Sub-Municipal Governance in Europe: Decentralization Beyond the Municipal Tier

Description

This book explores sub-municipal units’ (SMU) role in decision making, decentralized institutional innovation, social innovation and, in rural areas, service delivery. Focusing on fourteen European countries, the book examines the impact of political cultures, administrative traditions and local government systems on the functioning of the SMUs. An under-explored topic in the literature, this book provides a comprehensive, comparative European, thematically broad, descriptive book on sub-municipal governance. Front Matter ....Pages i-xii Introduction: Decentralization Beyond the Municipal Tier (Nikos Hlepas, Norbert Kersting, Sabine Kuhlmann, Pawel Swianiewicz, Filipe Teles)....Pages 1-24 Reaching Out to Sub-Municipal Decentralization: An Ongoing Challenge in Belgium (Ellen Wayenberg, Trui Steen)....Pages 25-39 The “Little Town-Halls” in the Czech Republic: An Unexploited Potential of Functional Decentralization (Jakub Lysek)....Pages 41-68 Decentralisation, Democratisation and Delivery: English Sub-municipal Devolution (Colin Copus)....Pages 69-91 Sub-municipal Units in Germany: Municipal and Metropolitan Districts (Norbert Kersting, Sabine Kuhlmann)....Pages 93-118 Between Identity Politics and the Politics of Scale: Sub-municipal Governance in Greece (Nikos Hlepas)....Pages 119-143 Sub-municipal Arrangements in Norway: District System in Oslo (Jan Erling Klausen)....Pages 145-165 New Experiments of Maintenance of Old Traditions? Dual System of Sub-municipal Units in Poland (Paweł Swianiewicz)....Pages 167-192 Deeply Rooted but Still Striving for a Role: The Portuguese Freguesias Under Reform (Antonio F. Tavares, Filipe Teles)....Pages 193-209 Sub-Municipal Units in Slovenia: Experiences from the Past and Policy Advice for the Future (Irena Bačlija Brajnik, Roman Lavtar)....Pages 211-226 Rural and Urban Sub-municipal Governance in Spain: The Contrasting Worlds of Lilliput and Brobdingnag (Carmen Navarro, Esther Pano)....Pages 227-246 Conclusions (Nikos Hlepas, Pawel Swianiewicz, Norbert Kersting)....Pages 247-260 Back Matter ....Pages 261-268