Performance and communicative evaluation of strategic metropolitan planning in Bari and Taranto

In this chapter we evaluate strategic planning considering its tangible and intangible effects. Our purpose is to offer a framework to examine why were the strategic plans made and what was – if any – their transformative impact on development strategies and governance models at the urban-regional level. In particular, we focus on two strategic plans that were respectively carried out in Bari and Taranto sub-regions following the Italian Government’s decision to fund strategic planning in order to promote a sustainable and competitive development in city-regions in Southern Italy. The strategic planning initiative in the Bari sub-region involved 31 municipalities out of 41 of the Bari Province; in the case of Taranto 28 municipalities of the Taranto Province voluntarily adhered to the strategic planning process. In both cases the strategic planning process attempted to think collectively in order to prepare the strategic plan. Our evaluation shows how dilemmatic it is to balance between tangible and intangible impacts in a strategic planning process in urban regions in Southern Italy with its history of political patronage, vested interests, and other institutional shortcomings. To conclude, our chapter discusses some lessons that could be learnt for future efforts in strategic planning.