Projects / Programmes
Review and analysis of development visions and potentials of Slovenian cities for defining key urban development measures
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 5.08.00 |
Social sciences |
Urbanism |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| S240 |
Social sciences |
Town and country planning |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 5.07 |
Social Sciences |
Social and economic geography |
urban development, economic assets, social capital, environmental feasibility, priority areas of financing, methodological approaches
Researchers (10)
Organisations (3)
Abstract
In the new millennium cities face various challenges: investing in competitiveness by promoting existing economic activities, innovation and creativity, and attracting new investment while achieving a vision of a high quality of urban life, in particular through good practice in sustainable urban development. These challenges and contradictions are evident in Europe too, where urban environments are simultaneously confronted with changing economic conditions and related development problems.
If the Slovenian cities should remain competitive and attractive for living and economic activities, it is necessary to strengthen the comprehensiveness of planning, with the various components and aspects of urban development being considered and coordinated in advance, which should also be checked from the point of view of the economic feasibility defined (and restricted) by market economy mechanisms. In addition to some systemic changes in the spatial planning process, such an approach also requires greater consideration and integration of the needs of the economy in the planning of the cities. It is important to directly integrate spatial development policies of cities with the development policies of economic operators, which can contribute to greater resilience of cities, which would make their vision of development easier to implement in conditions of deteriorated economic conditions, which are a cyclical characteristic of the existing economic framework.
This reflection is at the heart of the proposed project. In the context of a market-oriented socio-economic system, the main purpose of the research project is to determine the main development potentials of Slovenian cities in accordance with the development and executive visions of the various stakeholders that generate or have a potential to generate the economic activity of a city, while taking into account and verifying the social and environmental parameters too in order to increase the quality of life in cities. The main objective is to propose urban development measures that lead to the improvement of the quality of urban areas in Slovenia by upgrading social, spatial and environmental qualities, and are at the same time firmly attached to the economic and administrative reality and the potential of individual city.
The research project is set up interdisciplinary. The participating experts are coming from the fields of urban planning, architecture, spatial planning, management, economics. The research framework of the project "Review and analysis of development visions and potentials of Slovenian cities for defining key urban development measures" follows the paradigm of sustainable urban planning and management, which aims to overcome today's mechanistic and static forms of land use planning and management. The proposed approach includes actions that ensure the presence of public interest also in private and partial interventions in urban space. In the framework of the implementation of the guidelines for the sustainable planning of the urban environment (CTN), we must provide forms of co-participation of public funds and private investments in order to maintain the public influence (by including the influence of local community participation) in investments that affect the urban areas or investments aimed at the realization of strategic spatial objectives for the improvement of urban environments.
The research will be starting with an overview of available national and foreign scientific and professional literature in the fields of urban economics and economy, comprehensive approaches to ensuring the quality of the living environment, urban management, sustainable spatial and urban development, active integration of the potential of urban stakeholders in spatial development, urban health, degraded urban areas, revitalization of space, as well as spatial visions and strategies. Each working package will include an overview of the fundamentals and the latest findi
Significance for science
The project develops a new methodological approach for recognizing the urban development potential for the specifics of the Slovenian urban space. The newly developed methodology, based on a research combination of already established and new analytical tools for recognizing the development potential of cities, contributes to the development of scientific and research approaches in the field of urban planning, since it is conceived as a generally useful approach that can be repeated in different contexts and environments. At the same time, it brings concrete new expert knowledge about the development potentials of specific Slovenian cities based on the review of concrete statistical and other publicly available data supplemented with targeted field data collection, which are interpreted in an innovative and Slovenian context-adjusted way. It is based on a pronounced interweaving of three basic aspects (economic, environmental and social) and is the result of interdisciplinary co-operation between the urban and economic profession, which must, with other supportive forces, unite the powers to achieve real developmental breakthroughs. This research offers an approach that, by combining tools and knowledge of individual disciplines, reaches new insights into the situation, which leads to concrete, comprehensive measures aimed at achieving the developmental breakthroughs of Slovenian cities, while respecting the maxim of urban planning - ensuring a high standard of living.
The importance of developing an interdisciplinary approach
The project links professionals working in the fields of economics, architecture, urban planning, spatial planning, geography, education, administrative and organizational sciences. The research team is highly interdisciplinary, both in terms of the content covered by the team members, as well as in terms of the research and application approaches, as it also includes researchers who are active in the application field - specifically in spatial planning.
The importance for the development of basic professions
The key contribution to the development of the professions can be considered as an integrated analysis and evaluation of development potentials, while taking into account the implementation of protection interests on one side and development interests on the other, and the pursuit of a high quality urban environment for its users. In this way, a model of management of the urban planning that is linked towards a sustainable economic development model is being established.
Scientific-research aspect
In the course of work, original scientific and research methods for the study of environmental, social and economic capital of urban areas will be developed, which at the same time combine knowledge of basic and complementary skills of professions dealing with sustainable principles of planning and spatial planning.
The importance for the development of professional education
The interdisciplinarity of the group undoubtedly contributes to the exchange of knowledge and methodological approaches that will enrich all involved partners with the knowledge and skills of the other involved professions, which will also have a strong and important influence on the professional and research sphere outside the project team and in the fields of space planning and management via the elements of dissemination (concept of a manual, database, dissemination of results through joint contributions). All project partners with their references, both from scientific and professional work, demonstrate the necessary equipedness and ability for such upgrading in terms of education of a wider professional community.
Significance for development of capacity of city management and operation
In addition to the concrete measures to be taken in various vertical (over/national, intermunicipal, municipal) and horizontal (sectors of economic and social development) levels of city management, the project contributes to an interd
Significance for the country
Existing and potential economic power and the success of cities are at the heart of the project. The project develops a method by which urban development measures can be taken on the well-grounded bases informed by the development strategies and visions of economic operators in the cities. At the same time, it takes into account the visions of the functioning social groups with high social capital and the potential for growth of their activities as an important input. Both aspects are verified in the proposed methodological approach through the environmental aspects of spatial development, in order to ensure a balance between developmental potentials on one hand and environmental constraints on the other.
In this way, the economic and social capital of the city are included in the underlying consideration of the appropriate measures to support urban development. At the same time such an approach ensures that the environmental overload due to the development processes does not occur. It is assumed that this generally means primarily a qualitative and not a quantitative growth of cities, as well as the paradigm of ensuring higher quality and added value than the volume-growth paradigm, which is in line with the basic strategic orientations of the Slovenian economy. The particular importance of the proposed project for the economy is in the approach that goes beyond the administrative demarcations of space and seeks the potential of development on the socio-economic and environmental bases, while the current administrative reality of the regulation of the Slovene territory is considered only in th second step when the measures to achieve development are proposed These must be feasible within the existing administrative procedures, while administrative procedures must not cause an obstruction for the implementation of development potentials. In this way, the conditions for a critical view of the existing situation are established. Additionally the possibility is given of identifying the priority areas for the development of Slovenian cities, which should be financially supported in order to have multiplier effects in the economic field and vice versa.
Most important scientific results
Annual report
2018,
final report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Annual report
2018,
final report
