<p>Urban planning has created significant influence on urban development of cities since the end of the World War II up to present. During the period of socialism, the urban planning was the mechanism for spatial arrangement of state's development programs, whose realization depended only on political and economic power of the state and its representatives. The degree of implementation of plans was in direct relation to the impact of planning on urban form. Expert‐oriented, spatially determined, urban planning had a great influence on the urban planimetry, created the conditions for the new urban functions and clearly defined spatial relations and the form of the physical structure in the period of the 80s of the 20th century. During the period of transition, the urban planning was based on the market criteria whose aim was to increase the efficiency of the land use as the main approach to urban renewal today. The liberalization of social relations, participation, denationalization of the city land, privatization of the state capital and globalization are just some of the many processes affecting the new approach to urban planning, which is still a significant influential factor of the urban transformation but its influence is changed and less direct.</p>