Szczecin Metropolitan Region

Thanks to European integration, the natural catchment area of the border town of Szczecin seems to be shifting, which has led to the establishment of relations with towns on the German side and the start of joint planning. The agglomeration area, with a population of over one million, is commonly referred to as the Szczecin Metropolitan Region (Metropolregion Stettin / Metropolitalnym Regionie Szczecina). The first significant element of cross-border cooperation was the Euroregion Pomerania, established in 1995 and organized around Szczecin. Although the Euroregion covers an area larger than the Szczecin Metropolitan Region, including the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, three districts in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and two districts in Brandenburg, the organization is able to catalyze cross-border agglomeration.

At present, the Szczecin catchment area is not yet a well-integrated border region, but the processes triggered by the opening of the Schengen border (e.g. migration, employment, study, etc.) are accelerating the expansion of relations. As a first step, Szczecin established cooperation with municipalities on the Polish side, which in 2005 resulted in the creation of the Local Association for Regional Cooperation (Samorządowe Stowarzyszenie Współpracy Regionalnej). Four years later, the organization was renamed the Szczecin Metropolitan Area Association (Stowarzyszenie Szczecińskiego Obszaru Metropolitalnego – SSOM). The initiative took on a cross-border character in 2012, when the authorities responsible for spatial planning in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Berlin, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg adopted a joint declaration on the preparation of a development concept for the Szczecin Metropolitan Region. The document was completed in 2015 and outlines a unified vision for the development of the cross-border region. In order to maintain cooperation, the partnership includes the local government of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, the city of Szczecin, the SSOM, the Berlin-Brandenburg Joint State Planning Office (GL B-B), the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and the Euroregion Pomerania.

The Szczecin Metropolitan Region does not yet have a complex organizational structure, but steps are being taken towards institutionalization. Its activities include setting up a monitoring system to facilitate data harmonization, creating cross-border bicycle paths and tourist routes, and developing a model for the use of renewable energy. As a result of joint planning, the joint office of the Szczecin Metropolitan Region was opened in Anklam, Germany, in 2019, which is responsible for connecting local actors and generating projects.