The invisible hand of the EU: Europeanisation of spatial planning in two non-EU countries

Whereas the Europeanisation of spatial planning in the Member States is extensively researched, few studies have focused on non-Member countries. To shed some light on the matter, this contribution analyses how the European Union (EU) has influenced spatial planning organisation and practices in Albania and Switzerland. Starting from a conceptualisation of Europeanisation as an iterative cycle of uploading and downloading influences that link EU-level territorial governance with domestic spatial planning systems, the authors explore the differential impact that various drivers of change, rules, resources and discourses have produced in the two countries at the national, subnational and local levels.