THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INTEGRATING CONCEPTS IN SPATIAL PLANNING: INSIGHTS FROM BULGARIA

<p>Based on the theoretical and practical spatial planning experience this paper aims to draw the attention of the professional spatial planning community and legislative authorities to the importance of legal regulation of an integrating strategic, program and planning document - a concept to ensure the integrated development and implementation of strategic and planning documents at municipal level.</p> <p>The research is built on the spatial planning practice in Bulgaria, but it uses a holistic approach and lays on well-established principles in the field. Thus the basic elaborated statements could be applicable to spatial planning in general because they outline a possible algorithm for integrated decisions which contribute to the balanced and harmonious planning, management and functional-spatial development of the territories.</p> <p>Some of the main findings of the study are the notions formed about the links and interactions between the different types of legally regulated strategic, planning and programming documents; the place and role of the necessary integrating concept for functional and spatial development and the possible structure and content of such kind of document.</p>