Metropolitan Research Institute (MRI) is an internationally and nationally recognized scientific think-tank, founded in 1989 and based in Budapest. Its work is dedicated to housing, social problems and urban development. MRI operates in the areas of urban development, housing and infrastructure policy, energy efficiency of the housing stock, local governance and comparative research of European countries and cities. MRI undertakes research and consultancy, organises international conferences, and designs and provides training in these areas. Research and consultancy is carried out for and with local governments, development agencies, universities and research institutions, as well as EU institutions and international NGOs. MRI and its leading researchers are members of different international organisations like URBACT, European Urban Research Network (EURA), and the human settlement research group HS-NET Advisory Board to UN-HABITAT. They act as editors or board members of various peer reviewed journals, like Urban Research and Practice, and Journal of Housing and the Built Environment. MRI is currently coordinator of the DG Employment financed social policy project HomeLab, and in the grant preparation phase for the H2020 project OpenHeritage focusing on innovative re-use of heritage assets in the context of marginalised/less-developed neighbourhoods. MRI will coordinate this project as well. This is in-line with the two big URBACT networks that MRI manages, REFILL and 2nd Chance. Lately MRI’s work has focused very much on metropolitan governance from different aspects. As part of ESPON’s SPIMA project in 2017 MRI was part of the international research team analysing the role of spatial planning in metropolitan governance in Europe based on the experiences of 10 metropolitan areas. Furthermore, MRI has provided consultancy to the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona regarding the experiences and governance structures of five metropolitan areas in Europe (Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Manchester, Stuttgart, Zürich).