•Facilities with garden use green spaces more often than facilities without garden.•Access to green spaces is a main reason to visit green spaces.•Gardens are important for active recreation and ...socialization.•Gardens are lacking possibilities for nature observation.•More efforts are necessary to consider age-sensitive amenities.
Urban green spaces (UGS) are increasingly acknowledged for their importance for the well-being of urban populations. However, studies are lacking the consideration of the demand and use of UGS by different population groups and connecting UGS with social infrastructure. In an era of worldwide urbanization and ageing, this European study sheds light on the role of UGS for care facilities for elderly. 126 care facilities from 17 cities in Austria, Germany, Norway, Poland, Romania and Slovenia took part in an online survey. Administrations of care facilities gave insights on the (1) importance of gardens related to care facilities for the quality of life for the seniors, (2) importance of UGS outside of care facilities for the quality of life for the seniors and (3) the consideration of natural and age-friendly designs and management of ecosystem disservices of UGS. The results emphasize not only the importance of UGS for the quality of life of seniors residing in care facilities, but also for the staff and visitors. UGS contribute to physical activities, recreation, and social interactions. The study found that in particular facilities with an own garden are highly aware of the benefits UGS provide. The study holds important lessons for UGS planning, management and design not only to focus on the quantitative supply of UGS, but also to consider age-sensitive amenities in and access to UGS of high quality for seniors.
This article presents various indices for describing the characteristics of land use and monitoring land-use change in various periods. These indices were either developed by the authors or were ...derived from landscape metrics. They were calculated for five selected sites of agricultural land (sites) for the time when the Franciscean Cadaster was introduced and for 2015. A comparison of the values of the indices revealed the changes in the selected sites, and the conclusions present an opinion on their suitability. It was found that the numerical values of the indices reflect visually detected changes in the graphic representation of land use, and they could therefore be introduced into the system for monitoring land-use changes.
Work at home and work from home are becoming the subject of interdisciplinary research in the current social conditions. Slovenia, as a post-transition country, has specific experience in terms of ...its regulation, as the former socialist and later transition period were relatively tolerant of various forms of work at home. The article presents the results of research aimed at studying current normative provisions for the organization of work at home, its actual spatial and program scope, and its correlation with building typology and morphology. Using a descriptive research method and by analyzing existing databases in the GIS environment, we found that work at home is a very extensive phenomenon in Slovenia. Despite the effective instruments in the fields of spatial planning, public administration, tax system, and employment legal relationships, its scope is mainly a consequence of historical tolerance, as this form of work has been legally organized and desirable for decades. We found that various urban characteristics did not significantly affect its occurrence in the past. The differences are reflected only in the extent of business activities that can be carried out in residential areas and differ according to the distance from urban centers. In order for the regulation of work at home to become even more efficient in the future, it is necessary to define more detailed criteria, especially in terms of its program regulation and monitoring of the spatial situation.
Modro-zelena infrastruktura (MZI) so naravni in polnaravni (zato zelena) decentralizirani sistemi, namenjeni upravljanju padavinskih voda (zato modra) v mestih, ki hkrati opravljajo zelo raznovrstne ...ekosistemske storitve. Razen v nekaj tujih mestih, kjer so že sprejeli strategije za njihovo sistematično uvedbo, je uvajanje MZI omejeno na zgolj posamezne osamljene primere. To še posebej velja za Slovenijo, kjer uporaba MZI še ni postala pravilo. Zaradi utečenih prostorskonačrtovalskih praks imamo v slovenskih mestih zadosten delež razmeroma enakomerno razporejenih zelenih površin, ki pa niso načrtovane po načelih MZI, zato njihova večfunkcionalnost z vidika voda ni izkoriščena. Ker upravljanje mestnega prostora in pripadajočih prvin spada pod okrilje več strok, nas je zanimala predvsem povezava med prostorskim načrtovanjem in upravljanjem voda v mednarodnih strateških dokumentih in v slovenski zakonodaji. Na podlagi pregledane literature smo lahko sklenili, da je tovrstna povezava predvsem na mednarodni ravni, na nacionalni ravni pa je že šibkejša in je delovanje predvsem na izvedbeni ravni vezano na posamezne sektorje. V nadaljevanju so predstavljeni štirje primeri sistemskega uvajanja MZI v tujini: v Rotterdamu, Københavnu, v izbranih kitajskih mestih in v Filadelfiji, tem je skupno povezovanje med prostorskim načrtovanjem in upravljanjem voda pri načrtovanju MZI. Rezultati analize stanja so bili izhodišče za oblikovanje priporočil, s katerimi je mogoče preseči sektorsko upravljanje mestnega prostora in doseči celovitejše upravljanje voda v (slovenskih) mestih.
Blue-green infrastructure (BGI) consists of natural and semi-natural (hence green) decentralized systems for urban stormwater management (hence blue), which, in addition to their primary purpose, ...provide a variety of shared benefits and ecosystem services. With the exception of a few cities that have adopted strategies for systemic BGI implementation, its use is still sporadic, in the form of isolated best practices, and is absent from Slovenian cities. Due to established spatial planning practices, Slovenian cities have a sufficient amount of relatively evenly distributed green areas, but these are not planned according to BGI principles and therefore their potential for managing stormwater is not utilized (i.e., water-wise multifunctionality). Because urban space management and its associated elements are a multidisciplinary field, we explored the link between spatial planning and water management in international strategic documents and in Slovenian national legislation. Based on a literature review, such connections are promoted at the international level; however, they are not sufficiently integrated in national legislation. Thus, a sectoral approach to water management and urban planning still prevails in Slovenian cities. Four examples of systemic BGI implementation (Rotterdam, Copenhagen, Philadelphia, and Chinese cities) are presented here. They link spatial planning and water management in BGI design and implementation. The results of this analysis were used to develop recommendations on integrating spatial planning and water management that go beyond sectoral urban space management, aiming to facilitate BGI implementation in (Slovenian) cities.
Despite all the principles of sustainable urban design, more and more spaces in small town centres are getting dedicated to traffic. Public open spaces (POS) in these towns are mainly reserved for ...car traffic, and social activities have been in decline. All at the expense of transportation space and built-up areas. As a result, there are fewer and fewer POS, which provide well-being and comfort to people, are accessible to all and are also attractively designed, allowing the development of a wide range of activities, and contributing to a town’s good image. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to determine the state of provision of POS in the centres of selected small towns in Slovenia and to assess the image of these town centres. Using various methods and instruments, we tested the hypothesis of whether there is a relationship between POS and the image of town centres. We used a cartographic method and a questionnaire survey, as well as statistical methods, in order to confirm the hypothesis. The study has revealed that groups of morphologically similar small towns are statistically different from each other in terms of observed relationships between POS and the image of the town centre. Therefore, a morphological analysis approach is very important in terms of evaluating the relationship between POS and the image of town centres. In conclusion, recommendations are given for the design of POS in small town centres.
The article presents the spatial distribution of business entities in Slovenia from locations in business zones and the areas of community, commerce and business services to work at home. The study ...uses the comparative method to determine their size, location and building typology. It was concluded that the structure is quite diversified and that most of the entities are located in residential areas. This field of study requires a further comprehensive treatment and regulation.
U članku je prikazana prostorna raspodjela poslovnih subjekata u Sloveniji od lokacije u poslovnim zonama, u područjima centralnih djelatnosti, do rada kod kuće. U istraživanju smo koristili komparativnu metodu da utvrdimo njihovo stanje s obzirom na broj, lokaciju i tipologiju zgrada u kojima se nalaze. Ustanovili smo da je struktura vrlo razgranata i da se većina entiteta nalazi u stambenim područjima. To područje u budućnosti zahtijeva cjelovitija istraživanja i reguliranje.
The paper presents the results of a study to define the current size and location of workplaces and business entities in the area. The research was conducted in three stages. In the first step, the ...analysis of the size and distribution of workplaces according to the municipalities in the Republic of Slovenia for the 2007-2019 period was carried out. In the second step, the size and distribution of business entities in the space were examined. In the third step, a more detailed analysis was carried out in the test area of the Osrednjeslovenska statistical region, based on: the location in Ljubljana Urban Municipality (hereinafter referred to as MOL), in the municipalities directly bordering MOL and in the other municipalities of the Osrednjeslovenska statistical region. At this stage we also focused on the sector of activity of business entities. A strong upward trend in workplaces was found in only a few major urban centres along the motorway junction, especially in MOL. The same applies to the concentration of business entities. All this suggests that the existing practice of planning activities in physical space does not follow the strategic orientations of spatial acts, which could better control the spatial processes and their consequences.
Koncept funkcionalnih urbanih područja zaživio je tijekom posljednjih desetljeća, relativno nezavisno u mnogim zemljama širom svijeta. U ovome se članku razmatra koncept funkcionalnih urbanih ...područja i njihova primjena. Zatim se taj koncept analizira putem adaptirane verzije metodologije koju koristi OECD i Eurostat na primjeru Slovenije. Rezultati pokazuju da je postojeća mreža urbanih centara dovoljno čvrsta kako bi se oko njih formirala funkcionalna urbana područja koja će vremenom prerasti u funkcionalne regije s prepoznatljivim obrisima.
Over the recent decades, the concept of functional urban areas FUAs has been relatively independently established in many countries around the world. The paper first addresses the FUA concepts and their application. T hereafter, a FUA analysis is conducted using an adapted version of the m ethodology used by OECD and Eurostat on the case of Slovenia. Results showed that the existing network of urban centres is solid enough so that FUAs are formed around them, which will in time grow into more solidly delineated functional regions FRs.