ABSTRACT
New economic forces operating at a global scale have widened the differences in the fortunes of geographical areas. This has increased the competition between cities to attract investment and given economic objectives an urgency in urban policy. Nation-states have usually responded with deregulatory strategies and the private sector has had a more powerful role in decisionmaking. The fragmentation of planning decisions amongst a range of public, semi-public and private agencies follows. However, although these have been the major trends throughout Europe there has at the same time been considerable variation in the way urban planning has responded. National planning systems are differentiated along legal and administrative dimensions and national political and institutional structures create significant differences in approach to urban planning. At the urban level specific local economic and political circumstances and the relative power of the various interest groups also affect the urban planning outcome. This variety illustrates that there are opportunities to deviate from the competitive, market-oriented trend.
