Floods not only induce vast economic damages but also pose a great danger to human life. In Slovenia, floods rank number one on the scale of damage magnitude. Different factors external to the hazard ...of flooding influence the gravity and extent of the impacts. A comprehensive collection and analysis of the information related to the understanding of causative factors of human impacts can substantially contribute to the mitigation and the minimisation of fatalities and injuries. In this work, historical analysis was performed for flood fatalities in the years between 1926 and 2014, with 10 flood events that induced 74 casualties considered. A detailed collection and review on human impacts was made. Victims in cars have seemed to increase in recent years and rural areas tend to be more vulnerable and susceptible to having victims of flooding. With regards to gender, the majority of victims are male. The focus was on demographic aspects (age and gender) of fatalities and analysis of the circumstances of loss of life. Based on a description of the activities of victims during flood events and repetitive patterns, groups were made based on the type of flood fatality. Eight interviews were performed with rescuers and people who were affected by floods in order to obtain more extensive information on preventative measures, received help, and flood risk perception.
We analyzed planning mechanisms and evaluated their performance in achieving legitimacy in infrastructure planning in Slovenia. Planning mechanisms were divided according to the concept of input, ...throughput and output legitimacy. We conducted a document analysis and interviews to assess their effectiveness in achieving legitimate decisions. Although the analyzed decision-making process declaratively promoted democratic principles, the mechanisms failed to satisfactorily enhance the legitimacy of decisions. The study revealed inadequate communication approaches, both in the decision-makers' relationship with the public and within the expert discourse. Accordingly, the study argues for more genuine communication with the public and within academia to address legitimacy challenges in increasingly conflictual decision-making processes.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Sustainable development is popular, but also indeterminate concept, with many
meanings and interpretations. This complex and vague idea seems more
difficult to implement on the local basis then on ...the national level. It is
therefore surprising that such an abstract concept has rather high mobilizing
power. One of the explanations lies in its positive image. When one compares
the ?optimistic? concept of sustainability with the ?pessimistic? concept of
entropia, it is possible to hypothesize that its popularity is the result of
its utopistic potential, i.e. its ability to visualize the reconciliation of
the eternal fight between man (society), and nature. Comparing attitudes and
statements with the actual behavior makes it possible to conclude that
sustainability is just as popular as declaration, which is in strong contrast
with the everyday reality. It is quite understandable that sustainability, as
a radical concept, is difficult to implement in the real life. A lot has to
be done in coordinating the measures on the local level in order to prevent
shocks which would destabilize communities. But just the fact that the
concept is provocative makes it effective in stimulating the discussion on
numerous questions considering sound, sustainable development. This paper
tries to structure the concept of sustainability in order to clarify its
social potential.
Odrzivi razvoj je popularan, ali i nedovoljno odredjen koncept, koji ima mnoga
znacenja i interpretacije. Ovu kompleksnu i nejasnu ideju je, cini se, teze
primeniti na lokalnom nego na nacionalnom nivou. Otuda je iznenadjujuce da
tako uopsten pojam ima veliku mobilisucu snagu. Jedno od objasnjenja se
nalazi u pozitivnoj konotaciji ovog pojma. Kada se poredi optimisticki
koncept odrzivosti sa pesimistickim konceptom entropije, moguce je
pretpostaviti da je popularnost prvog vezana za njegov utopijski potencijal,
odnosno sposobnost da vizualizuje razresenje vecite borbe izmedju ljudi
(drustva) i prirode. Poredjenje stavova sa aktuelnim ponasanjem, medjutim, vodi
zakljucku i da je odrzivost popularna samo na retorickom nivou, te da je u
ostrom kontrastu sa svakodnevnom realnoscu. Sasvim je neodrzivo da je
odrzivost, kao radikalni koncept, tesko primenljiva u stvarnom zivotu. Mnogo
se mora uciniti na koordinaciji mera neophodnih da se prevenira
destabilizacija zajednice na lokalnom nivou. Sama cinjenica da je koncept
provokativan, medjutim, cini ga efektivnim u stimulisanju diskusija o brojnim
pitanjima koja se ticu temeljnog odrzivog razvoja. Ovaj rad ima za cilj da
strukturise koncept odrzivosti na nacin koji objasnjava njegov drustveni
potencijal.
The assumption that the erosion of spatial determinism increases the possibilities for the non-instrumental perception and use of space is central to the emergence of postmodern spatial arrangements ...and identities. The weakening of spatial determinism accelerates the imaginative »constructivity« of space. The new spatial cognitive-emotional constructions in the new relaxed circumstances enable variability in implementation of identity practices. At different spatial levels, we can expect attempts to establish new meanings. However, optimistic theoretical assumptions have lately been more and more likely to collide with the empirical limits of the postmodern systems’ openness, which is already approaching dangerous tradi- tionalist regressions. The question of whether the assumptions about a flexible non-confrontational response are in fact a pre/optimistic ideological construction is the fundamental motive of this text, which we try to answer using the Braudelian »rules of a new history«.
Domneva, da erozija prostorskega determinizma sprošča možnosti za neinstrumentalno doživljajsko dojemanje in uporabo prostora, pomembno vpliva na nastajanje postmodernih prostorskih ureditev in ...identitet. Slabljenje prostorskega determinizma pospešuje domišljijski »konstruktivizem« prostora. Zmanjševanje prostorskih zaprek spodbuja nekonfliktno tekmovalnost simbolnih reprezentacij enega in istega prostora. Na različnih prostorskih nivojih lahko pričakujemo poizkuse vzpostavljanja novih pomenov. Optimistične teoretične domneve pa v zadnjem času vse pogosteje trčijo ob empirične meje odprtosti postmodernih sistemov, kar že sproža zdrse v nevarne tradicionalistične regresije. Vprašanje, ali so domneve o fleksibilnem nekonfliktnem odzivanju realne ali (pre)optimistične ideološke konstrukcije, je temeljni motiv tega besedila, na katerega poizkušamo odgovoriti z uporabo braudeovskih »pravil nove zgodovine«.
The assumption that the erosion of spatial determinism increases the possibilities for the non-instrumental perception and use of space is central to the emergence of postmodern spatial arrangements ...and identities. The weakening of spatial determinism accelerates the imaginative »constructivity« of space. The new spatial cognitive-emotional constructions in the new relaxed circumstances enable variability in implementation of identity practices. At different spatial levels, we can expect attempts to establish new meanings. However, optimistic theoretical assumptions have lately been more and more likely to collide with the empirical limits of the postmodern systems’ openness, which is already approaching dangerous traditionalist regressions. The question of whether the assumptions about a flexible non-confrontational response are in fact a pre/optimistic ideological construction is the fundamental motive of this text, which we try to answer using the Braudelian »rules of a new history«.
The discussion on urban green spaces opens up the old paradigmatic question on the relationship between the city and nature. At the common sense level, the answers are simple and one-dimensional, but ...a more elaborate analysis necessarily runs into the archetypical conflict relationship between “nature and culture”. The present text deals with different, more or less successful examples how to reconcile this relationship. In modern societies, people’s dissatisfaction with the mere symbolic presence of nature in the cities has had a substantial impact on suburbanisation processes, which are themselves environmentally rather problematic. The conclusion argues that the question of nature in the city should be replaced by that of the city in nature. Urban green spaces should be treated as part of the ecosystem at the regional level, not as an exclusively internal city problem.
Razprava o mestnih zelenih površinah odpira staro paradigmatsko vprašanje o razmerju med mestom in naravo. Na zdravorazumski ravni so odgovori preprosti in enoznačni, bolj poglobljena analiza pa ...naleti na arhetipsko in konfliktno razmerje med »naturo in kulturo«. Obravnavni so bolj in manj uspešni poskusi »pomiritve« tega razmerja, ki so vsi bolj ali manj redukcionistični, to je začasni in nepopolni, kar postaja vse bolj problematično. V modernih družbah je nezadovoljstvo z le simbolno reprezentacijo narave v mestu močno vplivalo na suburbanizacijske procese, ki so z okoljskega vidika prav tako zelo problematični. V sklepu je argumentirana zamisel, da je namesto o vprašanju narava v mestu smiselneje razpravljati o mestu v naravi. Mestne zelene površine naj bi torej obravnavali kot del ekosistema na regionalni ravni in ne le kot interni mestni problem.
National policies for long-term management of radioactive waste have for decades been driven by technical experts. The pursuit of these technocratic policies led in many countries to conflict with ...affected communities. Since the late 1990s, however, there has been a turn to more participatory approaches. This participatory turn reflects widespread acknowledgement in the discourse of policy actors and implementing organisations of the importance of social aspects of radioactive waste management (RWM) and the need to involve citizens and their representatives in the process. This appears to be an important move towards democratisation of this particular field of technological decision-making but, despite these developments, technical aspects are still most often brought into the public arena only after technical experts have defined the 'problem' and decided upon a 'solution'. This maintains a notional divide between the treatment of technical and social aspects of RWM and raises pressing questions about the kind of choice affected communities are given if they are not able to debate fully the technical options. The article aims to contribute to better understanding and addressing this situation by exploring the complex entanglement of the social and the technical in RWM policy and practice, analysing the contingent configurations that emerge as sociotechnical combinations. Drawing upon empirical examples from four countries that have taken the participatory turn - Belgium, Slovenia, Sweden and the United Kingdom - the article describes the different ways in which sociotechnical combinations have been constructed, and discusses their implications for future practice.
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