About the Thematic Area
How can highly fragmented urban and regional landscapes be governed effectively? Contemporary governance increasingly unfolds within highly complex settings. Spatial projects sprout across the city, regulations and policies emerge in diverse domains, and a wide array of actors engage at multiple scales—formal and informal alike—yet these elements are often poorly connected or lack coherence. Such fragmentation raises critical questions: how can governance systems first make sense of this complexity, and then implement effective action within it? This thematic area focuses on the challenges and possibilities of governing fragmented landscapes, offering insights into how contemporary governance can navigate disjointed structures while striving for more integrated and effective outcomes.
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Thematic Highlight
Publication on Fragmented Governance
This article introduces a framework called “fragmented governance architectures” to explain the messy mix of rules, organizations, and relationships shaping property development. Using Amsterdam’s housing market as an example, it shows how uncoordinated ties between government and private actors create a chaotic but influential urban landscape.
Access the article in Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space here.
Related Videos
Related Events
UGoveRN Keynote: Prof. Jonathan Metzger (KTH)
UGoveRN Keynote: Prof. Patrick Le Galès (Sciences Po)
UGoveRN – BOLSTER Webinar “Energy Transitions Across Mulit-Scalar Governance Levels in Europe”
Joint Session with the Province of North-Holland
