After the rapid transformation period of the 1990s, determined predominantly by the crisis effects of a radical political-economic transition, the reshaping of the spatial structure and urban networks slowed in the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The spillover effects of the market economy transition are fad-ing, and cannot be generalized. Instead, other factors, such as involvement in global processes and the creation and exploitation of new types of synergies, become the main drivers of the differ-entiation and development in the urban system. This study attempts to explore the framework and specifics of this new environment by exam-ining resources for development in the Eastern and Central European regional centres.