Introduction: Planning and Planning Education in 2015

Abstract

In this introduction to the themed issue of disP, Klaus R. Kunzmann and Martina Koll-Schretzenmayr provide a reflective overview of spatial planning and planning education in Europe in 2015. They identify shifting political and economic contexts—including the global financial crisis, EU re-nationalisation, and urbanisation pressures—that challenge planning’s role and legitimacy. The authors present six guiding questions that informed a survey of 50 European planners on topics such as the current status of planning, dominant media themes, the gap between theory and practice, spatial disparities, educational adequacy, and the role of EU policy. The aim is to foster a multilingual, transnational dialogue on planning’s future.