Towards cooperation? Reflections on spatial narratives and imaginaries regarding interrelations between small towns and metropolitan cores.

The article explores the local perspective of small towns in metropolitan regions by examining place-based narratives in the case study area, the Main-Kinzig district in the Rhein-Main metropolitan region. The research is based on interviews conducted with representatives of small-town municipal administrations. It is argued that place-based narratives and metropolitan imaginaries shape small-town realities and impact regional and local planning decisions and hence can promote or prevent metropolitan cooperation. A comprehensive critical narrative analysis reveals an ambivalent picture of the region and its small towns. Proximity to the bigger cities and good connectivity to the metropolitan region through the central infrastructure corridor seem decisive characteristics of the small towns. However, the narrative of a small and manageable rural municipality also appears powerful. This leads to a planning attitude that can be described as "sailing along in the shadow of the metropolitan region". Making these implicit narratives and imaginaries explicit open up new potentials for metropolitan understanding and future planning cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]