During the past twenty years, the post-communist states have been experiencing a multiplicity of critical junctures, as decision-makers have made policy choices that will impact the development of these societies for years to come. But although much has been written about the manner in which such choices are contingent on the legacies inherited from the communist past, significantly less – if any – attention has been paid to the formation of new path-dependent lock-ins in the present. We highlight the path-shaping nature of post-communist urban and regional transformation. Our principal claim is that the emergence of new path dependencies should be seen from a critical and normative perspective, bringing attention to the developments that may be avoided if alternative development paths are taken sooner rather than later.rnrnUnderstanding path dependency: sub-optimality, lock-in, and cumulative causationrnCritical junctures: revolutionary blueprints and past legaciesrnPath formation: spontaneous transformations through evolutionary adaptations rnTerritorial lock-ins: multiple urban and regional shiftsrn
