Europeanisation and Urban Development Challenges in Croatia

The complex issue of urban development is a relatively neglected field of research in Croatia. Cities are struggling with the consequences of deindustrialisation, which are manifested in depopulation processes, growing social polarisation, limited financial resources and, in particular, insufficient investment in social infrastructure (Rink et al., 2014). In this sense, the developmental specificities of cities in post-socialist (transition) countries are evident (Musterd & Murie, 2010; Ranci et al., 2014). In post-socialist cities, there is limited capacity for the development of public governance and potential urban innovations that could provide solutions to the growing challenges (Brandsen et al., 2016; Buček, 2016).