The metropolitan transport authority of barcelona (ATM)

Abstract

The governance of transport in the metropolitan area of Barcelona experienced several institutional restructurings between the 1970s and the 2000s. The analysis starts with the constitution of a tier of metropolitan government in 1974 and its subsequent abolition by the Catalan region in 1987. Ten years later, a new body, the Metropolitan Transport Authority (ATM), was established. The ATM included a wider territory with respect to the former metropolitan government and saw the participation of not only the municipalities, but also the Catalan region. The chapter investigates the process by which the ATM was established, the main features of such institutional transformation and the resulting effects on policy capacity.