The North East Adriatic Region: Territorial Cooperation and the Role of Planning Systems and Cultures

Abstract

This paper aims to analyse the influence of planning systems and cultures on the process of territorial cooperation in the North East Adriatic region. Based on recent theoretical works on planning systems and cultures in Europe and on-site research, the paper proves that while territorial cooperation in the North East Adriatic is hampered by the existing differences in the institutional setting and formal structures of planning in the Croatian, Italian and Slovenian parts of the region, it is facilitated by the region’s specific cultural context. In this line, the paper argues that cooperation processes in large cross-border regions could be studied only under consideration of the specific regional conditions and planning cultural context.