Facing an emerging territorial model for which definite forms, contents and methods of traditional planning are not valid, some metropolitan areas become innovative clusters in supra-local planning. What can we learn from these heterogeneous experiences? The objective of this article is to highlight the instrumental contributions of the recent metropolitan planning practice in Europe.

Through a multiple-case study of three plans, we attempt to define the specificity of metropolitan planning tools in three orders: the instrumental framework, the scope of the plans, and the management strategies.

Keywords: metropolitan-region; supra-local planning; technical innovation.