This dossier offers a critical examination of contemporary urban planning, reflecting on the theoretical, methodological, and practical challenges facing cities in the 21st century. It addresses how historical legacies, socio-economic transformations, and environmental imperatives shape the evolution of urban form and governance. Central to the discussion is the tension between growth-oriented development models and the need for sustainable, inclusive, and contextually sensitive planning approaches. The work underscores the importance of integrating multidisciplinary perspectives—from architecture and geography to sociology and economics—in order to capture the complexity of urban dynamics. It explores how mobility systems, public spaces, and housing policies intersect with issues of equity, identity, and cultural heritage preservation. Special emphasis is placed on the role of citizen participation and co-creation in urban projects, highlighting both the opportunities and limitations of participatory processes in influencing policy outcomes. The dossier also reflects on emerging challenges such as climate adaptation, digitalisation of urban management, and the pressures of globalisation, which are redefining the scale and scope of planning interventions. Through comparative analyses and case studies, it illustrates how different urban contexts navigate the balance between innovation and tradition, centralisation and decentralisation, as well as formal regulations and informal practices. Ultimately, the text calls for a paradigm shift towards a more adaptive, collaborative, and ethically grounded urbanism—one that embraces complexity, prioritises resilience, and ensures that the benefits of urban transformation are equitably shared among all inhabitants.
