Cities and plans – the past defines the future

Urban planning is often considered unnecessary from a neo-liberal viewpoint, particularly as the market would guarantee an optimal spatial allocation of facilities and uses without it. Planning costs and bureaucracy would be saved and the implementation of projects accelerated. However, it is argued here that urban planning has achieved many successes since the beginning of urbanization, which have led to an improvement in the living conditions of broad sections of the population. Urban planning history needs to evaluate these experiences, advancements (and failures), and to apply them for future projects and developments. In the meantime, the professional identity of planning history has been increasingly strengthened by new approaches and cross-border networking.