Gouverner les très grandes métropoles ?

Abstract

The very large metropolis, a new phenomenon in urban and political history, poses a number of challenges, particularly as concerns government. A comparison of the large and very large metropolises of the developed countries with those of the developping countries shows the emergence of types of government which integrate collective actions shared by various actors, elected public officials in particular and, increasingly, technical networks. These metropolises are therefore far from being impossible to govern, though types of governance differ markedly : in Europe, political institutions continue to play a major role, whereas in emerging countries, where political systems are behind, institutions in charge of operating technical networks play a more important political role.