The article deals with the issue of spatial plans at the local level. The aims of this paper are (1) extracting the characteristics of local spatial plans that can be compared more broadly (2) identifying, on this basis, the role of spatial plans at the local level in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). In achieving these aims, the authors have critically examined spatial plans and their performance, as well as the planning systems they belong to. Hence, they have investigated the types of local plans in each country, their legal features, and the layout of their content. This examination has revealed a host of problems in the workings of the CEE planning systems. The article highlights those spatial planning issues that could be the subject of more in-depth international comparisons. The study provides additional evidence that in countries where spatial plans are legislated, there are more (mutually differentiated) legal problems in their application. Such problems have been analyzed. Besides procedural problems, discrepancies between the contents of different types of plans (e.g., general plans and detailed plans) are very often a problem. The paper also proposes a novel method for detailed comparisons of selected aspects of spatial plans. It can be applied to a large number of countries and also to other aspects of spatial planning. Last but not least, the paper emphasizes the need for a detailed multi-stage consultation of each aspect to be compared.

Studying green urban infrastructure is important because of its ecosystem services, contributing to the welfare and comfort of citizens, mitigation of climate changes, and sustainability goals. Urban planning can increase or diminish the performance of ecosystem services. Despite numerous studies on the green infrastructure–services–planning nexus, there are very few concrete planning recommendations. This study aims to provide such recommendations for a broader audience by analyzing the dynamic of open green areas in Polish and Romanian cities, connected with its drivers. A novel approach including mathematical modeling and geostatistical analyses was applied to Urban Atlas and statistical yearbooks data. The results indicated that open green areas were lost and fragmented in all Romanian and Polish cities during 2006–2018. The drivers included urban built-up areas, population and density, the number of building permits, number of new dwellings completed, number of employees, and total length of roads. The study also revealed a tremendous lack of consistent datasets across the countries using the same statistical indicators. Based on the findings, planners should aim to preserve and develop urban greenery and maintain its continuity. City managers should use more research and decision-making policy developers to develop targeted policies and scientists should develop planning manuals.

The extent and continuity of green infrastructure can be adjusted by planning. Depending on the sense of the adjustment, the process can lead to a vicious cycle, resulting in poorer urban quality, or to a virtuous planning, thus leading to psychological wellbeing and sustainability. However, socioeconomic circumstances also play an important role in managing green infrastructure. Starting from these premises, the current study aims to take an in-depth look at the mechanisms of change in urban green infrastructure and provide concrete planning recommendations for dealing with the green infrastructure. It is based on a complex approach, combining an ecological design, including geo-statistical analyses of the structure and dynamics of different categories of green infrastructure in all Romanian and Polish cities covered by the Urban Atlas data during 2006–2018, with selected case studies for analyzing the deeper mechanisms and drivers of change in green infrastructure, and focusing on the role of different planning actors. The results indicate that green infrastructure was lost in all the cities analyzed, regardless of the different planning systems of the two countries. Based on this, specific recommendations can be phrased for all stakeholders of the planning process, including planners, local administrations, policy makers, and scientists.

This paper concentrates explicitly on examining the structural and functional transformations occurring within the metropolitan area of Bucharest, resulting from sustained economic growth during the past quarter century, by conducting a time analysis, spanning the entire period since the fall of the communist regime in late 1989. Cities in developed countries of Western Europe and Asia experienced rapid economic growth during the second half of the 20th century and exhibited novel patterns of evolution in terms of urban form and associated functional characteristics. Lately, these patterns have become manifest in Bucharest as well. However, transformations in human, social, residential, and transportation supply capital are difficult to observe directly. Hence, our methodology concentrates on studying interactions between several proxies connected to economic development within the metropolitan area of Bucharest. This paper should be read as an exploratory study that buttresses the assumption that improved economic well-being, when accompanied by the transition between a centrally planned economy to a market economy, increases motorization rates, while at the same time triggering a sharp decline in the use of public transport and contributing to aggressive urban sprawl processes. Moreover, hopefully it will guide future research dedicated to forecasting urban expansion paths and their determinants. Hopefully, it also informs policy design intended to promote sustainable urban mobility and accessibility.

The aim of this paper is to identify and compare the key institutional features of urban climate change adaptation plans in three geographically, systemically, and climatically distinct European countries (Greece, Spain, and Poland). The paper concentrates on the tool indicated and confirms the circumstances and potential outcomes of its usage in the selected countries. A case study of a particular city was chosen in each country and the applicability of the climate change adaptation plan there was confirmed. Analysis was also performed on the plans’ legal aspect, connection to national-level strategic planning, and spatial planning. The research questions formulated and addressed are as follows: how do urban climate change adaptation plans in the selected countries define key climate challenges? Is the content of the municipal climate change adaptation plans consistent with the content of the diagnosis of climate challenges at the supra-local level and in the scientific discussion? How are climate change adaptation plans translated into the implementation sphere? Τhe example of Spain and Greece confirms that plans can combine general climate change adaptation objectives with specific (evasive) guidelines for urban policies, while the example of Poland shows that the content of climate change adaptation plans can often be too vague and difficult to further integrate into urban policies. The research results obtained are relevant from the perspective of comparing institutional responses to climate challenges. The research proposes possible methods for making such comparisons.