Regional Development And Spatial Planning in an Enlarged European Union

The European Union expanded its membership in 2004 to include a number of new countries, including those forming part of the former Soviet Union. This expansion has had significant consequences for both pre-existing and new members of the European Union. New member states are assimilating into a new institutional and policy framework, while the changing geography of Europe provides a different context for policy development in pre-2004 member states. One of the more important fields in which these changes will have an impact is in regional development. The admission of the new countries changes patterns of economic and social disparities across the territory of the European Union, which in turn demands that existing approaches to regional development are reconsidered. An approach which has proved to be one of the most innovative is spatial planning. This book brings together a team of academics and policy makers from across the new Europe who are involved in regional development and spatial planning, providing insights into different approaches and a valuable opportunity to compare experiences across European borders.