The aim of this paper is to make a typology of industrial towns according to their economic performance and to establish place-specific local factors influencing the typology and their territorial distribution. We collected 15 indicators of economic performance for 23 small industrial towns in Slovenia, and with the method of Principle Component Analysis with k-means clustering made a typology of small industrial towns. The results show a great variety of small industrial towns, with many of them having a strong economic performance. In the discussion, we relate the findings to the overall transformation of industry in the post-socialist context, to re-industrialisation tendencies and to place-specific factors such as peripherality and specific historical events (polycentric policies). We conclude with the call to continue studying small industrial towns through the prism of opportunities and to address their weaknesses and maximise their place-specific strengths.

Cultivated terraces distinctively mark the landscape and are a result of human adaptation to steep areas. Terraces were studied with regard to their morphometric qualities, ownership structure, and land use at eight pilot sites in various landscape types in Slovenia. Twenty-six detailed interviews were carried out with local residents and experts. In current agricultural practice, terraces mostly represent obstacles, and for owners they create a loss rather than profit; however, they represented an advantage in the past, when they were cultivated manually. Land use is intensifying on economically profitable terraces. Among those examined, the Jeruzalem terraces stand out because these are the youngest ones (created in socialist Yugoslavia around 1965). Because of their aesthetic value, they are the best known among the public. Profitability in particular will be an important driving force for the future maintenance of terraces.

Because of their compact layout and functional connection, Radovljica and Lesce function as a settlement cluster. Radovljica in Lesce zaradi strnjene lege in funkcijske povezanosti delujeta kot eno -stično naselje. We defined central settlements based on services of general interest and the population of an individual settlement, and developed the analysis further by using competitiveness indicators. We defined 360 central settlements at six levels of centrality, among which the significance of Ljubljana as a national center of international importance and the significance of intermunicipal, local, and rural centers are increasing. The significance of certain regional centers at the second and third levels of centrality is decreasing. The level of services of general interest supplied to Slovenian territory is relatively appropriate, but it should be improved by promoting competitiveness, especially in centers of national and regional importance.

The socioeconomic performance of industrial small and medium-sized towns (SMSTs) in comparison to that of non-industrial SMSTs, is subject to evaluation in this paper, to see if the presence of industry has adverse effects on socioeconomic factors. We studied 32 variables accounting for dimensions of socioeconomic performance in Slovenian SMSTs and conducted various statistical tests. We found only minor differences between the two groups, pertaining mainly to some elements of economic structure and demography, and some mixed relations of industrial employment and socioeconomic performance. The results demonstrate that industrial SMSTs should not be labelled automatically as ‘disadvantaged’. We discuss why our results differ from general research expectations in the literature: in the local context, we outline the “egalitarian syndrome” and policies of polycentric spatial development; in the global context, we discuss the “failed tertiarisation effect” and the differences between post-socialist and “Western” countries. We conclude by proposing that research should be re-oriented towards the more place-sensitive issues of industrial towns across Europe.

Walkable access is recognised as one of the most important factors for deciding to walk instead of using other modes of transport. Distance has been less accurately taken into consideration in previous walking accessibility measures, however, as they are often based on an isotropic approach or on a fixed distance threshold. The objective of this paper is to present a method of modelling continuous walking accessibility to different amenities in a city, with an integrated network-based and distance-decay approach, applied to a case study of the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The approach is based on a web survey to obtain data on acceptable walking distances to different types of amenities. Several distance decay functions were analysed for each type of amenity from the cumulative frequency of responses. The best fitting functions were used to model the walking accessibility surfaces for individual amenities in the network, representing five domains (retail, services, recreation, education and transportation) and an overall walking accessibility index. Despite certain limitations and a further need to assess the validity of the methods, our distance-decay network-based approach is more accurate than the isotropic or even network-based modelling of walking distances in continuous or threshold approaches, as it enables the researcher to take into account the differences in propensities to walk to different amenities. The results can be used by city authorities and planners for implementing actions to improve walking accessibility in the most problematic areas.

The Ljub lja na Marsh is a va luab le pro tec ted area for Slo ve nia. BOJAN ERHARTIČ

No abstract

Ljubljana is the economic, traffic, cultural, and educational centre of Slovenia and it boasts a high level of residential quality of its inhabitants. Ljubljana je gospodarsko, prometno, kulturno in izobraževalno središče Slovenije in se ponaša z visoko kakovostjo bivanja tamkajšnjega prebivalstva. ABSTRACT: Quality of urban life is a useful concept for studying the quality of residential environment and its effect on quality of life. The article is based on the data analysis of the survey research Quality of Life in Ljubljana (2010). Using structural equation modelling and hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, the effect of residential quality on quality of life was determined and compared to the effects of selected domains of life. The results depend heavily on the operationalization of quality of life and on the selected independent variables in the model. Structural equation modelling confirmed the hypothesis about the effect of residential quality on quality of life, wherein satisfaction with the dwelling has a significantly greater effect on it than satisfaction with the neighbourhood and with living in the city. The hierarchical regression analysis results show that the quality of life for Ljubljana residents is most affected by their own estimation of social-economic factors, especially economic well-being, family life, and social life. BOJAN ERHARtIČ