Integration of twin cities: A Delphi investigation of the urban areas on both sides of the Strait of Messina

Abstract

ABSTRACT There are several cases of twin cities worldwide. In Europe, most of them came to attention after the fall of the Berlin Wall, when divided twin cities were still located on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. Since then, many cases have been investigated, especially focusing on their functional and institutional integration, which turns out to be fundamental for their development. In this paper we deal with the case of Reggio Calabria and Messina, two large cities which face each other on the two banks of the Strait of Messina. Despite their proximity, they are poorly connected: socioeconomic interactions (e.g., commuting flows) are limited, and institutional coordination is lacking. However, they have a remarkable integrative potential, based on their complementary characteristics. By conducting a Delphi investigation, a technique which to date has never been used in this field, we analyze the potential, the scenarios, and the strategies to achieve the integration of these twin cities. Our findings show that integration may give back centrality to these two urban areas. This is a feasible scenario, which can be expected to materialize in a relatively short time even without full institutional coordination, focusing on transport services rather than on other infrastructural options (e.g., the Messina Bridge project).