The European Debate on Sustainable Spatial Development.- I Towards a European Spatial Development Policy.- Sustainable Development for Greater Europe.- Sustainable Development in Europe - A Challenge for Transnational Spatial Planning Policies.- Towards a European Spatial Development Perspective.- II Sustainable Development in Central and Eastern European Regions.- Cross-border Cooperation and Development.- Transfrontier Cooperation in Spatial Planning at the External Border of the European Union.- Implementing Ecological Development Concepts in Border Regions Project Experiences and Conclusions Drawn.- Cross-Border Development in the Vienna/Bratislava Region: A Review.- Urban Networking as a Learning Process: an Exploratory Framework for Transborder Cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region.- Danube - Waterway and Water Preservation.- The Danube Waterway as a Key European Transport Resource.- Water Preservation Strategies and the Regional Plan for the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR).- Vision and Strategies around the Baltic Sea 2010.- VASAB 2010 - Transnational Cooperation in the Spatial Development of the Baltic Sea Region.- Sustainable Development and Coastal Zone Management around the Baltic Sea.- Starting Points and First Efforts for Cooperation in the Black Sea.- Ecological Prospects for the Black Sea Region.- Geographical Information Systems in Regional Planning and Management for the Ukrainian Black Sea Coast.- Integrated Coastal Zone Management around the Black Sea.- Eastern European Development Perspectives after Chernobyl Belorussian and Ukrainian Experiences.- Socio-economic Consequences of the Chernobyl Catastrophe and Regional Development in Ukraine.- The Ecological Impact of the Chernobyl Catastrophe on Sustainable Development in Belarus.- Sustainable Development of the Regions in Ukraine.- Regional Development Concept for the Brest-Minsk-Orsha Section of the Berlin-Moscow Trans-European Transport Corridor.- Perspective.- Towards a Framework for Sustainable Spatial Development in Central and Eastern Europe.- Contributors.

Central and Eastern European Countries are undergoing a difficult transition process with consequences for spatial development. Europe needs a more bal­ anced, polycentric system of cities, a new urban-rural relationship, parity of ac­ cess to infrastructure and knowledge as well as prudent management and devel­ opment of the natural and cultural heritage. Dealing with these complex challenges and the need for sustainable develop­ ment politicians requires qualified advice from experts. To this end, the German Ministry for Regional Planning, Construction and Urban Development initiated the Network of Spatial Research Institutes in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE Net) in 1992. Exchange of knowledge and an open dialogue at all levels are pre­ conditions for the cooperative development of visions and strategies serving spa­ tial development in Europe. The annual conferences of the network have been a first steps towards closer cooperation. The high interest shown in these confer­ ences by academics and government representatives and the fact that several re­ search projects have already crystallised out of the debates they engendered indi­ cate that the network is meeting a need for exchange and cooperation. Decisions on spatial development do not stop at national borders and the dis­ cussion on spatial development in any European region has therefore to take the European context into consideration. A special advantage of this publication is that, as well as focusing on spatial development and research in CEE regions, it also discusses Central and Eastern Europe in a European context.