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Fifty-five years of the Urban Planning Institute of the 
Republic of Slovenia
The past two issues of the journal Urbani izziv have represented its second full decade of publication, and this year marks the fifty-fifth year of activities by the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia. The institute was founded on 24 May 1955 through a decree by the Executive Council of the People’s Assembly of the People’s Republic of Slovenia. It has been an independent research institute since 1962, and in 1993 the Slovenian government transformed it into a public research institute, which it continues to operate as today.
After fifty-five years, this institute remains the central Slovenian research institu­tion for spatial planning and management. It carries out research and development projects at the local, regional, national, and international levels, and in its projects it emphasizes the direct transfer of findings to everyday life.
The institute employs thirty researchers that comprise an interdisciplinary group of experts in various areas and disciplines, including architecture, landscape architectu­re, geography, geodesy, sociology, economics, art history, and other areas. As a result, the scope of research at the institute is very broad, encompassing:
•	Spatial planning
•	Urban planning and design
•	Landscape planning and design
•	Urban renewal
•	Management of urban areas
•	Regional development
•	Protection of natural and cultural heritage
•	Environmental protection
•	Information technology for spatial management
•	Housing studies
•	Traffic studies
•	Demographic studies for spatial planning
•	Accessibility for the functionally impaired
In addition to research, the institute also takes an active part in undergraduate and graduate education, participates in international exchanges, and organizes conferen­ces, symposia, consultations, lectures, workshops, courses, and exhibitions. Through its press (Urbani Izziv - Publikacije), the institute publishes the research and technical journal Urbani izziv as well as other research and technical publications. It also boasts the largest collection of research and technical literature in spatial planning and management in Slovenia, which is available to both professionals and the general public at the institute’s library: the Information and Documentation Center for Spatial Management.
The Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia thus continues to fulfill the purposes for which it was founded. Not least of all, this is affirmed by this latest issue of Urbani izziv. I wish you pleasant reading!
Boštjan Kerbler