Since the beginning of a profound societal transformation in early 1990s, urban structures in Central and Eastern Europe have sheltered complex economic, social and cultural interactions, while changing themselves to accommodate new lifestyles and follow newly established planning rules. The manuscript links two key research challenges in Bulgarian cities of today – to identify the potential of open public space in the large housing estates inherited from Modernism to respond to residents’ changing needs and demands, and to enable efficient interaction in searching for a healthier urban environment. The authors discuss the process and outcomes of a pilot intervention in several housing estates in the capital city of Sofia within the frame of EU-funded URBiNAT project (Horizon 2020, 2018-2024). The co-creation of a Healthy Green Corridor, initiated by the project, was a chance to investigate diverse actors’ motivations, existing potential for jointly addressing existing needs, alongside estimated deficiencies in the public space of the study area. Success factors and obstacles to enhancing social capital are identified and conclusions are drawn about the role of European research collaboration in developing context-sensitive planning approaches to support resilience-driven development in Southeastern Europe.
Regional leadership emphasises the importance of collaboration between regional and local institutions and stakeholders for driving transformative policy change. This article examines whether the European Union policy instrument known as smart specialisation can be considered a pertinent instrument for implementing sustainable regional leadership processes. The article focuses on the Värmland Academy of Smart Specialisation, Sweden, assessing whether it can be considered an innovative platform for fostering regional leadership. The article finds that the Academy represents an attempt to institutionalise long-term regional leadership processes, as regional collaboration is no longer restricted to short-term strategy and policy formulation periods. The Academy provides a forum for regional and local institutional actors and stakeholders to meet regularly to continuously assess and re-evaluate shared regional development challenges and opportunities.
Spatial transformation offers a crucial lens for addressing the intertwined socio-ecological challenges of the 21st century. While spatial planning has significant potential to guide sustainability transitions in urban development, mobility, energy systems, and land use, it remains underutilised in many frameworks. The 2024 ARL International Summer School “Spatial Transformation from a Planning Perspective” that took place at the University of Vienna, brought together advanced doctoral students with different disciplinary backgrounds to examine this role. This special issue presents selected contributions from participants of the summer school that highlight how governance, knowledge, and spatial perspectives can strengthen collaborative, multi-level approaches to navigating sustainability.
Rail-based Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) has gained increased attention in discussions surrounding sustainable urban development. Recent planning discourses in Greater Paris advocate for densely populated and well-connected rail areas as essential for a sustainable way of life, positioning rail infrastructure as a crucial tool for advancing the sustainable development agenda. This article traces the evolution of regional planning ideas for transport infrastructure and development in Greater Paris. It analyses the shift in planning discourses and practices from a previously balanced reliance on motorways and railways for regional commuting to the current dominance of rail transport. This examination employs a qualitative mixed-method approach, combining a historical analysis of regional planning schemes created to guide the growth and development of Greater Paris from 1960 to 2013 with discourse analysis. The article highlights how TOD and environmental considerations have emerged within this trajectory. It illustrates the dominance of rail infrastructure in the planning agenda for Greater Paris—culminating in the Grand Paris Express (GPE) project—and discusses the potential adverse consequences of this development model. The article offers critical perspectives on TOD and the model it advocates for sustainable urban development.
Although territorial cohesion has become a central principle in European public policy and spatial planning debates, there is limited understanding of how the concept has been framed and operationalised within public policy-oriented academic literature. This research contributes to the systematic mapping and synthesis of how territorial cohesion has been conceptualised in the context of public policies. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) analysed 53 articles identified in the SCOPUS database, published in the last decade. The SLR included a bibliometric analysis using VOSviewer and a content analysis using the SHARLY AI tool. Three clusters of approaches to public territorial cohesion policies were identified, which are operationalised in ten categories. From a macro perspective, a conceptual approach and contextualisation within the EU is carried out. At a meso level, the concept applies to national public policies, focusing on categories such as mobility, spatial justice, sustainability and governance. In micro terms, territorial cohesion applies to local governance, favouring territorial diversity, social cohesion and economic development. The article contributes to academic discourse by systematising how territorial cohesion has been associated with public policies across different governance levels and policy domains, clarifying both dominant approaches and areas requiring further conceptual and empirical development.
Land take persists across Europe despite demographic stagnation and EU commitments to No Net Land Take (NNLT). Using Emilia-Romagna - Italy’s pioneer with a binding NNLT target (L.R. 24/2017) and a regional observatory of disused sites - as a case, we surveyed 68 stakeholders from public administrations, professionals, academia, and civic actors to calibrate a Decision Support System (DSS) for regeneration. Respondents strongly prefer reuse/reconversion of abandoned or underused areas over densification or greenfield expansion, but report binding financial and governance constraints: high regeneration costs, fragmented competences, and lengthy approvals. Social and environmental benefits are prioritized over economic gains, and climate risk is the leading criterion for site selection. Framed by DPSIR, legacy greenfield economics and NNLT commitments act as Drivers; finance/governance barriers as Pressures; uneven readiness as State; financing/prioritization bottlenecks as Impacts; and reuse-first strategies with analytical DSS functions as Responses. We propose a stakeholder-informed DSS linking scenario analysis, trade-off evaluation, and participatory inputs to permitting and financing pathways. Future work will test the DSS on cases, extend surveys, and integrate geospatial data.
This paper critically examines the paradoxes of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) implementation in the asymmetric cross-border context of Great Geneva, focusing on the case study of the Tram des Nations. TOD, widely recognized as a planning strategy for sustainable metropolitan growth, faces unique challenges in cross-border regions characterized by socio-economic and institutional disparities. While TOD in the Great Geneva is framed within a discourse of territorial cohesion, its implementation reveals the persistence of structural asymmetries, including governance fragmentation and imbalances in planning capacities, citizen engagement, and socio-economic conditions. The study traces the evolution of cross-border collaboration in the Great Geneva region, highlighting the shifting ambitions, from functional labor market integration to aspirations of territorial cohesion. Through qualitative analysis of policy documents, stakeholder interviews, and conflicts surrounding the Tram des Nations, the paper underscores the tensions between regional planning visions and local realities. The findings reveal that TOD strategies deepen center-periphery divides, intensifying socio-spatial specialization and reinforcing perceptions of metropolitan subordination. The paper concludes by reflecting on the limitations of current TOD governance framework, arguing for a fundamental rethinking of planning approaches to address structural asymmetries and advance more inclusive and sustainable cross-border development.
By employing a polycrisis–borderscapes theoretical and operational lens, the article aims to situate Nova Gorica–Gorizia 2025 ECoC title (its premises, policy design, and current development) within the broader unfolding of the local borderscapes, considering both the recent and long-standing entanglements between re-/de-/cross-bordering processes, (poly)crises, and common urban imaginaries. The article underscores the role of local cross-border cooperation (CBC) in striving to transcend the manifold peripheralisation processes to which the territory is exposed, reframing vulnerabilities into testing grounds for joint resilience-building. The article further delves into the ECoC’s aim to create “one cross-border European city” by addressing its spatial, ideational, and governance implications. By framing this narrative within a broader genealogy of borderless urban visions for the area, the article reflects on its underpinning, notably in terms of cross-border public space production. Ultimately, the GO!2025 title offers a privileged viewpoint to reflect on the capacity of current CBC frameworks to curb marginalisation processes and narratives, and upscale grassroots forms of cross-border resilience-building and integration.
Cross-border regions exhibit distinct characteristics in the development of cooperative relations, influenced by international and national conditions at central, regional, and local levels. Borders act as barriers in spatial, administrative, economic, and socio-cultural areas. This makes cooperation necessary. This study aims to identify patterns of cooperation formation among local and regional government units engaged in establishing cross-border consortia under Interreg programmes (2007–2013 and 2014–2020) and in continuing cooperation afterwards. The study is based on 24 in-depth interviews with local and regional government units along Poland’s land borders (Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Lithuania) and its external borders (Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia). The research was conducted between 2023 and 2024. The key elements shaping cooperation patterns are previous collaboration, strategies for forming project consortia under Interreg, and the continuation or discontinuation of cooperation after project completion. The selection of such strategies, as well as the choices to continue or discontinue cooperation, was shaped by factors identified during data analysis. The research identified several recurring patterns of cooperation formation among groups of units: those with a history of intensive cooperation rooted in mutual trust, those with prior cooperation but lacking strong mutual relationships, and those with no previous cooperation experience. Although various patterns are possible, these three types were observed most frequently.
Resilience has gained prominence as a governance paradigm in addressing the sociological uncertainties inherent in Just Green Transitions (JGT). Thus, it offers a framework for navigating the complexities, disruptions, and interdependencies that characterise the shift toward sustainable and equitable systems. This article explores the role of community resilience in enabling adaptive and inclusive responses to transition-related shocks, inequalities, and systemic vulnerabilities. As societies shift away from fossil fuels and adopt cleaner technologies, some communities and individuals benefit while others are often faced with new challenges and are left behind. The paper addresses the question: how can resilient governance mechanisms be designed and implemented across different community contexts? Through a systematic literature review and case study analysis, the paper identifies enabling conditions for resilience strategies that support inclusivity in planning, decentralisation, and institutional learning. The findings present policy suggestions for policymakers, institutions, and community leaders seeking to navigate the complexities of green transition while ensuring strengthened social cohesion. The paper concludes by proposing a framework for resilience-based governance focused on distributive justice and human rights, contributing to more just and sustainable green transition trajectories.
This article analyses the coherence of regional energy transition policies in light of key EU strategic frameworks, including the European Green Deal, the “Fit for 55” package, and the RED III Directive. It focuses on the cross-border region of Liberec (Czech Republic), Saxony (Germany), and Lower Silesia (Poland), an area strongly affected by the long-term impacts of lignite mining, divided among three administrative system Despite shared transition goals, differences in national and regional governance may lead to divergent outcomes. The study evaluates policies at EU, national, and regional levels, assessing their completeness with respect to EU guidelines, alignment of targets, and the practical capacity of regional authorities to implement them—particularly in the context of a just transition supported by the Just Transition Fund. The main aim is to support the development of a joint cross-border vision for a Just Green Transition that ensures social justice and coherent regional development. The findings highlight existing gaps and discrepancies, proposing directions for harmonizing actions and the identification of appropriate implementing bodies and beneficiaries. This is intended to accelerate the green transition in the tri-border area through a more integrated and coordinated approach.
Population size is often a decisive factor in defining urban functionality. However, location and geographic context can also be important, particularly in territories with geographical specificities across Europe. This paper investigates whether urban functions follow population size. It responds to the following research question: What kind of relation is between the population size in mountain areas and urban functionality? Functionality is operationalised through the provision of services of general interest and their accessibility at municipal level in the European Alps. A fine-scale, pan-Alpine comparative analysis distinguishes between inner- and peri-Alpine areas to examine the functional relevance of small towns in relation to demographic thresholds. The findings show that many small Alpine towns fulfil ‘roles beyond size’, providing a comparable level of functionality to peri-Alpine cities despite being significantly less populated. The ‘factor-3 argument’ demonstrates that, on average, inner-Alpine towns are up to three times smaller than their peri-Alpine counterparts, yet they provide similar levels of services of general interest. These results contribute to a more comprehensive framework for spatial planning and development in the European Alps, providing empirical evidence for debates on the functionality of small and medium-sized towns in territories with geographic specificities.
The article focuses on the forms and patterns of social inequality in the process of administrative housing allocation and access to better housing conditions in Soviet Dnipropetrovsk (modern-day Dnipro, Ukraine). Ideologically, the primary objective of the communist housing distribution system was to equalise social and regional disparities in living conditions. In practice, however, communist regimes often produced significant housing inequality, typically linked to the status of the city and the social status of the housing recipient. A mixed-method approach is employed, including the analysis of archival documents related to housing allocation in Soviet Dnipropetrovsk, transcripts of in-depth interviews with local residents of Dnipro, and a curated body of relevant scholarly literature. It has been confirmed that in Soviet Dnipropetrovsk, due to its high-priority status as a “closed” city, there was a more pronounced social divide in the process of housing allocation and access, as well as in the quality of living conditions. This concerned not only unequal access to housing among different social groups, but also vertical housing inequality in terms of housing quality. The post-war elitist housing allocation policy laid the foundation for striking social inequality, which was gradually softened during the periods of de-Stalinisation and late socialism.
Resilience has progressively evolved into a central principle of European Union (EU) policymaking, reflecting the EU’s response to multiple crises, from financial instability to climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper analyses how resilience is framed across key EU strategic documents, including European Union Global Strategy (2016), European Green Deal (2019), Strategic Foresight Report (2020), Territorial Agenda 2030 (2020), Recovery and Resilience Facility (2021), and EU Cohesion Policy 2021–2027 (2021). Using inductive content analysis combined with a set of guiding questions, the paper identifies different framings of resilience, from a geopolitical stability narrative to a multidimensional governance paradigm. The results further reveal that, despite this evolution, resilience remains conceptually fragmented across EU policy, with territorial and place-based dimensions underrepresented and the uneven vulnerabilities of communities insufficiently acknowledged. The paper argues that embedding resilience in territorial logic is essential to ensure that policies address differentiated regional capacities and vulnerabilities, advancing both cohesion and spatial justice through redistributive financial mechanisms and participatory governance structures that give voice to the most vulnerable territories in the design and implementation of EU resilience strategies.
This study examines how the controversy over Italy’s proposed National Radioactive Waste Repository unfolds in hybrid digital environments, and what this implies for territorial planning and governance. Radioactive waste poses distinctive temporal and spatial challenges, and siting disputes exemplify wicked problems in which ecological sustainability, spatial planning, economic change, and social equity intersect and require continuous negotiation. Building on Issue Spatiality, the article analyse how online actors construct spatial imaginaries by mobilising proximity, scale, territorial identity to legitimise or contest competing narratives. The methodology adopts a digital methods approach integrating Social Network Analysis, Natural Language Processing and qualitative content analysis. Findings show a territorially segmented digital public sphere dominated by activists, local media, and regional voices, with limited cross-regional bridging. Within these segmented arenas, visibility is largely captured by oppositional mobilisation, while institutional framings are less prominent and frequently challenged through legitimacy and procedural-justice claims. The study identified regionally scaled resistance dynamics consistent with NIMYR (“Not In My Region”) positions, linking territorial belonging to multi-level governance tensions. By relating digitally produced geographies of contestation to the institutional spatial rationality embedded in the CNAPI map, the article highlights the need for scale-sensitive and more coordinated communication strategies.
Geographic areas disproportionately affected by the negative externalities of dominant development patterns – often framed in environmental justice terms as sacrifice zones – can be understood as “sacred territories” subjected to slow and cumulative forms of violence. The original notion of a sacred territory illuminates the biopolitical dimensions of regional and national planning decisions, complementing environmental and spatial justice frameworks while highlighting the limits of existing tools in addressing complex, “wicked” problems. Tuscia Castrense, in Italy, exemplifies such a condition, where locational choices for energy production, waste disposal, and the search for a nuclear waste repository site reveal a persistent entanglement of ecological, social, and infrastructural pressures. The article further explores the potential of a bioregional approach, connecting bodies and places through regenerative metabolisms, fostering non-extractive forms of territorial self-development, and participatory decision-making mechanisms. Drawing inspiration from practices of territorial defence in the Global South, this perspective opens pathways to resist and potentially reverse the logic and consequences of sacrifice, suggesting that affirmation and resistance can mutually reinforce the creation of more just and sustainable territorial futures.
In light of the ongoing environmental, climate, economic, and social crises, citymaking agents of all disciplines are rethinking the (design of the) built environment with an emphasis on sustainability and inclusivity. While uncertainty and technocratic processes are prevalent, these also present opportunities to explore future scenarios and recognise the proactive role of change in transformative processes. The concept of ‘adaptivity’, across various design phases and scales, offers a potential approach for envisioning future urban strategies. This article takes an integral approach to examine the different facets of adaptivity and its application in research and design. By addressing the multi-dimensional nature of space and time, this design approach can support the development of diverse methodologies to tackle urgent circular, economic, climate, and social transitions. Moreover, by revisiting existing theories through a review of literature and case studies, the article positions them within today’s context and proposes new concepts that go beyond traditional frameworks. Ultimately, this article seeks to enhance our understanding of adaptivity in the built environment, through research and student design projects developed in the Netherlands where its principles are used to respond to changing conditions, showing a thorough collaboration across research, education, and practice.
While circular economy (CE) discourse emphasises technology-driven solutions and formal systems, cities in the Global South rely on grassroots waste workers (WWs) in the informal sector, who perform essential circular functions through waste collection, sorting, and recycling. In Delhi, informal WWs contribute substantially to material recovery and fill gaps left by formal solid waste management (SWM) systems. However, they face considerable challenges affecting their health, livelihoods, environmental safety, and dignity, limiting their contributions to circular systems. This article examines how support interventions can enhance grassroots WWs’ integration into circular waste management systems while improving their working conditions. Using a qualitative case study approach, the research develops a model of support interventions through systematic analysis of Global South case studies, then tests and refines this model through fieldwork with stakeholders and WWs in Delhi’s SWM sector. The study identifies five intervention pathways and argues that small-scale, decentralised interventions leveraging local knowledge can effectively address systemic barriers while maintaining WWs’ autonomy. The research contributes to CE literature by supporting inclusive approaches for enhancing both social equity and environmental effectiveness. While findings are specific to Delhi’s context, they offer insights for Global South contexts where informal waste systems are central to CE practices.
Increasing concerns about sustainable development and climate change have pushed public and private actors and organisations to intensify their efforts to embed these issues in their plans, projects, programmes, and strategies. Within this context, the article examines sustainability as it relates to the Olympic Games, providing an overview of the measures taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the attention that these events' organisers have paid to integrating it over time. A comparative analysis of two cases – the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, and the 2032 Summer Olympic Games in Brisbane, Australia – has been developed to identify specificities and opportunities in staging such a global event, examining diverse and interconnected aspects of sustainability that could help evaluate it in future games. The article highlights that interpretations of the meaning of sustainability change over time and vary across stakeholders and that the long-term impact assessment of the legacy of such events requires further research.
The article addresses a topic of international interest within urban planning, architecture and reconstruction history, with added timeliness given ongoing debates on reconstruction: the implementation challenges and consequences of post-WWII reconstruction plans in Italy, exemplified by Genoa’s Reconstruction Plan (RP) and General Master Plan (GMP) from 1945 to 1960. The methods employed – primarily archival research, supplemented by literature review – helped to interpret the case study considering three scales of interventions (neighbourhood, individual buildings, and open spaces) resulting from the RP implementation amidst past planning trends and successive modifications. The research findings show delays, speculative practices, fragmented governance, and the limited effectiveness of public oversight, emphasising the dominance of private interests and the enduring legacies of RP and GMP for Genoa’s urban development. By doing so, the research tries to situate the Genoa case in broader debates in the attempt to make a contribution not only to Italian planning history but also to comparative studies of post-war urban governance.
