While sustainable development involves acquiring the equilibrium of four pillars – economic, social, environmental and cultural, it also has a spatial dimension, which must also balance these criteria. To achieve it, urban and spatial planning, though different by scale and objectives, represent participative processes demanding the presence of inter- and multidisciplinary teams. The paper examines in detail the particular issue of the involvement of specialists with a background in environmental protection in the elaboration and coordination of such plans, focusing on their spatial distribution and potential area of influence. The results of GIS-based spatial analyses indicate that the distribution and influence are uneven, concentrating around large university centers.