Under the conditions of globalisation, economic success has been related in politics and theoretical debate to the strength of regions. The concept of the region has therefore also been strengthened in Germany. Within the architecture of a historically grown political landscape, the implementation of the new forms of so-called metropolitan governance, however, has had limited effects. While the limits of “new regionalism” in Germany – by the federal organisation of political geography – are evident, the very idea of regional governance is also to be challenged. Therefore, the article discusses whether the introduction of “Metropolitan regions” can be regarded in the light of the international research on global city-regions.
The modernisation of Germany coincided with with the most important phase of urban development. With the upcoming industrialisation, the emergence of modern urban life was based on a modern class formation rooted in professional and occupational status. The city has thus become the place where different social groups integrate, and it allows the individual some freedom to choose intimate relationships. Today, this logic of integration is under great pressure as neither work nor the traditional neighbourhood currently plays this role. The transformation to a radicalised modernity is worked out in this article with regard to the integration of the ethnic “other”. It shows that contemporary urban life in Germany is characterised by a double-edged process: ongoing segregation on a micro-level and adaptation towards a generalised stranger.
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