Systems of spatial planning and territorial governance in Europe are well established and maintained. There is a huge amount of energy expended on ‘planning’ as demonstrated by the multiple types of plans at all levels. These tools are used to pursue a common objective to steer spatial development to achieve a wide range of economic, environmental and social objectives. They increasingly engage with citizens in that task. ‘Plans’ are usually multifunctional, dealing with a combination of visionary, strategic, policy and regulation tasks.