ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on three phases of transition: the initiation phase, physical reconstruction, and the shift towards sustainable development strategies. The idea of serving collective needs came out of the goal to abolish social stratification. The flexibility concept is connected to the fragmentation of planning processes, in terms of both decision-making processes and the disappearance of the big plan, where, in order to compete, cities must fund quicker and more flexible solutions. In the 1990s, neoliberalism reached the developing world and the countries undergoing post-socialist transition, where ideology was imposed by external institutions and actors and enforced by the locals. Neoliberalism is shaping urban and regional competitiveness and public policy, where performance is measured through flexibility, with the properties of allowing, enabling, being open to change, shareholder value, performance rating and so on. In summary, it can be concluded that politico-economic changes opened the door to opportunity-led planning practices, supported by various actors.
