Development of Policy Plans to Boost the Competiveness of Metropolitan Areas

Kim Taehwan, Director

Summary
1. Despite a low population growth, the proportion of metropolitan area population in terms of national territory is on the constant rise as the population residing in areas surrounding metropolitan cities is rising. 
2. As metropolitan areas expand, management plans for sustainable growth of megacities are urgently needed as existing policy plans are not sufficient to address the issue. 
3. Metropolitan governments in advanced countries are currently implementing a variety of policy plans for joint development and management of metropolitan areas while establishing participatory governance systems for cooperative plan establishment and implementation.   
4. The management systems of metropolitan areas must be overhauled to respond to changes in the areas’ environments and to boost their competitiveness; local governments within metropolitan areas should establish policy plans from below based on their autonomy as a local autonomous entities and should run management systems continuously.  

Policy Implications
① Policy plans for metropolitan areas in response to their growth and expansion are urgently needed, while new cooperative plans must be introduced, including an overhaul of existing policy plans. 
② The roles of central and local governments should be clarified to establish effective management systems of metropolitan areas and to create cooperative policy plans. Institutional structures must be created in order to strengthen the responsibility of the local governments.   
③ In order to establish cooperative policy plans for metropolitan areas, an extensive discussion on the characteristics and scope of the plans and on the forms of cooperative governance and management plans must take place, and based on the discussion, institutional strategy regarding such issues should be actively explored.
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