Dealing with areas ‘that don’t matter’ in Europe: the relevance of filling the gap in multilevel governance processes in the case of the northern Lazio Region in Italy

Abstract

This paper discusses the results of research carried out in a “neither metropolitan nor peripheral” area in the northern Lazio Region, which is similar to many other areas in Europe labelled as “areas that do not matter”. The in-depth study about the implementation of two different policies (the Inner Areas National Strategy and River Contract), both of which called for territorial governance changes to deal with the challenges faced by non-metropolitan territories, suggests strategies to address the multilevel governance gaps revealed by the OECD.