However, the positive economic development forecast also presents a danger of existing problems and burdens intensified still further as long as this development is not under control. The future of the region thus also depends essentially on how regional actors and the Land (Hesse) deal with the predicted development pressure: both organizationally and by development strategy means.

    It is still not clear which of the organizational forms now being discussed will win the day, what territory will be allocated, and what range of functions will be assigned to a future authority. An important role will also be played by the fact that every potential functional area claims a different territorial extent, so that it is hardly possible to find objective criteria for defining a common territory for a number of functional areas. It is also a moot question whether it is possible to push through an adequate new regional organizational form on a purely voluntary basis. Will the so often lauded `regional consciousness' and the resulting common action materialize, or will - as many suspect - the Land government have to impose a solution?

    However, organizational issues are not the sole important factors in the further development of the Rhine-Main region. Development strategy considerations are also significant:

		Should the goal of `maintaining and strengthening the competitiveness of the region' be given priority, thus largely giving in to pressure for economic growth? The likely consequences would be the `continued concentration of service industries and jobs in the favoured locations at the core of the agglomeration, further rises in property prices and rents, a persisting shift in the job-inhabitant ratio in favour of jobs; displacement of the residential function and lower-quality commercial uses; further selective relocation of settlement and population towards the rural parts of the region distant from the place of work ... , swelling commuters flows across regional boundaries due to inadequate housing supplies ... , an increase in the volume of motorized private passenger transport, ... and the burdens this brings ... etc.'
		Or should the goal of `disburdening the agglomeration' be pursued, and an attempt be made to distribute part of the development pressure to neighbouring regions, such as central Hesse? Potential consequences in the agglomeration - such as a slow-down in growth processes, a reduction in commuting volumes, and an improvement in the ecological situation - would bring the overspill region of central Hesse corresponding economic enhancement, growing attractiveness for new business establishments, and a rising number of jobs.
		However, any such strategy to counter further spatial polarization trends is beyond the ambit of regional planning. Active intervention at the Land and the Federal levels would be needed, using means to both limit and promote growth.

     It remains to be seen which development strategy will be adopted - whether one of those mentioned or an intermediate variant.