Slovenia as an industrialized country faced the problem of brownfields only after independence in 1991 when market economy principles were re-introduced, and several industrial sectors became ...uncompetitive in a European and global scale. Lack of the awareness of the problem made it possible that no clear definition of the brownfields has been developed until 1998. The spatial planning legislation was lagging even more with a first formal definition of a brownfield made only in 2007. The aim of the paper is to analyze the development in brownfield related terminology in Slovenian spatial planning legislation, especially related to the definition of the brownfield site and brownfield regeneration process. All three spatial planning acts (ZUreP-1, ZPNačrt and ZUreP-2), adopted in independent Slovenia were analyzed based on the same brownfield related keywords. All three laws included the topics related to brownfields in several section of the respective document. The terminology changed with each new law and the formal definitions as well. There is a pattern in terminological differentiation of the definition of the regeneration process, one for urban brownfields and other for non-urban. It seems that one terminology came from the urban planning field and the other one from the environmental and landscape field. There is a need for a more standardized approach in terminology and an overall shift towards understanding brownfields as a spatial phenomenon that regardless of its location needs a holistic approach in regeneration.
Ugotovitve različnih avtorjev kažejo, da imajo starejši ljudje po večini negativen odnos do oskrbe na domu na daljavo. Da bi spoznali stališča starejših do te storitve v Sloveniji, smo izvedli ...raziskavo, katere rezultati so obravnavani v tem članku. Izkazalo se je, da imajo starejši ljudje do oskrbe na domu na daljavo pozitiven odnos, kar smo pripisali učinkovitemu informiranju. Ozaveščanje potencialnih uporabnikov je zato ključnega pomena pri njenem sprejetju v družbi, vendar se je treba pri uvajanju te storitve različno odzivati na potrebe starejših v mestnem in podeželskem okolju.
The academic discourse on post-Second World War (post-WW2) multifamily housing complexes has mostly focused on their negative aspects, related, especially, to their high population densities, poor ...quality of construction and social problems, due to the dominance of low-income residents. In reaction to these and other negative characteristics, alternative multifamily housing types started to emerge, first in Western European countries in the 1970s, and later in Eastern European countries, following the adoption of the market economy system at the beginning of the 1990s. The transformation that has occurred in mass housing types has been particularly distinct in Eastern European countries. Motivated by the lack of focused analyses of the important characteristics of these transformations, this article adopts a rare approach to the mass housing debate by focusing on examining the merits of post-WW2 large housing estates as compared to those of the post-socialist era. With a focus on Slovenia as a case study, a comparative analysis is performed by conducting a detailed review of the literature and other relevant sources. The comparative analysis shows that post-socialist multifamily housing types have many advantages over the post-WW2 housing estates, a finding that leads us to deduce that the transformations in mass housing typologies that have occurred in Slovenia (and other Eastern European countries) may have serious implications on the future of large housing estates. It is thus suggested in the conclusion that suitable regeneration policies need to be urgently implemented in post-WW2 housing estates in order to create more attractive living environments and prevent the potential degradation of these neighborhoods, which would, in turn, result in spatial residential segregation with concentrations of low-income households in post-WW2 housing estates.
Stanovanje spada med osnovne človekove dobrine in pravice. Njegova vloga je mnogostranska, saj omogoča zadovoljevanje številnih človekovih potreb, poleg tega stanovanje ni omejeno le na ozek bivalni ...prostor, ampak vključuje tudi širše bivalno okolje, v katerem posameznik prebiva. Odnos posameznika do stanovanja in bivalnega okolja se skozi njegovo življenje spreminja. Zlasti v času starosti naj bi dobilo stanovanje še poseben pomen. Kot kažejo raziskave, želijo starejši zato čim dalj časa ostati v svojem bivalnem okolju, saj naj bi bili nanj navezani. Da bi ugotovili, ali spoznanja o navezanosti starejših na lastno bivalno okolje držijo tudi za Slovenijo, smo v članku analizirali, koliko so na svoje stanovanje in širše bivalno okolje navezani starejši v Sloveniji in kako so z bivanjem v njem zadovoljni. Mnenja starejših smo pridobili z anketiranjem, statistično analizo pa smo opravili s programom SPSS, in sicer na podlagi izračuna več statističnih testov povezanosti. Analiza je potrdila našo predpostavko, da so tudi slovenski starejši na svoj dom oziroma domače okolje zelo navezani in da so z bivanjem v njem zadovoljni. Pokazalo se je še, da so med starejšimi glede tega nekatere razlike, ki so odvisne od tega, koliko so ljudje stari, kje živijo in koliko časa že bivajo v svojem domu.
As a reaction to the critical writings of urban sociologists regarding the quality of post-Second World War large housing estates (monotonous architectural design, cheap/poor quality building ...materials, high building density, minimum dwelling sizes, overcrowding, etc.), fewer problematic types of mass housing neighbourhoods started to emerge, first in Western European countries in the 1970s, and later in Eastern European countries after they abandoned the planned economy system of the communist era and adopted the market economy system. One of the major concerns often raised in this regard is that, due to a variety of negative aspects associated with post-WWII housing estates, these neighbourhoods may eventually end up as concentrations of low-income households, after the more affluent residents relocate to the more attractive, less problematic residential neighbourhoods. Such developments are, understandably, undesirable. This concern inherently assumes that the inhabitants of post-WWII housing estates are not satisfied with their housing and are, as a result, expected to move away, as soon as they can. This hypothesis presents the focus of discussion in this paper. We examine its validity with the help of the findings of a comparative study between post-WII large housing estates and post-socialist multifamily residential neighbourhoods that was conducted in Slovenia in 2021. Contrary to the hypothetical assumptions, our analyses of the research results reveal that the inhabitants of post-WWII large housing estates are (a) generally quite satisfied with their dwellings and residential neighbourhood and that (b) a large majority of them have no intention to move. Understanding people’s satisfaction with their housing circumstances requires a complex analysis of their attitudes that goes beyond surface-level observations and encompasses a broader range of psychological and social influences on housing choices, suggesting the need to incorporate these aspects into future research. The consideration of these aspects is essential in order to ensure the longer-term sustainability of post-WWII large housing estates.
The transformations in the welfare state regimes that have occurred globally, over the last three decades or so, have seriously affected the capacity of states to sustain the previous levels of ...social care and protection. These changes, already being manifested, inter alia, in trends in declining earnings of pensioners have inspired some researchers in this field to explore alternative ways of mitigating their impact on the well-being of the elderly during the retirement period. One of the theories that has been advanced to this effect is the so-called asset-based welfare concept which suggests that the wealth accumulated by people in the form of housing assets presents a financial reservoir that may serve as a source of income for pensioners in time of need. To address these issues, a variety of mechanisms have been developed and presented as ‘equity release products’ that may be used by senior homeowners to improve their living situation. This article contributes to the debate from the perspective of a country in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), a region that has been rarely included in the scholarly discourse on the topic. While there might have been some level of success in the implementation of these instruments in some countries, the survey findings presented and discussed in this article show that Slovenian elderly homeowners strongly reject all the equity release products that were presented to them as potential options for alleviating financial hardship in old age. These findings lead us to the conclusion that it is highly unlikely that Slovenian elderly homeowners would ever accept and exploit, at any meaningful level of uptake, the investigated equity release mechanisms.
Family farms are characterized by the fact that they are passed down within the family from one generation to the next. In this way, the orientation of parents and especially farm owners is also ...passed on to children. With regard to this characteristic, this paper proceeds from the hypothesis that owners’ beliefs, opinions, and perceptions have an important impact on farm succession in Slovenia. It has been established that an owner’s positive attitude, encouragement, and positive opinion of a farm, its structure, and development can strongly influence the potential successor’s decision to take over the farm and continue farming, and thus preserve continuity between generations and consequently enable the farm’s further development and existence.
This article analyzes the process of city center revitalization using the case of the City of Ljubljana. In 2016 it became the first and (so far) only post-socialist city to acquire the European ...Green Capital Award. In the process of transforming the city over the last ten years, many positive changes were achieved. These are primarily reflected in improvements to the urban quality of life; that is, changes based on the urban sustainability principles. More public spaces with greater accessibility were created in the city center (expansion of pedestrian and bicycle zones, reduction of car traffic and closure of certain streets to cars, a higher number of visits to the city center and hence more cultural and tourist attractions, more green spaces, etc.). The study was conducted using semi-structured interview methods and focus groups with selected experts (spatial experts from various disciplines). The results showed that the revitalization process in Ljubljana had more positive consequences than negative ones, although some experts also criticized the achievements and pointed out certain shortcomings. However, given the definite improvements in citizens’ quality of life, it can be argued that Ljubljana has become a post-socialist sustainable city that clearly follows western European urban development patterns, which is a clear deviation from the socio-spatial urban processes that still characterize most post-socialist cities, especially large ones.
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