‘Is the English experience distinctive?’ It is this question, asked by the guest editors of this Special Issue, that triggered this article focusing on the impact of neo-liberal ideologies on planning in Germany, France, and the Netherlands. The multi-faceted concept of neo-liberalism is used here as a perspective to interpret the recent developments in the three countries. Proposed changes to planning in England are also briefly considered. Although there are clear differences in the magnitude and actual manifestation of neo-liberalism in planning across the analyzed countries, with England clearly showing some of the more radical and disruptive effects, there seems to be a clear direction in which planning in North West Europe is heading. Due to processes of globalization, individualization, and Europeanization, questions also arise in each country regarding the position and objectives of planning. Neo-liberalization processes tend to further accentuate these questions as planning more often than not is grounded on a different set of principles. Yet, this does not necessarily completely dissociate planning from neo-liberalism. In particular, the French and German experiences indicate that even in broadly ‘neo-liberal times’, there is still a demand for spatial planning.

As an essential component of urban public spaces, urban streets play a crucial role in shaping cities and promoting urban sustainability. This article focuses on innovative streets as a catalyst for sustainable urban transition. It reviews the theoretical discussions, and empirical evidence on innovative planning approaches for urban streets. For that purpose, measures related to innovative streets are divided into two broad categories: urban mobility and urban livability. The results indicate that integrating smart street facilities with the Internet of Things (IoT), adopting a combination of grid and radial street networks, and fostering a safe street environment are vital in promoting urban mobility. Conversely, a walkable, rideable, and human-oriented street environment enhances social interaction and urban livability. The street’s dual function as a commuting and social space highlights the interplay between rising mobility and intensive street usage, leading to competition for street space. To mitigate these conflicts and advance sustainable urban transitions, enhancing street safety, reducing disparities in planning and user behavior, and accommodating the needs of all street users is crucial. Overall, the evidence supports the contribution of streets to sustainable urban transition.

This article examines how spatial planning systems have changed in Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece in times of economic recession and austerity politics, in amid pressures of external actors, and local conditions and traditions. We analyse the round of reforms of spatial planning and territorial governance implemented by national governments under pressures by European institutions, as well as local responses to them. On the one hand, we highlight how European institutions have used the conditionalities attached to bailout packages and other instrument of pressure to frame what can be considered an implicit Southern European spatial planning policy developed by the European Union. On the other, we suggest that Southern European planning amid crisis and austerity should be understood, together, as field that problematizes the idea of Europeanization of planning; a space used as ‘prototype’ for new rounds of neoliberalization; and a political space that continuously develops through top-down/bottom-up dialectic conflicts.

This paper recognises the need to study the complex relations between spatial planning and cultural contexts in a more comprehensive way. The objective is to contribute to a theoretical basis and conceptual framework for a systematic analysis of spatial planning, that is, planning practices related to a cultural and social context, on the basis of a complex system of criteria. This may contribute to achieving a better understanding of the complex relationships between the cultural context—including the specific socioeconomic patterns and related cultural norms, values, traditions, and attitudes—and spatial planning as an operative instrument of territorial policy by introducing the term ‘planning culture’. Therefore, as culture is subtle and complex in nature and is based on fluid concepts, theoretical approaches of cultural change are also introduced to provide a more dynamic conception of planning cultures to analyse and understand recent changes in spatial planning.

Sustainability transitions research lacks a crucial perspective: the spatial dimension. The interrelations between space and sustainability transition processes are thus underexposed. The spatial dimension is, of course, implicitly addressed in transition research but it often remains unclear which spatial concept is used and how the spatial conditions are embedded in the transition processes. This paper approaches the problem in two steps: (1) analysing the various understandings of transitions research and their implications for different spatial concepts relating to spatial sustainability transition; and (2) focusing on different spatial concepts (from a positivist mode to relational and socio-cultural approaches) and their reflections in different disciplines of social, natural and technical sciences as well as in practice. By identifying the links between sustainable transition approaches on the one hand and spatial conceptualizations on the other hand, this paper aims at deepening both the spatial perspective and the understanding of sustainable transition research. The results of this paper are three conceptual perspectives wherein space or spatial conceptualizations can provide added value for sustainability transition research in inter- and transdisciplinary modes. These three perspectives include (1) space as a “bridging concept,” (2) space as a “normative concept,” and (3) space as an “approach to action.”