QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE LIVING ENVIROMENT OF SLOVENIA
Barbara Verlič Christensen
QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE LIVING
ENVIRONMENT OF SLOVENIA
Abstract
The trends of urbanisation are followed through analyses of urban
standard in Slovenia and with the reference on the cyclical model of
development. Theoretical model and pragmatic changes do not corre-
spond to each other but rather enable to recognise the main streams
of the urban process . According to data analyses, given by the pro-
ject of the Quality of Life research over the last ten years, Slovenia is
demonstrating a specific overlapping of traditional and modern devel-
opment. The first concerns the role of the family and widely spread-
ing population over the territory . The second discovers the extensive
sub-urbanisation process, which is allowing the living in better envi-
ronment and commuting to the nearest city for work or education .
Suburbanisation was sustained by the lack of available housing in
the cities. Slovenia therefore keeps the polycentric urban develop-
ment, while suburbanisation might, with the trends of migrations and
spreading the central role of the city, resuscitate the process of new
metropolitanisation.
Keywords: Slovenia, urbanization, cyclical model, social and urban
standards of life, facilities, transport, ecology
ANALYSIS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN SLOVENIA FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF THE CYCLICAL MODEL AND RESIDENTIAL
MOBILITY FLOWS
The urbanisation process in Slovenia has been, for most of the period
after World War II, distinct from the other former Yugoslav republics and it
has also had its own peculiarities in comparison to similar or more devel-
oped societies in Europe. The historical and cultural heritage of urban set-
tlements and the level of developed infrastructural networks can be includ-
ed among these distinct features . The fact that the polycentric model of
development had been successful in Slovenia and not in other parts of
Yugoslavia is attributed to these factors (B .V.Dekleva, 1992) .
The polycentric model fosters the development of urban centres with dif-
ferent basic functions - such as the industrial sector, academic and educa-
tional centres, tourism and the like - in opposition to the monocentric
model where more centralised activities are principally focused in a single
urban area. The second specific feature of Slovenia consists in the high pro-
portion (almost one- half of the population) which lives in more than 5,700
settlements . There are from 78 to 250 urban settlements in Slovenia, the
number varying in accordance with different criteria .
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Barbara Verlič Christensen
In recent decades the proportion of the population living in the country-
side has not diminished as a result of intensive industrialisation ; rather,
the decrease has been mostly due to the suburbanisation process which
has attracted new inhabitants to small settlements near the city rather
than to the urban area itself. Suburban areas are attracting an ever
increasing number of urban inhabitants as well . Even if the amount of pop-
ulation moving into urban areas does not actually change, the size of the
urban areas may seem to decline due to changes in administrative borders .
Typical suburban areas had attracted, according to some analyses, approxi-
mately 30% of the Slovenian population by 1991 (Ravbar,1991 :124). As a
result of the growth of suburban population, the growth of bigger Slovenian
cities has been stagnant since the seventies . Therefore, what we may see in
the future will be so-called stable urban development which relies on natur-
al population growth and extremely selective migration .
Slovenia has also been quite specific in its development pattern in that it
has maintained traditional characteristics and life-style within its smaller
settlements. Conversely, Slovenia at a relatively early stage in its develop-
ment has experienced the onset of the process of suburbanisation as well
as desurbanisation which are typically present in far more developed
regions of Europe . Desurbanisation is the process of migratory flows out of
cities to the countryside and represents the process which generally follows
suburbanisation, the difference between the two being that off-urban flows
go to the hinterland rather than to suburban areas . Other migrations are
also directed to the hinterland rather than to the city . It is difficult to prove
the resemblance of Slovenia's desurbanisation to similar processes taking
place in European countries as the reasons for migration differ among
countries . For instance, in Slovenia suburbanisation has mostly taken
place as a result of the lack of cheap available land for housing construc-
tion elsewhere and of the poorly developed labour market . Both factors
result in the lower mobility of population and prevent an increase in migra-
tion . Thus, in Slovenia the suburbanisation process is more a product of
the above-mentioned imperfections or deficiencies rather than the flow of
the middle-class to a new life-style (as reported by Nystrom, 1989 in Swe-
den) . The cyclical urbanisation model (van den Berg et al ., 1982), is deeply
connected with economic stages of growth, alternating between the rapid
growth of urban centres (before and after the Second World War) and the
spread of population toward the suburbs and then out of the cities alto-
gether to the countryside (desurbanisation) .
The cyclical model defines four sequential phases ; urbanisation or the
growth of urban populations which is generally followed by suburbanisa-
tion . At this stage, segments of the population move outside cities yet
remain in the vicinity of urban centres . Suburban development is then fol-
lowed by desurbanisation (population movement to the countryside) which
is ultimately followed by re-urbanisation, renewed urban growth . During
the phases of suburbanisation and desurbanisation, there is often a notice-
able increase in the size of small cities, a phenomenon which was empha-
sized in Slovenia by the strong local autonomy of these communities and by
polycentric development. Therefore, the genesis of this process in Slovenia
differs from similar cases in Europe and this fact might be the reason for
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surprising developments in the future of Slovenia . Unlike the rest of
Europe, where the process of suburbanisation is considered irreversible, in
Slovenia there remain expectations of a rejuvenation of urban growth . The
middle and upper classes have been the principal initiators of European
suburbanisation and the presence of good communication and infrastruc-
ture systems has also enabled people to live in a better environment with-
out being disconnected from the urban world . Conversely, suburban areas
in Slovenia have, as reported by Ravbar (1991), a mixed social structure .
Most of the active population commute daily to urban centres, a factor
which contributes to the traffic and ecological problems in suburban Slove-
nia .
The first three phases of the cyclical model are followed by reurbanisation
which brings people back to renewed and reorganised cities ; there is very
little evidence documenting this process (Nystrom, 1992) . The problem with
the cyclical model is that individual phases are difficult to recognise in
terms of long and short-term changes and that the actual flows often do not
follow the linear prospective indicated by the model . The case of Slovenia
should therefore be analyzed not only in accordance with the three-phase
process of demographic flows but also paying close attention to the reasons
for particular migrations . This type of analysis will facilitate the forecasting
of population movements as well as the making of useful parallels with
other European experiences.
Identification of both "unquestionable" and mixed flows does enable a bet-
ter understanding of migration problems in a particular environment and
puts previous experiences in a light which could be useful for everyday
practice. For instance, during the period of extensive urban growth follow-
ing World War 11 (1955-1970), it was hoped that the industrial construction
of new European cities would resolve housing shortages and the subse-
quent overcrowding of cities . However, unexpected negative aspects of this
concept emerged, revealing the need for re-evaluation and continued con-
struction of this type was abandoned in European cities . In Slovenia, such
construction projects proceeded through the eighties . The next logical step
in Europe indicated construction should take place farther from urban cen-
tres, thus creating new cities and working places in order to avoid urban
sprawl. This concept has also been severely criticised because moving
labour markets has not always been successfully achieved . In Slovenia, we
have only a few "prototypes" of this concept, realised, for example, in Velen-
je and Nova Gorica .
After a brief spell of urban growth in Slovenia which followed World War
II, a period of strong local decentralisation ensued which enabled smaller
urban centres to increase and develop . Social and economic standards in
those polycentric network centres prospered and attracted a new social
structure of inhabitants (Quality of Life research, 1984/6). The lag in hous-
ing construction pulled families out of the cities and into smaller settle-
ments where they often relied on building their own single-family homes .
Because migratory flows in Slovenia have been directed to very small settle-
ments in the hinterlands (albeit often in developed regions), most bigger
cities have stagnated over the last decade . This process has engulfed many
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Barbara Verlič Christensen
of the older regional centres as well (Ravbar, 1991 ; Dekleva, 1986) . Con-
versely, those parts of the countryside within developed regions have
entered a dynamic process of urbanisation . In spite of this fact, the infra-
structural standards in those regions are often in substantial decline .
Certain indicators of the process of suburbanisation lead one to reason-
ably conclude that the principal motivators of such mobility are life-style
and, specifically, the quality of the environment and adequate solutions to
housing problems (Nystrom, 1989 ; Ravbar, 1991) . But most other problems
are poorly resolved in suburban life : namely, a lack of adequate infrastruc-
ture, communication and other services persists . The tendency of those
employed in urban centres to commute on a daily basis is on the rise and
the absence of appropriate urban planning in the cities and the ever more
acute ecological problems are only the most obvious symptoms of the trend .
The ability to choose one's living environment is deeply tied to the life cycle
of the family. Mobility no doubt functions as a symbol of possibilities and
the ability to act on one's immediate desires . In Slovenia, the proportion of
such families "seems" fairly high, where nearly 60% of households live in
family housing (Public Opinion R.,1994) . However, many of them have set-
tled in the countryside which indicates that they did not necessarily have
the means to choose where to settle . Be that as it may, residing in a one-
family house is clearly the preferred method of housing in Slovenia .
When the era of economic prosperity was followed by economic crisis in
the seventies (a crisis which has not yet been fully overcome), the differ-
ences in social standards between urban and countryside environments not
only persisted but also became more accentuated . Many analysts tend to
think the opposite, believing that as a result of the urbanisation of the
countryside these differences are disappearing . It seems rather that individ-
ual standards in the countryside are improving far more than the social
standards (K2, 1986) . It is also true that the proportion of employees in the
primary sector has declined and people in the countryside tend to live far
better than ever before . Nevertheless, social standards cannot be made to
increase along with substantial state investments . Therefore, Ravbar's
observation that the countryside often looks more urbanised than it actual-
ly is, or conversely, that in some villages people actually do have a very
urban life-style, is in fact well-grounded (Ravbar, 1991 : 98,110) . In any
case, it should not be misunderstood that employment in sectors other
than agriculture is sufficient to create an urban environment . If we are
attempting to evaluate standards, than it might be better to take as an indi-
cator the level of social standards - for example, by measuring urbanisation
indirectly by the employment in the third and quarter sector (like services
for example) . Another possibly important indicator of urban development is
the level of collective consumption which indicates the integration of people
into formal, organised and collective structures as a means to satisfy their
needs (whether encouraged by the state or the market) . E. Castells (1978)
did not make this analytical term operational but it is possible to under-
stand it as evolving services and infrastructure as wall as access to educa-
tion, health, communication networks etc .
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The term collective consumptions is thus in opposition to self-provision
(individualisation) and the subsistence level of living which is still very
much present in the Slovenian countryside . It is self-evident that collective
consumption requires a certain level of organized living, one which depends
principally on forms of state or local organisation and financing . Lacking
the structures of collective consumption, the countryside population is thus
deprived of many services. Indicators of service present in the environment,
as determined by Quality of Life research, covers collective consumption ;
but this could also be indicated by the percentage the GDP allocated for col-
lective needs. KZ indicators thus reveal the level of urbanisation in the envi-
ronment which is not directly connected to the number of inhabitants, the
density of the population or to the administrated borders of urban areas .
IN WHAT PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT IS SLOVENIA ACCORDING
TO THE CYCLICAL MODEL?
According to the cyclical model, Slovenia in the last decade could fit into
the interim phase between suburbanisation and desurbanisation . There-
fore, we might expect the population of the countryside to increase in the
near future. Nevertheless, it is also likely that this process will be de-
emphasized in Slovenia . Indeed, several factors are working against it :
namely, we are a society in transition ; a society opposed to formal planning;
we are opening up to Europe, and ; market-oriented economic systems are
being introduced . All of this might well encourage migration flows back to
bigger urban areas . People might feel that urban centres offer more chances
for work and that the newly diversified system will allow new opportunities
in education, career and the like . Motivated by these possibilities, new
migration flows may create metropolitanisation on a scale which will foster
and expand the influence of urban centres into more developed regions
(Dekleva, 1995;Ravbar, 199 1) . Metropolitanisation is essentially the selective
process of flows (of labour, commerce, power) into the area with the highest
potential for development and the most favourable market prospective, as a
rule, these conditions prevail in the most central area . Control over ever-
growing resources causes the influence of the urban centre to spread over
territory as well as over economic and political activities . In the sixties,
such a process had a short blossoming in Slovenia and then was interrupt-
ed due to the development of the polycentric concept . As it relates to the
experience of other European countries, the flows of suburban migration in
Slovenia attracted that segment of the population which would normally be
directed to the cities . The lack of available or adequate housing in cities was
frequently the most important reason for such a move . Therefore, these
population flows were not comprised of the same social class as in other
European countries where such classes generally had adequate skills and
resources available to them to make a free life-style choice . Circumstances
related to the transitional phase and to the economic crisis caused a great
deal of disinvestment in infrastructure - and, in particular, in communica-
tions - and suburban areas have suffered greatly as a result .
The lag in building up infrastructure in accordance with the needs of new
migrants is a general feature of suburbanisation and desurbanisation .
European experience indicates that only adequate state intervention can
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Barbara Verlič Christensen
overcome this gap . Compromise between capital interests and social needs
as well as pragmatic planning are necessary in order to avoid major ecologi-
cal costs . Such a combination made this phase of development feasible
(T.Deelstra & O.Yanitsky, 1991 ; Danemark & Elander, 1994) . The historical
Scandinavian compromise between capitalism and a vision of social welfare
without deep social divisions certainly represents the most successful case,
making no mention of how important the impact of such a state policy can
be for general welfare and the quality of life . It is not surprising that Swe-
den was the first to introduce Quality of life research in an effort to promote
more efficient policies relating to the equalisation of living standards and
environment. However, an immediate comparison of Slovenia with such
examples would be unreasonably ambitions . The following analyses will
focus on the specific Slovenian case as regards development and finding
Slovenia's place in the cyclical model . It will also attempt to shed light on
potential future problems and the consequences of the absence of any rea-
sonable urban and social planning with an emphasis on the lack of social
vision within the specific regions and within the country as a whole .
THE QUALITY OF THE LIVING ENVIRONMENT IN SLOVENIA
We will begin with a comparative analyses of social and other services in
the living environment of Slovenia over the last ten years. Most data con-
cerns the access of inhabitants to the basic infrastructure : educational
facilities, health services, child care centres, food supply, communication
services, public transportation, recreational areas and the like . We have
separated the basic information about available services into five fields of
activities : 1) education ; 2) health ; 3) culture and recreation; 4) communica-
tion and public transportation, and ; 5) food supply . We have evaluated each
of these five activities and given each a field indicator (rating from one to
three : no services available, few services available and all services avail-
able) . Then we have calculated one complex indicator based on the five val-
ues arrived at for each service activity . This method enables evaluation of
the specific quality of the environment and reveals its deficiency (or efficien-
cy) in supplying needed services . As a separate set of data, subjective per-
ceptions of the ecological quality of the environment are presented in which
individuals express their perception of ecological disturbances in their envi-
ronment, such as noise, air and water pollution, traffic disturbances, etc .
Social contacts in the living environment will be the third item discussed
and will function as an indicator of social integration as opposed to social
exclusion. The final item in the analysis will deal specifically with users of
public transportation, an area of special interest in Slovenia due to the
severity of traffic problems in Slovenian cities . All data has been analyzed
separately depending of what type of environment is being assessed : large
urban centres, small urban centres and countryside settlements . With
these indicators and classifications we can compare and evaluate certain
dimensions of the quality of the environment and the level of social stan-
dards available to inhabitants . As a rule, the higher the social standards,
the greater the extent of collective consumption and the higher the level of
urbanisation of the environment .
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GENERAL FEATURES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN
STANDARDS BETWEEN 1984 AND 1994 IN THE LIVING
ENVIRONMENT OF SLOVENIA
The complex indicator of the quality (and quantity) of available services as
an indicator of social standards can also be utilized as a criteria in deter-
mining the level of urban development in a specific location. Therefore, this
analysis may also serve to reveal the flows of urban expansion to different
types of settlements. Slovenia has a great number of small countryside set-
tlements which cannot be strictly classified as traditional villages . However,
there does tend to be a strong link between the level of social standards, the
size of the city and the pace of economic development . Social standards
tend to be linked also to the level of collective consumption which, as a
rule, is lower in the countryside .
The development of the service sector in Slovenia has not dramatically
changed over the last ten years and we might argue that this indicates stag-
nation in service development. Yet it is also an understandable situation for
a society which is undergoing radical transformation while facing an eco-
nomic crisis. Nevertheless, there are also certain structural problems which
are present in the process which for the most part relate to transformations
and shifts in the allocation of resources to areas of collective consumption
(E.Castells, 1978) . For example, the allocation of funds as dictated by the
market creates new potentials in some spheres while other areas suffer
from the lack of resources caused by the general retreat of state funding . In
the case of Slovenia, it was the reform of local communities which had the
greatest effect on certain regions and small cities . These reforms took place
while the federal government was busy reorganising its priorities . Thus,
social groups in less developed regions and in remote parts of the hinter-
land have been particularly hard hit .
The preceding discussion makes it clear that the so-called process of de-
elitisation, which had begun prior to the nineteen-eighties, has now ended
(B .V.Dekleva, 1984/6) . De-elitisation was a conscious (i .e. state and locally-
planned) re-allocation of resources in an effort to provide certain services to
all inhabitants, a policy which was intended to decrease differences
between urban and countryside settlements and to promote equalisation as
regards social standards .
De-elitisation has been a persistently pursued policy in many developed
societies over the last twenty years and was a formally accepted concept in
most socialist countries . This policy had somewhat controversial results in
the different regions of the former-Yugoslavia . Slovenia and Croatia benefit-
ed the most from the policy due to certain historical advantages . The strong
social redistribution of services and resources into various regions and into
both large and small local centres decreased differences in social standards
creating an effect which spilled over into the countryside as well (B .V.Dekle-
va, 1984, 1988) . However, in the eighties these differences started to
become once again more pronounced and had a stronger impact in certain
social areas .
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Barbara Verlič Christensen
A comparison of the complex indicator of social standards, which inte-
grates measures of seventeen different services, reveals that between 1984
and 1994 the proportion of population in service-deprived areas increased
by 1%; the complex indicator increased by 2 .3% since 1991 which is dis-
proportional regarding the usual differences observed between these envi-
ronments. The situation for those inhabitants living in poorly-serviced areas
has been better, most likely due to the initiative of private entrepreneurs
(Table 1) . Both groups demonstrate that the share of badly serviced popula-
tion decreased over the last ten years only by 1 .6% .
Table 1
INDICATOR OF URBAN QUALITY OF SPACE - THE LEVELS OF SOCIAL /MARKET SERVICES,
AVAILABLE TO THE INHABITANTS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT, IN
indicator's values / year	1984	1991	1994	
deprived of services 8.2 6.7 9.0
very badly serviced 25.2 26.6 23.0
deficiently serviced 20.2 17.4 19 .4
satisfactory 18.0 16.1 15.0
very well serviced	28.4	33.2	33.6	
Sources : Quality of Life, IDV;B .V .Dekleva, 1984/91/94, values definitions :
From the five fields indicators with three values one complex indicator with five values has been
formed ; values include the completeness of fields services, not just the number itself . Areas deprived of
any services and those badly serviced entirely lack from two fields to four and the remaining fields
provide incomplete services .
All the figures are taken from analyses with adequate significance .
Almost a third of the population of Slovenia still lives in a natural and
healthy environment, in locations which are almost entirely un-urbanised
(Tables 1,2) . That is one of the specific characteristics of Slovenia in com-
parison to other equally or more urbanised countries and is a trait which is
unlikely to change in the foreseeable future . The proportion of inhabitants
living in fairly well- serviced locations decreased by 3% yet, at the same
time, the proportion living in well-serviced areas increased . Obviously, this
is a selective (market) process in which certain locations attract more ser-
vices while other, no doubt less prosperous, locations experience a decline
in services .
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Table 2
INDICATOR OF URBAN QUALITY ACCORDING TO TYPE OF THE CITY
THE SHARE OF POPULATION ACCORDING THE TYPE OF CITY AND THE LEVEL OF SERVICES
1984
	
1994
level of services `0	1	2	3	4	0	1	2	3	4	
type of cities :"
Ljubljana, Maribor 0 .9 13 .6 28 .9 26 .2 30 .4 0 .5 9 .1 18 .7 28 .8 42 .9
reg .,local centres 0 .9 9 .3 13 .2 15 .5 61 .1 1 .2 9 .7 9 .5 13 .3 66 .2
countryside 14 .4 37 .1 20 .5 16 .4 11 .7 16 .1 34 .9 24 .5 10 .6 14 .0
Slovenia 8 .2 25 .2 20 .2 18 .0 28 .4 9 .0 23 .0 19 .4 15 .0 33 .6
. share of inhabitants living in the environment who are :
0= deprived of services 1= very badly serviced 2= deficiently serviced
3= satisfactory 4= very well serviced
" urban areas include central, regional and local centres, countryside covers .the remainder of the population .
The proportion of people who are living in very well-serviced places
increased over the last ten years by about 5%, which is adequate . Neverthe-
less, such an improvement has not occurred in countryside settlements
and is not stable in smaller urban centres either . Some smaller centres
have actually experienced an increase in the proportion of those living in
very badly-serviced areas . It is highly likely that Slovenia will have to deal
with problems of economic collapse in certain local centres . Most improve-
ments (by some 12.5%, see Table 2) have occurred in larger urban centres
such as Ljubljana and Maribor which are attractive markets for various
commercial activities and services . These examples reinforce our expecta-
tion that it will be the larger urban centres which will prosper in the near
future and the more marginal locations which will face growing problems
(Dekleva, 1992) .
To reiterate, it is the small and regional centres which now face, following
a relatively prosperous period during the eighties, severe crises and stagna-
tion as a result of the collapse of local economies upon which many inhabi-
tants are dependent. Another contributing factor is the retreat of the state
from funding certain services which support social standards . The most
recent local reform which increased the number of communities from 62 to
over 250 certainly did not improve this situation, since the smaller commu-
nities which were created lack their own resources . The increasing discrep-
ancies in social standards reveal the basic liberal market orientation which
in fact fosters the previous differences . The general tendency toward stag-
nation will cause a variety of structural and selective consequences in the
different types of settlements effected .
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Barbara Verlič Christensen
CHANGES BETWEEN 1984 AND 1994 FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF
SERVICE ACTIVITIES AND ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF
SETTLEMENTS
The analyses of specific types of services and activities over the last ten
years reveals even greater variations in the level of change . We have divided
services into those which have been financed by the state and those which
are delivered by the private sector. The first group includes education,
health, culture and most of the infrastructural services such as communi-
cations, roads, public transportation, etc . We also include in this group eco-
logical services . Within the second group, we have included most areas of
food supply, some recreational activities, most household services and cer-
tain specific services from the first group over which the state does not have
monopolistic power but does regulate standards (such as health and educa-
tion) .
HEALTH, EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE SERVICES
Elementary schools and child care centres which are in close proximity to
the home fall among those services which are considered fundamental for a
large part of the population and their quality of life, in particular, for those
social groups with younger children . These centres also play an important
role in the cultural, recreational and educational activities of the communi-
ty as a whole . In spite of their importance, over the last ten years these
fields have experienced substantial stagnation (Table 3) . It should be noted
that such stagnation has not posed a problem for populations in urban
centres such as Ljubljana and Maribor as these services are available to
most of the population already (89 .4%) . The share of 5 .7% in 1984 which
did not have access to these services had decreased to 3 .3% in 1994 .
The countryside population reveals quite a different situation . The already
high share of unserviced population, 44 .6% in 1984, has increased to 47%
in 1994. Moreover, the proportion of well-serviced population has remained
unchanged. In sum, there has been no improvement in this area over the
last ten years . Regional and local centres have reduced access to their ser-
vices as well (by some 3% over the ten years) and, as a result, there has
been a general stagnation . However, as in the case of the large urban cen-
tres, countryside settlements had a relatively good starting point, with these
services being accessible to some 88% of the population (Tables 2,3) .
CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION
Culture, which is at least in part subsidised by the state, is one of the few
fields of activity that has seen progress over the last ten years . The greatest
improvements have occurred in Ljubljana and Maribor . Regional and local
centres have been stagnating but, surprisingly, access to culture among
countryside populations has improved during this period . It is difficult to
find a reasonable explanation for this phenomenon since it is well-known
that the state has reduced financial support for culture . It should also be
noted that the data we have collected does not assess the content of cultur-
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QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE LIVING ENVIROMENT OF SLOVENIA
al activities nor the frequency of performances nor does it provide informa-
tion about the working conditions of those employed in cultural activities .
Measuring the degree of access to such services only provides one point of
view about these activities which may not, in certain specific cases, repre-
sent the most important one . Is it possible to hypothesise that the introduc-
tion of cultural animators and specific cultural programmes has proved to
be efficient over this period?
Table 3
QUALITY OF URBAN ENVIRONMENT ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF THE CITIES BETWEEN
1984 .AND 1994 IN % OF THE POPULATION. EXTREME DIMENSIONS ARE PRESENTED .
the level of services
	
1984 1994
no services has all services no services all services
type of cities
EDUCATION AND CHILD CARE
Ljubljana, Maribor 5 .7 89 .2 3 .3 89 .4
Regional and local centres 6.0 88.6 8.9 88.0
Countryside settlements	44.6	40.8	47.0	40.1	
Slovenia n=2338 26.9 62 .8 n=1744 28 .1 62 .7
HEALTH
Ljubljana, Maribo 34 .1 52 .0 25 .4 60 .7
Regional and local centres 19.5 71 .2 17 .9 74 .7
Countryside settlements	70.1	17.5	72.8	16.9	
Slovenia 49 .7 38 .2 48 .7 41 .0
CULTURE
Ljubljana, Maribor 21.5 49.0 11 .2 54 .1
Regional and local centres 11 .0 76 .0 12 .5 76 .0
Countryside settlements	39.7	40.6	40.5	42.5	
Slovenia 28 .1 51 .6 2/.2 53./
TRANSPORT, COMMUNICATION
Ljubljana, Maribo 2.6 66.4 1 .3 86 .7
Regional and local centres 2 .4 86 .9 3 .1 86 .2
Countryside settlements	22.5	33 .9	25 .1	32 .5	
ovenia 13 .3 54 .2 14.5 57.6
FOOD SUPPLY
Ljubljana, Maribor 2 .2 88 .1 0 .7 95 .6
Regional and local centres 2 .3 87 .9 3 .5 90 .9
Countryside settlements	22.7	32.7	21 .2	45.8	
Slovenia 13 .3 58 .0 12.4 67 .8
Sources: OL, 1984, 1994 by B .V.Dekleva
Data about communications includes access to public transportation,
banks, public telephones, post offices and the like . Within the last ten
years, access to these services has improved only in Ljubljana and Maribor .
In 1994, some 87.7% of the inhabitants of these urban centres had good
access to all of the above-mentioned services (see Table 3) . In regional and
local centres, the share of well-serviced population remained the same and
the share of so-called "empty" areas increased. The countryside population
has experienced significant deterioration in this area, with 2 .6% higher
DR, Vol.XII(1996)22-23 51
Barbara Verlič Christensen
share of the population being without any services . In other words, a lower
percentage of the population than ten years ago has access to most com-
munication facilities . The greatest problem in our opinion is the lack of
access to public telephones in countryside settlements . In the absence of
most other services, the importance of telephone access and public trans-
portation is magnified .
In sum, a general feature of over-all stagnation is the increasingly marked
structural imbalances among living places and the growing differences in
the social standards of those living in these various areas . As we are talking
about the most basic parameters of quality of life and, in a wider sense,
about social integration into the modern social organisation, we might
argue that an ever greater portion of the Slovenian population has become
marginalised in their living environment .
THE USE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN SLOVENIA
The importance of the development and use of public transportation has
been considered one of the keys to sustainable urban organisation in most
European countries over the last several decades . It is a factor that con-
tributes enormously to the quality of life in cities without decreasing territo-
rial mobility . There is a strong effort underway to limit the individual use of
cars, providing more public space to bicycles and pedestrians . In Slovenia,
determining which social groups in different cities use public transporta-
tion, with what frequency and for what purpose is a very interesting exer-
cise. In the questionnaire we distributed, we offered three choices : 1) the
use of public transportation for everyday commuting to work, 2) the use of
public transportation to "go to the city", and 3) the use of the public trans-
portation for the purpose of vacation travel and trips . The most interesting
data was revealed in comparing answers from 1984 and 1994 . This com-
parative analysis contains certain methodological inadequacies (for exam-
ple, the data from 1994 excludes the youngest category - up to 19 years
old) . Nevertheless, the changes from the previous decade are enormous and
the methodological inadequacies do not alter the significance of the study
for the whole population .
In Ljubljana and Maribor, 18 .3% of the population is regularly using the
bus for daily trips to work or to school. In smaller urban centres, the share
drops to 10% and in the countryside, to 12 .9%. Looking at the three groups
together, the countrywide average is 14 .1% of the Slovenian population . In
1984, the corresponding figure was 30 .9% of the Slovenian population, a
clear indication that the share of regular customers of public transport has
dropped by one-half over the last ten years . In the year 1994, 68 .8% of the
inhabitants reported that they never used public transportation to get to
work or school and 17 .1% do so only occasionally . The numbers for individ-
ual types of cities or living places are no more encouraging ; in Ljubljana
and Maribor, 60.1% of the inhabitants reported that they never use the bus
or other public transportation for daily transportation needs . In regional
and local centres, the number increases to 70% of the population and in
the countryside to 70 .5%. As employees and students represent two quite
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dominant social groups which are potential customers of public transport,
these figures raise problematic questions about national transportation
strategies. Stated more emphatically, these numbers announce a coming
catastrophe . In many European cities, the development of public trans-
portation strategies are often the focal point for improving the economic and
social perspectives of various living environments . The second purpose for
use of public transportation in the questionnaire was "to go to the city" and
refers to the wide variety of reasons for using it by different social groups .
Even in this category, a full 52 .9% of the population never uses public
transportation . In larger urban centres, the share is 40 .1%, in smaller
cities, 60% and in countryside settlements, 54 .5%. Regular users represent
only 11 .8% of the total population while, in 1984, the corresponding num-
ber was 28.2%. Thus in this segment, we also observe a decrease of over
one-half over the last ten years . Occasional use of public transportation
was reported by 34% of the countryside population and by 41% of the
inhabitants of larger cities . In 1984, the corresponding number was 46 .5% .
We presumed that vacation travel also presented an opportunity to use
public transport as most of the population occasionally does take vacation .
Yet, only 4 .7% of the population reported the use of public transport for
that purpose while, in 1984, 13 .8% reported such use (in larger cities, 7% ;
in the countryside, 3% and occasional use of public transportation by
11 .2% of the population, as whole) . Moreover, in 1994, a full 84 .2% of the
population reported that they never take public transportation when going
on their vacations . In 1984, the corresponding number was 68 .4% .
Undoubtedly, these figures reveal not only a general trend of stagnation
but the complete decay and retreat of the public transportation system from
the lives of Slovenia's citizens . Public transportation has become a marginal
means of transportation for most of the population in Slovenia . Lacking
stronger state support for the public transportation system in this transi-
tional period of development (and such a priority is widely considered an
investment for sustainable economic development), the use of private trans-
portation has become predominant . Consequently, Slovenia has become an
extremely promising market for car dealers . It is not yet clear whether this
is a sign of the automotive industry's lobbying power within the government
of Slovenia or whether it is merely the result of the absence of a compre-
hensive national strategy concerning the use of public transportation . In
either case, this clearly represents a marked difference with trends in other
European nations and is something that Slovenia will ultimately have to
deal with .
A second cause of concern is the lag in the development of inter-city train
systems, a result of the state giving priority to road construction . Such
inter-city transportation is a basic requirement for the integration of eco-
nomic and human flows in the new territory of the European Union . The
consequences of being left out of those flows will be far-reaching and
unpredictable as regards the extent of potential negative effects . Finally,
these highly questionable trends in transport development only delay the
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53
Barbara Verlič Christensen
coming crisis in infrastructural and transportation systems . In the mean-
time, they exert a strong effect on the quality of life and the ecological quali-
ty of the environment .
FOOD SUPPLY
The results of the increased supply of food in Slovenian living environ-
ments are quite surprising . In this area, we include the availability of ordi-
nary food stores but also restaurants and specialty food supply (of which
there are seven types) . In this area, private initiative overlapped with that of
ordinary inhabitants in terms of where and how to start businesses . Coun-
tryside settlements have witnessed the greatest progress in this service
area: the share of those with very good food supply increased from 32 .7% in
1984 to 45.8% in 1994 (see Table 3) . In larger and medium-sized cities, the
increase has been negligible as access to food supply was already quite
good : from 90.9% to 95.6% of inhabitants have an excellent choice of food
in their living environments .
In spite of the general improvement in access to food supply, even in this
area we can observe certain critical points of development, particularly in
smaller settlements . In these settlements, we have observed an increasing
share (of 1 .2%, see Table 3) of poorly supplied locations . The regions effect-
ed are those which do not have the best position in the framework of the
free-market allocation of services . We can only reiterate our concern about
the general stagnation which has greatly effected smaller urban units . The
principal reason for the stagnation is the collapse of the traditional econo-
my of local centres due to reform and the division of communities into
many smaller units without adequate financing .
One conclusion which may be drawn from this data is that, over the last
ten years, the government has not had a well-defined or targeted concept of
social welfare and market oriented allocation of services . In spite of
increased state efficiency, the government has neglected countryside popu-
lations and introduced policies which have disproportionately promoted
cities . What is most disappointing is the absence of a unified concept and
the lack of concern for general welfare . One might also argue that certain
data points to the absence of any general vision of development or that the
government, with no proper professional analysis of the situation, lacks not
only a strategy but also the resources to formulate and implement a strate-
gy. Hardly anyone expects market forces to take over in areas of ecological
concern, general provision of health care and education and basic trans-
portation infrastructure . Both forces (the market and the state) seem to be
acting in accordance with the same logic: that is, achieving liberal short-
term goals while insuring their own survival . Only in the major urban cen-
tres of developed regions have social standards been maintained at the
same level and, in some service areas, have even been improved . Therefore,
both the efforts of the state and the market are directed toward the cities
where it is predicted that such investments will be worthwhile . On the other
hand, basic services in the countryside have decreased with the exception
of certain major gaps in services, such as food supply, which have
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QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE LIVING ENVIROMENT OF SLOVENIA
improved. There is very little evidence of productive investments outside of
clearly commercial enterprises . If we are correct in this assumption, then
there will be a continuous shortage in new working places and production .
It is also certain that consumption cannot increase indefinitely .
The retreat and rationalisation of state involvement in subsidised services
is beginning to show a distinct pattern of selectivity according to living envi-
ronments, a pattern which has been more damaging to countryside popula-
tions than to cities where the service network was already better developed .
Although it could be argued that the current level of social standards
exceeds the abilities of the state, the reorganisation of the supply of services
should be pursued rather than merely opting to close them down .
WHAT HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR CHANGES IN SLOVENIA OVER
THE LAST TEN YEARS?
In Slovenia, the level of social standards, the availability of a complete
variety of services, the infrastructural network, - in short, the level of collec-
tive consumption - has stagnated or deteriorated over the last ten years .
There are only few exceptions to this situation, mostly related to the con-
sumption of goods such as general merchandise and food . It could be
argued that such trends make Slovenia less fit for entrance into the Euro-
pean Union and have eliminated the advantages of being a small country . It
is precisely improvement in the infrastructure and in the communication
network which stimulates further development and attracts investment .
Although the introduction of a market economy did have the effect of stimu-
lating entrepreneurship, market forces are not sufficient to improve the
quality and availability of many service sectors related to collective con-
sumption . This problem certainly effects areas such as education, health
and most communication systems . Without the well-planned allocation of
scarce resources, the impact of the transitional period will be very damag-
ing to the general level of social standards .
Among the various types of city settlements in Slovenia, larger urban
units have an advantageous position . In developed regions, urban centres
have made the most progress even though stagnation has been the general
trend . On the other hand, smaller urban centres, such as old regional
industrial towns and the numerous centres of the previous communities,
have suffered enormously after the promising eighties. The nineties ushered
in a period of transition, economic crises, local reorganisation and political
change - all of which meant the drastic reduction of previously available
resources. As a result, the general level of social standards in these cities
has deteriorated . At this point, there are no signs of a new conceptual
approach to development which will improve the situation in these particu-
lar locations . In sum, the access of different social groups to increasing lev-
els of social standards has been reduced and this has effectually terminat-
ed the so-called process of de-elitisation (Dekleva, 1986?) as social differ-
ences are once more on the rise .
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55
Barbara Verlič Christensen
In the process of increased competition, certain locations have had better
opportunities to attract new investments and this is one reason why,
regardless of previous suburbanisation flows, metropolitanisation might be
the coming trend . This is principally due to the advantages of and poten-
tials for larger market in developed urban areas . The role of the state as it
relates to this period of development is constantly being challenged . Never-
theless, national network programmes designed to secure an adequate level
of social standards and reduction of the most undesirable consequences of
these rapid changes should be attempted . The results of our study certainly
raise questions and criticism about the development of the public trans-
portation system and available access to basic services, such as education
and health organisations. An adequate planning and development strategy
did not follow the spontaneous process of suburbanisation and thus an
increased level of socio-ecological problems has effected these areas (such
as traffic problems and general social disequilibrium) .
Our investigation did not include specific data on suburban areas which
would enable us to make direct comparisons with other research results
(Ravbar, 1991) . In spite of this, it would be difficult to explain the constant
level of countryside population over the last decade without taking into
account migration flows and changes of social structure . Returning again to
general concepts of the cyclical model, it would be expected that
suburbanisation would continue in Slovenia . However, it is very likely that
migration flows will be directed to the hinterland of developed urban
regions rather than to the vicinity around smaller cities as it has been in
the past. The process of metropolitanisation, on the other hand, does not
necessarily mean massive migrations directed to urban centres but rather
the augmentation of indirect urban influence, increasing the political and
economic potential of urban conglomeration . The domination of an urban
unit within a given region will very likely increase the interconnections of
smaller settlements around the urban unit and will thus gather up the
smaller settlements within the urban network .
Suburbanisation has had multiple effects on the spatial development of
the urban area . It has had an impact on the present and future allocation
of resources which again relates to the level of social standards . The state
should, therefore, maintain an awareness of such trends and implement
adequate strategies in response . In addition, suburbanisation has had the
effect of enlarging urban areas, greatly increasing daily commuting and
thus creating a need for infrastructural development. It has also modified
the existing social structure, the way and quality of life in the settlements
around the urban centre and had an impact on the physical identity of
effected areas. These are again strong arguments for careful planning and
following up on the changes caused by suburbanisation in an effort to
enhance the effect of development and investment . The delayed develop-
ment of suburban locations as regards infrastructure, communications and
services is emphasizing the importance of urban centres to an excessive
degree and overloading the limited potentials of these urban areas . The
delay in development, therefore, also effects the quality of life in the city
centre itself. Those decisions which have an impact on the changes and
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QUALITY OF LIFE IN THE LIVING ENVIROMENT OF SLOVENIA
flows within the larger urban and regional locations are fundamental . Cen-
tral urban function will have to be reorganised and extended over more
marginal locations. It is in this area that local initiatives for development
might serve to resuscitate the growth of the region . Our analyses indicate
that the problem is more that the reorganisation of existing services which
is needed (for example, those relating to mobility and transportation) rather
than the establishment of a whole new service infrastructure from scratch .
This is certainly the case with the most remote locations in the hinterland
and with smaller settlements . There are few alternatives outside of extend-
ing the basic infrastructure to follow the movement of populations within
the Slovenian territory .
Indeed, the existing infrastructural network is a reasonable starting point
and could be extended from urban and regional centres to more distant
suburban locations, thus increasing existing systems rather than building
new local networks . We have already discussed the problem of overloaded
central areas, causing, for example, traffic jams because of increased com-
muting in private vehicles . Strategically directed planning might decrease
the ecological and infrastructural effects of such a chaotic suburban
(mobile) development which, at some point, will become irreversible . Sus-
tainable development and ecological concerns enhance the long-term
invested technological effects which is an added benefit of the achievement
of planned goals . The first consequence of such strategic planning would be
a better quality of life and a good base for small private initiative in related
entrepreneurial endeavours .
From that perspective, the lack of an adequate public transportation sys-
tem is of particular concern . The development of a transportation network
obviously has not followed the flows and needs of inhabitants during the
past decade . The existing transportation system is concentrated only in
urban areas and rarely extends into suburban areas to provide service to
daily commuters . The preservation of natural goods in the hinterlands,
parts of which are now in a rather chaotic process of urbanisation, should
also be of special concern to policy makers . The different interests of vari-
ous social groups (native dwellers, migrants, urban-employed population,
recreational visitors and tourists) might well have different relations to and
needs from the environment and might try to bend policy to their short-
term objectives . What is most evident is the absence of a common vision of
development and of community and a lack of local democracy . Various
interest groups will continue to pressure the government for additional
investments so it will be difficult to avoid some kind of strategic planning .
In many fields of social activities, the efforts of the private sector offer a
useful alternative when such initiatives are coordinated within national net-
works. However, in many instances, the state is needed to provide vision
and incentives . Moreover, as noted before, spontaneous market entrepre-
neurship has limited results as regards common social standards and
infrastructure development. It is for these reasons that the current accu-
mulation of power in the centralized state is controversial as it cannot or
does not want to exercise the necessary power to plan development during
this transitional period .
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Barbara Verlič Christensen
Without a vision for social development within the Slovenian living envi-
ronment, the present use of natural and social resources will have long-
term detrimental effect on the future . Such trends indicate a neglect in uti-
lizing potential local resources and in developing the unequal opportunities
in various regions which have an impact on the lives and chances of differ-
ent generations . The lag in infrastructural development in the countryside
is of special concern because of the extent of the suburbanisation process
which in the case of Slovenia effects a great part of the territory and nearly
one-half of the population.
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