government.
Exchanges of innovative methods with the other partners of the EGTC URBACT project will be a source of new ideas. The challenge is to intensify visibility for the inhabitants and to enhance the involvement of civil society.