In the Alpine Space, metropolisation has given birth to changes in the urban system and in the urban-rural relationships: the dichotomy between small settlements of alpine towns/villages/hamlets which are influenced by important Metropolitan Growth Areas (e.g. Lyon, Milan, Munich, Vienna, Trieste and other big towns) can be solved through the challenging role played by high-potential small and medium-sized Alpine cities and by the catching and attracting areas around themInnoCité proposes itself as an empowering tool-kit for key players (politics, local & regional authorities, urban planning agencies, Chambers of Commerce, Craft Chambers, SMEs, Trade Office and Tourist information...) which desire to find a complementary positioning towards big Alpine cities and their surrounding rural areas. InnoCité will run 7 pilot cases in order to compare practises & results in the various experimentation areas to make it possible to develop an exemplary Alpine Space approach as regards the positioning of a metropolitan peripheral town-centre Achievements: Thanks to the evaluation process developped or purchased inside the project, each InnoCité pilot-sites' governance group adopted strategic axis and priority actions among which: the development of advanced training and further education (Garmisch-Partenkirchen), the strengthening of the inner city as a living area (Hollabrunn, Plusregion, Darfo Boario Terme), the creation of new retail spaces (Bad Vöslau, Koper and Neuville-sur-Saône), the strengthening of cooperation between public-private actors (Lure and Koper), the development of marketing and mobility actions in town centre (Lure and Voghera). Moreover the InnoServices tool for the diagnostic and territorial development of services to enterprises in small and medium-sized territories situated around large agglomerations is being tested in Neuville-sur-Saône pilot-site. Its software interface and methodologic guidelines were distributed for free at a dissemination conference in Brussels on 3rd March 2011. Outputs and results: http://www.alpine-space.eu/projects/running-projects/?tx_txrunningprojects_pi1[uid]=13&tx_txrunningprojects_pi1[view]=singleView