In recent years, in many countries there has been, an increase in spatial problems that has led to planning crisis. Planning problems often connected with uneven development, deterioration of the quality of urban life and destruction of the environment. The increase urbanisation of the world coupled with global issues of the environmental pollution, resource shortage and economic restructuring demand that we make our cities places worth living in.
Problems of environmental management and planning are not restricted to urban areas. Environments such as rural areas, forests, coastal regions and mountains face their own problems that require urgent solutions in order to avoid irreversible damages. The use of modern technologies in planning gives us new potential to monitor and prevent environmental degradation. Effective strategies for management should consider planning and regional development, two closely related disciplines and emphasise the demand to handle these matters in an integrated way.