Uncontrolled Urban Growth in Western Balkans Territories after the Communist Collapse—a Review from the Spatial Planning Perspective

With the fall of the Communist Regimen in the Western Balkans Region, governance politics regarding urban and spatial planning processes led to significant changes in several territorial aspects. In this regard, several scientific studies and researches have put forward significant regional differences in urban development between cities of the Balkans that have followed very similar trajectories after the collapse of the “communist empire,” considering their willingness and desire to meet European standards - Tirana, Podgorica, Sarajevo are just some examples. Between the several disparities, these territories represent compared to Central and North European regions, massive and uncontrolled urban growth has been verified – catalyzed by liberal governance politics and private companies, without planning experts, and jeopardizing the need to include public participation in the development processes. This situation has led to significant uncontrolled planning and, consequently, to several negative social-economic impacts driven by it. For this reason, the development of a detailed review study considering spatial planning perspectives in the Western Balkans Region is seen as pivotal to understanding the existing planning disparities that affect the sustainable development of this area. Through an exploratory methodology – using both case study approach methods and territorial impact assessment (TIA) - it will be possible to understand how these events occurred and evolved, enabling the development of specific tools and approaches which might help to minimize the cumulative impacts of these processes. Therefore, the outcomes will define guidelines regarding urban planning processes for the main actors responsible for developing new governance measures toward achieving European standards.