By Warsaw partners
Project overview
Strengthening metropolitan cooperation and governance in central Europe
Urban and rural regions are growing closer together across central Europe. As a result, the focus of spatial planning moved up to the level of metropolitan regions, which include commuter belts around cities. But cooperation between a city and its hinterland often remains challenging. The MECOG-CE project overcame this by connecting eight metropolitan regions in central Europe that identified, tested and shared good governance tools.
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1,65m €
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Project Budget
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80%
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of the Budget is funded by ERDF
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5
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Countries
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9
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Regions
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9
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Partners
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5
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Pilots
Duration
Start date
End date
Project progress
About the project
The MECOG-CE project focused on strengthening metropolitan cooperation and governance in Central Europe. The project aimed to identify the best tools, procedures and examples of good practices for strengthening metropolitan cooperation and governance in Central Europe and apply them in metropolitan areas towards strengthening integrated metropolitan strategic and territorial development. The project was designed so that knowledge/tools/methods and examples of good practice can be applied to other partner cities of Central Europe that deal with metropolitan cooperation and governance development. It was therefore primarily about sharing experiences and finding best practice tools between the western part of Central Europe and its eastern part.
Furthermore, thanks to MECOG-CE project, voice of metropolitan areas is better heard and their needs well addressed. Ability of metropolitan areas to tackle global challenges, that require integrated approach, has also increased.
Project partnership
Project partners
Lead partner
City of Brno
Address
Dominikánské náměstí 196/1 60200 Brno
Country
Czechia (CZ) Web
https://www.brno.cz/uvodni-strana/
Project partner
Address
C.so Inghilterra 7 10138 Turin
Country
Italy (IT) Web
http://www.cittametropolitana.torino.it/
Total partner budget
159,600 €
Total partner budget
116,200 €
Planning Department
Total partner budget
242,200 €
Faculty of Science
Total partner budget
96,600 €
European Funds and Policy Development Department
Total partner budget
154,000 €
Total partner budget
98,000 €
Address
Henning-von-Tresckow-Str. 2-8 D-14467 Potsdam
Country
Germany (DE) Web
www.gl.berlin-brandenburg.de
Total partner budget
259,000 €
Strategic development department
Total partner budget
182,000 €
Roadmap
1
Our challenge
By Warsaw partners
Urban and rural regions are growing closer together across Central Europe, but cooperation between a city and its hinterland often remains challenging. This creates inefficiencies in various fields important for citizens and their daily life.
2
Specific problem
Brno
To tackle persisting challenges, new tools are needed to improve cooperation between cities and its hinterland - metropolitan cooperation. The potential of this cooperation is not fully exploited.
3
Our idea
Stuttgart
What if Central European metropolitan areas join forces and develop solutions for better metropolitan cooperation and governance?
4
Our solution
Ostrava
To strengthen metropolitan cooperation and governance in metropolitan areas, new solutions were jointly developed and were based on existing best practices and tools for enhancing metropolitan cooperation. These were tested and applied in partner metropolitan areas
5
How it worked
Warsaw
The project connected metropolitan areas, experts, and institutions across Central Europe to share and co-create solutions. Building on 76 best practices, selected approaches were adapted, tested, and implemented in partner regions through pilot actions.
The project partners developed five new solutions focused on strengthening cooperation in metropolitan areas, emphasizing local food production, public transport coordination, prototyping solutions for current metropolitan challenges, and strengthening metropolitan stakeholder involvement in strategic planning processes.
6
Proof / credibility
The project achievements:
• 76 best practices identified,
• 17 expert outputs and methodologies delivered,
• 5 solutions for metropolitan challenges tested,
• 300+ experts involved,
• 6 Action plans and a joint Strategy developed.
Partners from six metropolitan areas worked together and confirmed continued cooperation by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation (2026).
7
Vision
The project strengthened metropolitan cooperation by:
• supporting cooperation beyond city borders,
• strengthening the voice of metropolitan areas in European and national policies,
• contributing to sustainable growth in Central European metropolitan areas.
It laid the foundation for a more connected and resilient Central Europe.
News
Events
Pilot actions
Outputs
Metropolitan City of Turin
We are the Metropolitan Areas – Our Common Metropolitan Vision
It is a policy advocacy document which articulates the long-term and shared position of MECOG-CE partners to promote metropolitan dimension in public policies. It argues for the relevance and importance of metropolitan dimension in European and national strategic documents and policies. Other deliverables listed below introduces the current status of metropolitan dimension, including challenges and existing best practices, which led to the creation of this vision.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
- Common Metropolitan Vision
- The status quo of metropolitan dimension in CE and its future development
- Identification of challenges specific for Central European MAs
- Report on metropolitan governance systems and existing tools/best practices at partners MAs for enhancing metropolitan cooperation
- Executive summary: Best practices and metropolitan governance structures
- Analysis of best practice outside partners’ regions
- Executive summary: Best practices outside MECOG CE partners’ regions
Ostrava
New solutions enhancing metropolitan cooperation and governance
Unique and highly innovative solutions provide guidelines on implementing five key tools that enable enhancing capacities for integrated territorial development and strengthening of the metropolitan areas' efficiency in tackling the most pressing challenges. These solutions focus on key areas such as coordinated public transport, local food cooperation, participatory strategic planning, prototyping tools for metropolitan challenges, and stronger stakeholder engagement.
Type of output: Solutions
City of Brno
Strategy for strengthening metropolitan cooperation and governance in Central Europe
It brings an overall model for enhancing metropolitan cooperation and governance. The Strategy serves as a unified methodology, where either the full model can be utilised by newly emerging metropolitan areas or particular parts of the methodology can be used independently. It also describes challenges, trends and best tools for metropolitan governance and cooperation models for integrated metropolitan territorial development. The strategy reflects outcomes of pilot actions and developed solutions on the implementation of five selected tools.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
Stuttgart
Action plans for strengthening metropolitan cooperation and governance
Six partner metropolitan areas developed individual action plans to implement new governance and cooperation models for metropolitan development. These metropolitan areas include Brno, Berlin-Brandenburg, Ostrava, Stuttgart, Turin, and Warsaw. Outcomes of pilot actions were considered and newly developed solutions were incorporated. The action plans include a step-by-step timeline, financing plans and responsibilities. The action plans are focused on the direct needs of partners metropolitan areas.
Type of output: Strategies and action plans
Project videos
Project documents
StoryMaps
Project MECOG-CE
This StoryMap introduces the project, its goal, partners and expected outcomes.
MECOG-CE metropolitan areas and their best practices
StoryMap presents the metropolitan structures of each metropolitan area involved in the project and their 17 best practices.
Newsletters
November 2023
First newsletter of MECOG-CE project
March 2024
Second newsletter of MECOG-CE project
July 2024
Third newsletter of MECOG-CE project
March 2025
Fourth newsletter of MECOG-CE project
July 2025
Fifth newsletter of MECOG-CE project
December 2025
Sixth newsletter of MECOG-CE project
April 2026
Seventh newsletter of MECOG-CE project
MECOG-CE
Priority 4: Improving governance for cooperation in central Europe
SO 4.1: Strengthening governance for integrated territorial development in central Europe
The project lead partner is solely responsible for all content published on this project website, including, where applicable, content created with the support of AI tools and the appropriate labelling of such content. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE Programme, its programme bodies or the European Union.
Project on social media
Project contact
Ondřej Cmoriak
Email: cmoriak.ondrej@brno.cz