Background: Functional regions are abstract, uniformly defined territorial units that form an important basis for many development strategies of a country or a region.
Objectives: This study analyses ...the application of network theory to the detection of such regions.
Methods/Approach: Functional regions are analysed using two methods based on the graph theory: the Walktrap algorithm and the chain approach. The quality of the two regionalization methods is analysed using the fuzzy set theory with the revised method. Slovenia was used as a case study.
Results: The Walktrap algorithm generated eight functional regions; seven of them corresponded to those identified in previous studies. The only difference occurred in the northwestern mountainous part of Slovenia. The chain approach led to similar results, although it resulted in a huge functional urban region of the capital Ljubljana.
Conclusions: The results show that the Walktrap algorithm calculates regions that are more closed, where more workers find work in the home region, than the chain approach.
This paper presents classification methods that enable the division of space into homogeneous areas that combine the spatial characteristics with influence on land use and changes thereof. It was ...determined that the existing methods do not always include the criteria needed for the aggregation of spatial units into homogeneous groups. The results of the analysis showed that the identified homogenous groups do not fully capture the spatial complexity and diversity important for land use change analyses. For this reason, a new approach to the classification of spatial units based on the unsupervised classification of digital images was proposed. The methodology includes the selection of appropriate indicators, that consider land use more comprehensively and thus enable better classification results. The use of the unsupervised classification method for prevailing land use typology has been tested in Slovenia. At the municipal level, seven types of prevailing land use were identified.
Lack of financial resources has become one of the main issues in fulfilling social and physical needs in urban development. The declining levels of public resources make the collaboration between ...public and private investors necessary. When facing the challenges of ageing population, shared investment may contribute to the appropriate development of sheltered housing to meet the goals of spatial planning as well as certain standards at the level of urban design. By ensuring appropriate living conditions for all generations such urban PPP projects may contribute to the fulfilment of the public interest. The paper presents practice of PPP implementation in Ljubljana, Slovenia, where local authority with the collaboration of private partners ensured more than 400 sheltered apartments in the last years. Examples show the extension of the idea from the 70s onwards in finding new models of housing for the aging population. The development of new models can be a good example of strengthening the cooperation between public and private partners in the field of urban development practice.
In this article, a review of functional regions by selected countries is presented. For this purpose, the basic concepts of definition and delimitation of functional regions are presented, followed ...by a presentation of functional regions in the fifteen selected countries in European Union: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain, as well as in Switzerland, Canada and United States of America. At the end, a short review of definition and delimitation of functional regions in Slovenia is presented from the international perspective. KLJUCNE BESEDE functional region, regionalisation, labour market, review, Europe, Slovenia
To successfully address the specific spatial challenges and exploit the recognised spatial potentials for achieving sustainable spatial development, improving development and competitiveness of ...specific areas, and territorial cohesion it is necessary to put in place spatial policies, strategies, and other development documents, which take into account the characteristics of individual SU groups (Green Paper, 2008), i.e., at the European level and the level of states, regions and municipalities. The method proposal combines the selection of an algorithm for SU classification into groups and the selection of indicators used to describe, in detail, the spatial characteristics influencing the situation and land use changes, based on which space can be divided into homogeneous groups of SUs. ...the typology of SU groups is identified according to the spatial phenomena observed. Over 50 unsupervised classifications of Slovenian municipalities were done, which tested various combinations of types and the number of indicators, various algorithms for SU clustering, and various settings of parameter classification, from selecting the number of classes, limiting the number of iterations, to setting the threshold of minimum changes in iterations.
Land development analyses play a fundamental role in understanding how land use change shapes the land, depending on continuously changing social, economic, and environmental factors that reflect the ...interests in space. It is especially important to follow land use changes in rural areas due to their role in food security, environmental hazards, cultural landscape preservation, etc. Continuous analyses and monitoring of land use changes allow for the identification and prevention of negative trends in land use (over intensification, land fragmentation, etc.) that might affect biodiversity, change physical and chemical properties of soil, causing soil degradation, change the spatial balance, stability and natural equilibrium in the rural area. The use of the cross-tabulation matrix methodology was suggested for land use change analyses. The methodology, when the cross-tabulation matrix elements are correctly interpreted, allows us to gain as much insight as possible in the process of land use change. This approach enabled a detailed analysis of vineyards in Goriška brda, Slovenia. It was found that the existing methodology fails to analyse the location of change. For this reason, additional analyses of spatial distribution of change and of the locations where changes in space occur were suggested. The study demonstrated that the land use category of vineyards changes systematically, although seemingly randomly. By comparing land use categories over several time periods, the study determined that the size and speed of change varied across different time intervals. The identified land use changes were assessed in the context of their high pressure on agricultural land. The results of the analyses showed different trends shaping the typical agrarian landscape in Goriška brda.
The study conducted in this paper is focused on a predominantly residential area of the City of Ljubljana-Koseze, which is characterized by generally favorable (bio)climatic conditions. Nonetheless, ...thermal satellite images showed that residential neighborhoods within the Koseze district display unexpected variations in summer temperatures. This observation called into question the benefits of existing bioclimatic features and indicated the need to investigate and compare two neighborhoods with similar urban parameters, with the aim to identify morphological differential characteristics impacting urban heat island (UHI) intensity. By applying the study methodology based on a literature review, surveys of key precedents, detailed mapping in two Koseze locations, in situ measurements, observations and recordings, thermal imagery, and the analyses of statistical data, as well as by defining the four main categories of morphological urban parameters-structure, cover, fabric and metabolism, it was concluded that both neighborhoods have common morphological elements mitigating the UHI effect. Additionally, it was found that the neighborhood with higher UHI intensity has several less favorable features, such as busier roads, larger surface of parking corridors, and the existence of underground parking space. The traffic as an element of urban morphology hence represents the main cause of differences among UHI levels in the two Koseze neighborhoods.
PDF
