The paper concerns the potential for spatial planning to improve the reliability of electric power infrastructure. The aim is to reduce risks of electric power outages due to extreme weather events ...(EWE) by proper siting of installations. A method of evaluating risks due to EWE is applied in two case studies. The first considers ice storms and the damage they cause to power grids; the second considers the damage of heavy rainstorms to hydroelectric power plants (HPPs). The results are presented in the form of a risk assessment method that can be incorporated into spatial planning.
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•Spatial planning improves reliability of planned HPPs and transmission lines.•Risk informed decisions about transmission line corridors are repaid.•Different cost categories provide insights into the economic impact of EWE.•Siting of electric power infrastructure taking into account risk considerations pays off.
European Union directives, along with their transposing arrangements in EU member states, can have unanticipated and sometimes undesirable impacts on certain regions and places. These include impacts ...on the use of space (e.g. new infrastructure or sprawl), governance, and on wider social, economic or environmental dimensions. Although ex-ante assessment of the potential impacts of EU initiatives has been carried out since 2002 through the European Commission's Impact Assessment procedure and also through national equivalents in some member states, important impacts are still overlooked, frequently because of their territorially heterogeneous nature within and between EU member states. This paper presents the results of the ESPON EATIA research project, in which a new territorial impact assessment methodology was developed for national and regional administrations in EU member states in order to inform their national positions during the negotiation of European draft directives and potentially other policy proposals.
This is the first assessment of the Republic of Slovenia's efforts to synthesize and report physical activity (PA) standards for children and youth following the Active Healthy Kids Global Alliance ...grading system model.
The Republic of Slovenia Report Card relies on research findings published in peer-reviewed journals, data compiled from national databases, and government initiatives which have been monitoring physical fitness standards in schools for the past 34 years (SLOfit and ACDSi). The Report Card initiative has been jointly coordinated by the University of Primorska and the University of Ljubljana. A Research Work Group consisting of 12 representatives from various aspects of Slovenia's public, private, and government sectors convened to evaluate evidence and assign grades for each PA indicator.
Grades (A, highest, to F, lowest; INC, incomplete) for Slovenia are as follows: Overall Physical Activity (A-), Organized Sport Participation (B-), Active Play (D), Active Transportation (C), Sedentary Behaviors (B+), Family and Peers (INC), Schools (A), Community and the Built Environment (INC), and Government (B+).
This inclusive PA report indicates that overall physical activity minutes remain high in Slovenian children and youth; however, more research is needed to determine the effects of family life, peer influences, and the built environment on active play behaviors.
This article examines practical measures for integrating risk assessment of extreme weather events into spatial planning. An approach that integrates risks due to ice storms into spatial suitability ...analysis is presented in two case studies: in siting transmission and distribution power lines, and in siting windfarms. Assessment of risks to the power grid due to ice storms is carried out first. The results of the risk assessment are then used as a basis for analysing proposed alternatives for siting high-voltage power lines and as input in analysing the suitability of space for siting windfarms. The results of a cost-benefit analysis of various alternatives for siting windfarms (an alternative that takes risks due to ice storms into account and one that does not) show that the damage caused by extreme weather events has a significant impact on the economic viability of a plan. There are two options for integrating risk assessment results into planning electric energy infrastructure: by updating engineering standards and by avoiding areas where greater damage to infrastructure due to extreme weather events is expected. Risk assessment provides important information that can affect decisions about land use and decisions about technical measures for enhancing the physical resilience of infrastructure.
Territorial impact assessment (TIA) aims at informing policy-makers on the policy impacts on different geographical areas ('territorial units'). This paper presents a methodology for TIA which was ...tested on four European Union (EU) directives and their likely impacts on territorial units in Slovenia. This involved clustering Slovenian statistical (NUTS 3) regions according to their policy-relevant characteristics. The evaluation framework was reflecting the specific territorial cohesion objectives at corresponding governance levels (EU, national, local). This exercise indicates that there are some significant differences among Slovenian regions for different impacts, which become somewhat blurred when aggregated. Furthermore, the meaning of impacts differs depending on the governance level from which they are viewed. We conclude that important differences may be lost when impacts are generalized in policy assessments.
V članku so obravnavani praktični ukrepi za vključevanje rezultatov ocene tveganja zaradi izrednih vremenskih dogodkov v postopek prostorskega načrtovanja. Na primerih ocene tveganja zaradi žleda za ...prenosno in distribucijsko elektroenergetsko omrežje ter za vetrne elektrarne je predstavljen postopek, ki vnaša rezultate ocene tveganja v analizo ustreznosti prostora. Najprej je izdelana ocena tveganja za prenosno in distribucijsko omrežje zaradi žleda. Rezultati ocene tveganja so uporabljeni kot podlaga za presojo predlaganih različic tras visokonapetostnega daljnovoda in kot vhodni podatek za analizo ustreznosti prostora za umestitev vetrnih elektrarn. Različici za umestitev vetrnih elektrarn z upoštevanjem tveganja in brez tega smo primerjali z gospodarskega vidika in ugotovili, da lahko škode zaradi izrednih vremenskih dogodkov pomembno vplivajo na gospodarsko upravičenost načrta. Ugotavljamo, da lahko rezultate ocene tveganja na dva načina vključimo v načrtovanje elektroenergetske infrastrukture, in sicer s posodobitvijo inženirskih standardov in izogibanjem območjem, na katerih bi lahko nastale največje škode na infrastrukturi zaradi izrednih vremenskih dogodkov. Ocena tveganja je pomembna informacija, ki lahko vpliva na odločitve v zvezi z rabo prostora in tehničnimi ukrepi za povečanje odpornosti infrastrukture.
The implementation of Natura 2000 is causing difficulties in the EU’s Member States, including Slovenia. In addition to the positive environmental it also results in the negative economic, social, ...and governance-administrative effects. To prevent similar quandaries in adopting and implementing EU policies, the project ESPON EATIA developed a participatory process for the territorial impact assessment. Testing the Habitat Directive has shown that in addition to the positive effects regarding the conservation of biodiversity, the directive represents a major obstacle for the economy and the delivery of investments. At the same time it represents the potential of the area for tourism and opportunity for the development of new industries. The regulation contributes to a better quality of life, but also extends the spatial planning procedures and conflicts between investors and the local community. This approach has proven to be an appropriate medium for the exchange of experiences of various stakeholders who are involved in either the preparation or the implementation of the rules and as the proper tool for the global assessment of the effects of selected EU regulation.
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