The article is based on research findings obtained in the 1990s when the Centre for Spatial Sociology of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Faculty of Social Sciences conducted a research ...project on changes in residential and working environments and in public town sphere in the City Municipality of Koper. The spatial and sociological research, which was part of the comprehensive undertaking entitled Koper Development Project 2020, was commissioned by the City Municipality of Koper and the Spatial Planning Office of the Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning. Its findings were used as the starting point for the investigation into post-transition successfulness of local/regional working environments in the City Municipality of Koper and the entire coastal region. The article first sheds light on conceptual bases for new forms of regionalism, deindustrialization processes and transition to post-Fordist models of organizational cultures. Then it summarizes the results of the analysis of economic transition in local and regional working environments in the 1990s. It not only highlights comparative development advantages of the region at the beginning of the transition period, but also draws the reader's attention to the prevailing Fordist organizational culture imbued with distrust of employees and autarkic views of the future development of regional working environments marked by very pronounced fear of foreigners. The central part of the article analyzes post-transition successfulness of the local and regional working environments, with the analysis being based on interviews with important others in the local/regional area. The analysis shows that the majority of envisaged development strategies of the 1990s have not been realized owing to the predominance of the political sub-system over the working environments, which resulted in political depletion of positive atmosphere created by new regionalism. Local/regional post-transition economy has thus not managed to profit from new regionalism and inherent comparative development advantages of the region. Both the City Municipality of Koper and the entire region still have to introduce inevitable changes into their organizational culture, in particular when it comes to the major economic entities in the region that have to find appropriate manners of facilitating the development of individual and group potentials and of fostering such organizational culture that will be open to difference. The research findings of the Koper Development Project 2020 offer a firm basis for future reflection of social and spatial challenges faced by the Municipality and the region. Adapted from the source document.
