Inter-Municipal Planning and Environmental Governance: Strategies and Best Practices in Europe

The current processes of metropolisation of cities have shifted the focus toward planning at the scales larger than the municipal level, leading the scientific and disciplinary debate to explore the inter-municipal scale as a dimension capable of addressing challenges that arise at the local level. Individual municipalities often lack the resources or capacities to effectively address current environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and natural resource management. In this context, cooperation and cohesion among municipalities emerge a strategic approach for coordinating the shared management of functions, services, and territorial resources. Based on horizontal relationships, this approach aims to align public policies and enhance the resilience of territorial development, consistent with principles established by the European Union. In this reference context, the contribution aims to analyze and compare significant experiences of inter-municipal cooperation in Europe. Specifically, it focused on two case studies: one from Italy (the Union of the Municipalities of Capannori, Altopascio, Porcari and Villa Basilica) and one from France (the SCoT of Bordeaux), both referable to the Napoleonic administrative model, with a particular focus on ecological and environmental aspects. The inter-municipal scale, in fact, represents the minimum territorial level for the management, protection, and enhancement of environmental components that are by their nature characterized by an ascalar dimension.