Planning capacity of Slovenian municipalities

Abstract

Spatial planning is one of the major legal duties for Slovenian municipalities. The planning framework is legally defined in the Spatial Planning Act which is frequently modified. Thus, municipalities need to adhere to changes very often. The capability of a municipality to adapt to new obligations and conditions influences delivery of spatial development. In a doctoral research we analyzed the capacity of municipalities to implement the planning act, i.e. what is the planning governance capacity of Slovenian municipalities. Thirteen indicators were defined and data were collected with the help of a questionnaire and secondary sources. These indicators were then used to produce the typology of management capacity in the field of planning. We also tested whether the size and spatial characteristics of a municipality affected the final result of this classification. Fifty-five municipalities were classified into three groups: municipalities with poor conditions for the implementation of spatial planning legislation (37 municipalities), municipalities with fair conditions for the implementation of spatial planning legislation (17 municipalities) and the Municipality of Ljubljana as the municipality with the best conditions. Groups differ in human resource solutions, finance consumption, frequency of participation of stakeholders and their impact. Comparison between the size and typology of governance showed their mutual dependence, and therefore in different sized municipalities we find different governance capacities. Finally, some suggestions for better spatial governance are proposed.