Suburbanization processes in the hinterland of Bratislava represent one of the most significant socio-spatial transformations in the post-socialist history of Slovakia. The trend of settlement decentralisation within the dynamically growing metropolitan region contrasts in many ways with the settlement development of the period of state socialism, during which centrally controlled and planned settlement transformation and industrial urbanisation brought about the most intensive urban development and settlement transformation on the territory of the Slovak Republic to date. The aim of the present paper is to examine the main ideological underpinnings and implemented public policies that have influenced, and continue to influence the processes of settlement development, urban growth and decentralisation tendencies within urban regions.