While border areas are often portrayed as peripheries (Stoddard 1991), in the European Union many urban centers are located in close proximity to national borders. Since the 1950s,there has been increasing policy activity in suchborder regions. Through associations of municipalities, regions and private actors, often through so called Euroregions (Perkmann2003), local actors have formed collaborative governance arrangements to solve joint policy problems, pursue common normative ideals or simply to utilize available funds (Svensson 2013). This paper exploresthe extent to which urban cross-borderand inter-regionalarrangements wereable to connect actors in collaborative frameworks to drive economic development (policy). First, the paper shows that parallel to economic and political integration in Europe, urban regionsincreasinglybegan to beseenas engines of economic growth. Second, the paperreviewsthe collaborative governance literature and adapts the insights to the question of how urban economic development may benefit from collaboration.Third, the paper uses project data on cross-border and interregional cooperation intwo European capital city regions in proximity to a national border: Vienna and Copenhagen. We focus on projectscovering two themes: economic cooperation and governance.The analysis evaluates how cooperation evolved over the last three programming periods. Next, it evaluates differences and similarities in objectives and project structures (number and type of partners, funding, governance) between cross-border and interregional. Finally, concerning outcomes, the paper analyses severalprojects in depth regarding impact, learning and sustainability. Drawing on the analytical framework derived from the review of the collaborative governance literature, it asks to what extent have these initiatives engaged actors from different (vertical) levels and to what extent have they successfully incorporatedhorizontal (non-governmental) actors in horizontal networks? In doing so, what role has the objective ofeconomic development playedin specific arrangements, what are the concrete measuresplanned and implemented, what are the outcomes,andwhat can be learnedfrom this experiencefor the development of collaborative multi-level governance arrangements?The key proposition of the paper is that there is much to learn from past attempts at collaborativeurbangovernance,both in terms of failures and successes. The experienceofcomplexcross-jurisdictional and cross-sectoralgovernance settingsmakes thempotential role modelsfor innovative economicdevelopment policies. At the same time,practical obstacles and failures to live up to expectationsalso show their value as both negative and positive precedents.