ABSTRACT
Urban development can be driven by a series of interrelated processes of change: economic, demographic, political, cultural, technological and social. To understand major trends characterizing urban development, it is essential to recall the scale and pace of the restructuring of the international economy. Government policies, legal changes, city planning and urban management may eventually address those problems, often resulting in changes that in turn affect the dynamics that drive the global trends and the overall urbanization processes. Two different concepts influence on urban restructuring: spacing and timing. Urban models conceived within the managerial frame of reference take account of the historical dimension to a certain extent and relate to other, broader social processes. A major influence of political change on urban development are the broad ideological swings and shifts that occur from time to time in urban planning and urban policy.
