Multilevel governance of the metropolitan region: applying new regionalism approach (Case study: metropolitan region of Mashhad)

The roots of many problems that cities nowadays face are the outside of their realm. In fact, different studies on cities and their suburbs in the entire world indicates that cooperation between central city and their suburbs are absolutely necessary to address these regional problems such as urban sprawl, unemployment, devastation of agriculture and open spaces, social injustice, and environmental injustice. Mashhad metropolitan is not an exception in this paradigm and faces with many and various problems such as urban sprawl, devastation of agriculture and open spaces which are originated at a higher level in the metropolitan region of Mashhad. The metropolitan region of Mashhad consists of four different and separate counties; Mashhad, Fariman, Chenaran and lastly Binalud. The regional management in metropolitan region of Mashhad is not well integrated and thus, manifested in the chaotic and somehow win-lose competitions within the aforementioned regions. New regionalism approach has the capability to reduce the rivalries and establishing collaborative milieu. For applying new regionalism, it is needed to apply multilevel governance approach in the regional scale.
This article aims to study regional management system based on the new regionalism approach to address the problems of metropolitan region in Mashhad. Thus, firstly, the shortcomings of new regionalism and regional management methods are analyzed. After that, current regional management system of metropolitan region of Mashhad is carefully studied. Therefore, the best regional management method for covering the shortcomings in the metropolitan region of Mashhad is deliberated. Research review method is used and explained in the literature review of new regionalism and regional management. Also, in studying regional management system of metropolitan region of Mashhad, descriptive-analytical research method is used. The research method is based on analyzing secondary data and formal related documents about Mashhad’s spatial management system. In addition, the academic sources with regards to regional management and new regionalism have been reviewed neatly and carefully to provide the necessary theoretical framework for the problems.
New Regionalism is an approach which recognizes certain regions that are capable of cooperation and integration among their intra-regional institutions in pursue of political, socio-economic, cultural, and environmental synergies. The best way for applying new regionalism is through governance. In fact governance is complement of new regionalism. New regionalism should be implemented step by step and carefully to ease the resistance to change as well as to give it sufficient time for tailoring the most appropriate institutional arrangement. Also, the most efficient way for cooperation between regional actors is multilevel governance which mostly is based on subsidiarity.
Research findings suggests that multilevel governance system with the participation of all regional actors based on subsidiarity can be an effective regional management system of metropolitan region of Mashhad. For the metropolitan region of Mashhad two-level governance is recommended: the first level is in the territory of metropolitan region with participation of state, public and private sector and civil society. The second level is in the territory of the formerly introduced and aforementioned counties (Mashhad, Fariman, Chenaran and Binalud).