the larger geographic scale at which metropolitan planning is conducted offers a useful lens for a comprehensive vision of the diverse policy streams at play in the functional territory throughout the oecd the focus of spatial planning is increasingly shifting from imposing restrictions towards promoting development at least in the official rhetoric in practice when metropolitan spatial plans do exist they may still be narrowly framed around physical infrastructure and remain disconnected from regional development plans andor economic development plans which sometimes command larger funding eg in the case of eu countries that receive structural funds