The depth, duration, and global reach of the recent economic crisis, the severity of its manifold impacts on territories and societies, and the various implications of applied austerity measures have questioned existing institutional and decision- making structures, regulatory arrangements, and pre-crisis development models. The serious social, economic, and spatial challenges, faced by cities and regions today, require rethinking of urban policies. This chapter studies the potential, offered by the recent crisis, for both institutional and societal change, and what new approaches are thinkable and necessary in times of crisis.