Innovations in multilevel collaboration for metropolitan governance: a follow up on the Montréal Declaration on Metropolitan Areas

To address the growing process of metropolization around the world, the Montréal Thematic Meeting on Metropolitan Areas objective was to put forth the role of metropolitan areas in achieving global sustainable urban development goals. If metropolitan areas grow according to well-coordinated and thought out plans, e.g. through integrated participatory planning, solidarity and management approaches, they can help promote communities that are economically, socially, culturally and environmentally viable and equitable. Innovati ve collaborative partnerships, within and among metropolitan areas, result in sharing areas of expertise needed to overcome common issues and challenges in view of strengthening technical capacity and metropolitan governance, as well as interaction with other government authorities (local, regional and national). The event aims to discuss innovative collaborative partnerships as regards to public participation, integrated land and transportation planning, climate change, economic development, social cohesion, waste management, financing and implementation of metropolitan projects. Focused on actionoriented initiatives at the metropolitan level which contribute to the implementation of the SDGs and are in line with the New Urban Agenda, representatives from all level of governments as well as stakeholders and civil society will share their experience in overcoming metropolitan challenges by showcasing successful and creative initiatives relating to metropolitan cooperation.