Prispevek obravnava razvoj geografije podeželja v Sloveniji in njegov preplet s prostorskimi, demografskimi ter družbeno-kulturnimi vidiki. V teoretičnem delu so predstavljene različne opredelitve podeželja in spremembe v njegovem razumevanju skozi čas. Analiza slovenskih raziskav kaže, da je bila pozornost dolgo usmerjena predvsem v procese urbanizacije, suburbanizacije in praznjenja podeželja, medtem ko so bile socialne dimenzije pogosto prezrte. V zadnjih letih se pojavlja več raziskav, ki vključujejo vidike ranljivih skupin, kot so starejši, kmečke ženske, Romi in kvir prebivalstvo, kar nakazuje premik k bolj vključujočemu razumevanju podeželskega prostora. Prispevek poudarja potrebo po celostnem in inter-disciplinarnem pristopu k preučevanju podeželskega prostora.

One of the most significant consequences of climate change that is already felt today and will be felt even more in the future is the frequency and severity of natural disasters. Of those, sea-caused floods and storm surges will have the biggest impact on coastal communities, which will be further potentiated on one hand by the sea level rise and on the other by increasing coastal population and economic activity which will make those communities even more vulnerable. As the underlying causes of extreme weather events cannot be circumvented, alternatively it is feasible to decrease the flood vulnerability of most affected areas and implement the right flood control measures. But before any steps can be taken in this direction it is of the utmost importance to analyse the patterns of such events and to establish an early warning system that will allow the local community to respond to such events in a timely manner. Slovenia keeps records on natural disasters to inform civil protection services for performing mobilizing actions during calamity interventions, and an environmental agency that keeps records on past weather conditions through various stationary land and sea sensors. In the case of coastal storms, the latter informs the first, as a matter of public safety during potentially emerging extreme weather conditions giving rise to coastal flooding. Piran, a coastal historic town situated on a narrow peninsula surrounded by North Adriatic Sea waters, is especially vulnerable to coastal floods with 7.3 floods per year on average occurring generally from October through March. Low-lying parts are especially flood-prone, of which the areas below 2.3 m above sea level cover a large percentage of the town covering a mixture of residential, commercial and cultural heritage buildings. With no long-term preventative sustainable measures yet in place and urban sensors 4 to 15 km away from the town, the early warning system does not rely on local climate services but uses general national forecasts. Here we combine the historic records on past flooding events and environmental data to understand the local flood patterns in Piran. This study aims to offer a more nuanced understanding of flood patterns in Piran through the combination of localized field-report and sensor systems from national databases to reliably enhance the precision of flood predictions. The study underscores the pivotal role of accurate, localized data to be extracted from national or regional registries where available that aid in fortifying coastal towns against the escalating impacts of climate change, safeguarding both the inhabitants and the invaluable architectural heritage of historic areas.

Abstract This chapter explores the impact of cross-border cultural and economic cooperation between the towns of Bad Radkersburg (Radgona) in Austria and Gornja Radgona in Slovenia. The study involved geography students conducting fieldwork, where they interviewed local bystanders using the ESRI mobile app, Survey123, to gather data on various aspects of cooperation between these border towns. This study focuses on how such cooperation contributes to intercultural learning, enhances knowledge of languages, and preserves cultural heritage. The primary objective is to understand the dynamics of cross-border interactions in the realms of culture, economy, sport, and leisure, and to examine how these interactions promote intercultural learning and bilingualism. The Austrian part of the Bad Radkersburg municipality (Radgona) is home to a Slovenian minority that has historically been suppressed. This chapter investigates how new cross-border interactions contribute to the visibility and recognition of this minority group. The data collected by students reveal insights into the everyday experiences and challenges faced by the local population, emphasizing the role of geospatial technologies in heritage education. This chapter discusses the methodology, including the use of Survey123 for data collection, and analyzes the findings to highlight the importance of heritage in fostering a sense of community and identity. It also illustrates how geospatial technologies can be effectively integrated into educational practices to enhancestudents’ understanding of heritage and its diverse elements. By showcasing the positive outcomes of cross-border cooperation, this study aims to contribute to the broader discourse on heritage education and the application of geospatial technologies in understanding and preserving cultural heritage.

The natural vegetation on the Kras (Karst) Plateau is forest. Anthropogenic pressure on this region has been present since the prehistoric times. Because of deforestation linked to excessive grazing and other land uses, and hence accelerated water and wind erosion, the region has over the last millennium gradually turned into bare karst landscape. In the 18th and 19th century, the Kras (Karst) Plateau was a »rocky desert«. In the 19th century, systematic reforestation began, first unsuccessfully with oak and afterwards successfully with black pine. This process took place also in the first half of the 20th century. In the second half of the 20th century, reforestation was replaced by the process of spontaneous afforestation as a result of natural overgrowing of abandoned agricultural land.

Water is a basic element of the natural environment and the most important component in human water management. Rainfall is the main source of water. Therefore, determining the amount of precipitation reaching the ground using sensors is crucial information. Precise precipitation data are necessary for better modeling quality, as the observation data from weather stations are used as basics for weather model assessment. The authors compared precipitation from the Hellmann rain gauge (climatic precipitation, 1.0 m above the ground surface) measured throughout the year and the GGI 3000 rain gauge (actual precipitation on the ground level) measured from April to October. Measurement sequences from the years 2011–2020 were considered. The data for analysis were obtained from a weather station located in northern Poland. The authors analyzed the relationships between data from the two sensors. A comparative study showed that the measurements of actual precipitation are higher and there are strong relationships between actual and climatic rainfall (r = 0.99). Using the introduced coefficient it is possible to determine the full–year actual precipitation with high probability, taking into account the precipitation with a correction from the winter half-year and the actual precipitation from the summer half-year, which is of great importance in the calculation of the water balance.

The escalating frequency and severity of climate-related hazards in the Mediterranean, particularly in the historic town of Piran, Slovenia, underscore the critical need for enhanced coastal flood prediction and efficient early warning systems. This study delves into the impediments of available coastal flood hazard maps and the existing early warning system, which rely on distant sensors, neglecting the town’s unique microclimate. The current study leverages the public registry maintained by the Administration of the Republic of Slovenia for Civil Protection and Disaster Relief (URSZR), an underutilized resource for generating comprehensive and accurate flooding maps for Piran. Here, we show that in the historic town of Piran, floodings reported through the national registry can be used to map coastal flooding by means of verification and validation of the georeferenced reports therein, with subsequent correlation analysis (hotspot, cluster, and elevation polygons) that show temporal and spatial patterns. The innovative approach adopted in this study aims to bolster the accuracy and reliability of flooding data, offering a more nuanced understanding of flood patterns (in Piran, but generally applicable where national or regional registries are available). The findings of this research illuminate the pressing need for localized field-report and sensor systems to enhance the precision of flood predictions. The study underscores the pivotal role of accurate, localized data in fortifying coastal towns against the escalating impacts of climate change, safeguarding both the inhabitants and the invaluable architectural heritage of historic areas.

This study explores the relationship between tourism gentrification and urban climate resilience in Piran. It focuses on socio-economic changes due to tourism and their implications for the town's ability to respond to climate-related challenges. Using mixed methods, it evaluates the effects on architectural authenticity, public spaces, and community dynamics. The findings reveal conflicts between heritage preservation and tourism, highlighting integration challenges for newcomers in enhancing climate resilience. The paper advocates for strategies balancing sustainable tourism with cultural heritage preservation, offering solutions for similar towns in the Mediterranean.

Despite extensive research on the role arts districts play in the economic development of cities, little is known about the dynamics of social interactions within those districts and their impact on society. Drawing on 26 interviews with actors and stakeholders of arts districts in Ljubljana, this paper explores the role of arts districts in creating a just city. Four dimensions of such districts, which represent the meaningful themes that emerged from the data, are examined. The first dimension is the interrelationship of artists, cultural workers and activists. The second dimension encompasses mutual support and forms of self-governance, whereas the third dimension investigates the role arts districts play in the neighbourhood. The fourth dimension seeks to define the role of arts districts as part of urban development generally driven by capital. The results show that arts districts are important in the struggle for the right to the city. Actors from these districts are committed to addressing the causes of social inequality at their root via artist-led civic engagement activities.

The consequences of accelerating climate change for land and sea biodiversity require innovative approaches to research. Interdisciplinary research serves to connect natural science, social sciences and humanities, technology, and engineering, as well as welcoming citizen scientists into the research environment. Interdisciplinarity is part of a developing innovative approach to research that emphasizes co-evolution of traditional sciences, with citizen science and participatory engagement in the realisation of research goals and the promotion of climate change mitigation strategies. In this article, through the example of shellfish maricultures we illustrate interdisciplinarity, particularly demonstrating how marine biology, health and well-being, social science and cultural geography come together at the interface between nature, culture, and climate change mitigation strategies.

Climate change resilience for urban coastal communities is a pressing matter considering hazards like sea-level rise, coastal flooding and erosion. Adapting to such changes and creating climate change resilience should be an all-stakeholder process. This paper discusses the early stages of stakeholder participation through a co-creation living lab (LL) approach in the Mediterranean coastal town of Piran. To achieve climate change resilience ecosystem-based approaches (EBAs) are used as tools, while in Piran the novel coastal city LL (CCLL) approach is supposed to facilitate a process to achieve acceptance and implementation of such EBA solutions, through consented decision of representative stakeholders from each of the quadruple helix framework, including citizens. During this process several organisational limitations were encountered such as the question of incentivizing stakeholders, man-hour devotion, appointing contact persons within large organisations, and the challenge of organising continuous personal face-to-face meetings. Parallel to previous findings that defining a shared vision is necessary for a successful CCLL, we emphasize that newly retrieved specific challenges identified through personal communication with stakeholders, and capitalising on those, further motivated the stakeholders. These specific challenges represent pressing issues, for example: how to retrieve and revalorize the historical water management system; how to improve the existing early warning system; how to empower and educate, through climate action, the town's community that is facing population decline through tourism gentrification. The experience by the authors of this paper suggests that continuous interaction with stakeholders and facilitating multidisciplinary activities based on stakeholder's prior knowledge and experience, are best practices in the co-creation of the urban living lab. Funding This research has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101003534. Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge and thank all the engaged stakeholders for their involvement and sharing their visions, as well as previously project-engaged colleagues at ZRS (She Mackenzie Hawke, Blaz Lenarcic, Irina Moira Cavaion and Kristjan Nemac), and the SCORE project partners for their input and guidance.

This article examines the contemporary industrial semiotic landscape in the town of Velenje, Slovenia, to determine the (positive or negative) collective imaginaries and discourses about industry in the local community. To this end, the semiotic landscape is mapped for signs and symbols of past and present industry, 33 randomly selected short interviews are conducted to understand the residents’ attitudes towards industrial symbols and industrial development in general, and a content analysis of official strategic documents is conducted to determine how industry is represented by officials and whether there are efforts to reimage the town. We found that the industrial past and present are well represented by industrial symbols and are a matter of pride and collective identity for the residents. However, the industrial tradition is hardly represented in official documents: Influenced by the prevailing post-industrial discourses, local authorities have begun to construct new territorial identities in order to increase the town’s attractiveness and economic growth. Currently, both ideas seem to coexist in Velenje. We argue that industrial symbols can become a reference point to create an alternative perception of a modern consumer society based on past industrial values, such as collective well-being, solidarity, and equality.

This paper focuses on five culinary events on Slovenia's Karst Plateau (Kras). It presents visitors' motives for attending these events, their satisfaction with them, and their views on sustainability. These traditional culinary events, which take place in the same gastronomic region, differ in their scale, theme, character, and history. A survey was conducted among 244 visitors, approximately 50% of whom had a university degree. The most important motives for their visit include local cuisine; experiencing something new, different, or special; and exploring natural heritage and especially cultural heritage. Visitor satisfaction is the greatest at boutique culinary events, where the main theme is highlighted more strongly than at large-scale culinary events. The main challenge in terms of the sustainability of culinary events is public transport access to the venues. Significant progress would be made by reducing the amount of disposable packaging made from non-sustainable materials. The key to successful culinary events is high-quality services and ingredients, where the word local is key.

Načrtovanje in izvedba anketne raziskave sta zelo kompleksna procesa. Spremljajo ju številni izzivi, ki pomembno vplivajo na uspešnost anketne raziskave. To velja tudi za samoanketiranje, kjer proces odgovarjanja poteka brez prisotnosti anketarja. Namen prispevka je osvetliti izbrane, doslej slabše raziskane metodološke vidike samoanketiranja: izbor načina anketiranja, stopnja sodelovanja, varovanje osebnih podatkov ter stroški in logistika. Rezultati temeljijo na primerjalni analizi štirih samoanketiranj z zelo velikimi vzorci, izvedenih med letoma 2012 in 2017. Na podlagi ugotovitev smo oblikovali nekaj metodoloških priporočil, ki so snovalcem in izvajalcem anketiranj lahko v pomoč pri načrtovanju in izvedbi raziskave.

The tendency of artists and creative professionals, ranging from non-profit and for-profit firms, individual artists, and cultural participants, to cluster in a specific area is observed and discussed in a large body of literature. However, the ways these districts are internally organised has received much less attention. In Ljubljana, one can find five different arts districts that emerged via grass-roots and top-down planning approaches. The article explores their community through the concepts of self-governance, social inclusion, and the right to the city. Our examination of the collective activities in these districts shows that the naturally-occurring districts reflect a spatial political agenda. Those active in such areas are resistant to heteronomy, formal regulation and hierarchy while being engaged in activism, social justice advocacy and artistic self-expression. In contrast, a city designation allows less freedom in management and organisation of the space and does not conflict with authorities over control of the land. While both district types reveal a strong desire to constantly change and produce novelty, the naturally-occurring districts are evolving at a faster pace. The article highlights the value of self-organisation and informal networks in the construction and development of arts districts.

According to the economic indicators, Velenje has a successful, export-oriented economy with high added value per employee. But like all industrial cities in Europe, Velenje is very vulnerable. This book ('Velenje, an industrial city in transformation') seeks to shed light on the aspects of Velenje's transformation in the past, present and future. The purpose of the book is to provide an overview of Velenje's developmental factors. Emphasis is placed on social, cultural, spatial, environmental, economic and other aspects of the city, as well as a critical evaluation of future development resources and their actions. The second emphasis is on the originality and specificity of certain activities and phenomena that contribute to greater creativity and resilience of Velenje. We present 16 diverse contributions to the book that critically evaluate the current and future developmental resources of Velenje and its surroundings. Articles are written by locals and experts working on the BRIGHT FUTURE project dealing with small industrial towns across Europe. Two main messages emerge from all the contributions: the importance of using our own (endogenous) development resources and a participatory way of making decisions in the future.

According to the economic indicators, Velenje has a successful, export-oriented economy with high added value per employee. But like all industrial cities in Europe, Velenje is very vulnerable. This book ('Velenje, an industrial city in transformation') seeks to shed light on the aspects of Velenje's transformation in the past, present and future. The purpose of the book is to provide an overview of Velenje's developmental factors. Emphasis is placed on social, cultural, spatial, environmental, economic and other aspects of the city, as well as a critical evaluation of future development resources and their actions. The second emphasis is on the originality and specificity of certain activities and phenomena that contribute to greater creativity and resilience of Velenje. We present 16 diverse contributions to the book that critically evaluate the current and future developmental resources of Velenje and its surroundings. Articles are written by locals and experts working on the BRIGHT FUTURE project dealing with small industrial towns across Europe. Two main messages emerge from all the contributions: the importance of using our own (endogenous) development resources and a participatory way of making decisions in the future.

Food-related experiences are becoming increasingly important for destination choice in particular in the rural Mediterranean hinterland. In contrast to the mass tourism in littoral areas, the development of hinterland tourism has more favourable consequences for the local population. The paper examines culinary experiences in the rural Slovenian Mediterranean as a possible driver of sustainable tourism development. We collected 213 culinary experiences and further explored 10 of them by the following three aspects: cooperation of actors from the local environment, embedment of the local community and innovative approaches. The qualitative approach comprised field work, short interviews and in-depth interviews. We found a linkage between the types of culinary experiences and the types of organizers and established that innovation plays an important role in their success. // Pomen sodelovanja akterjev, vpetost v lokalno okolje in inovativnost pri ustvarjanju kulinaričnih turističnih izkušenj na ruralnem slovenskem Sredozemlju S hrano povezane izkušnje postajajo vedno pomembnejše pri izbiri destinacij, zlasti v ruralnem zaledju Sredozemlja. V nasprotju od masovnega turizma v obmorskih krajih ima razvoj turizma v zaledju več pozitivnih učinkov na lokalno prebivalstvo. Članek povzema raziskavo kulinaričnih izkušenj v ruralnem delu slovenskega Sredozemlja kot potencialnega gonila trajnostnega razvoja turizma. Zabeležili smo 213 kulinaričnih izkušenj, med njimi pa smo jih s treh vidikov podrobneje raziskali deset: z vidika sodelovanja akterjev v lokalnem okolju, vpetosti v lokalno skupnost in inovativnosti pristopov. Kvalitativni pristop je vključeval delo na terenu, kratke intervjuje in poglobljene intervjuje. Ugotovili smo povezavo med tipi kulinaričnih izkušenj in tipi organizatorjev ter pomen inovativnosti za njihovo uspešnost.

The aim of this paper is to understand the role Slovenian locations play in the narratives of the foreign produced movies after Second World War. During Yugoslav period Slovenia was an attractive destination for western film makers who recognized diverse and pristine nature and preserved cultural heritage as suitable scenes for their movies. Important factors for filming were low cost coproduction agreements with Yugoslavian market-oriented film companies, low production prices and freer political atmosphere compared to the Soviet bloc countries. Their interest disappeared after the dissolution of Yugoslavia and political instability of the region. Slovenia as an attractive film destination was “rediscovered” only recently by Indian filmmakers and western European and American companies which found advantage in recently introduced tax rebate policy. In the paper we analysed foreign produced movies filmed in Slovenia since 1950s to determine the meaning of selected locations in the narratives. Out of 24 movies analysed most of them were produced by US film companies, followed by Italian and German companies. Film locations in the movie narratives mostly substitute real locations in other countries or regions. The second most frequent motive is a fantasy scene or not explicitly defined location. We also identified locations that represent idealised mountainous landscape and landscapes of North America. The results show that Slovenian landscapes are often chosen as a non-authentic substitution for other globally more recognized landscapes and their parts. Low production costs in globally competitive market most likely still play an important role for destination decision. Understanding references of Slovenian filming locations in movie narratives can be useful for location scouts and tourism workers who design promotion strategies. // Namen članka je razumeti vlogo slovenskih lokacij v zgodbah filmov tuje produkcije, posnetih po drugi svetovni vojni. V času Jugoslavije je bila Slovenija privlačna destinacija za filmske ustvarjalce z zahoda, ki so prepoznali raznoliko in neobljudeno naravo ter ohranjeno kulturno dediščino kot primerno za kuliso v njihovih filmih. Pomembni dejavniki za snemanje so bili poceni koprodukcijski sporazumi z jugoslovanskimi filmskimi podjetji, ki so bila tržno usmerjena, nizki produkcijski stroški in svobodnejše politično ozračje v primerjavi z državami sovjetskega bloka. Interes tujih filmskih ustvarjalcev je izginil po razpadu Jugoslavije in nastopu politične nestabilnosti v regiji. Slovenija je bila kot privlačna filmska destinacija ponovno »odkrita« šele nedavno s strani indijskih filmskih ustvarjalcev ter ameriških in britanskih podjetij, ki so videla priložnost v nedavno uveljavljeni politiki oprostitve davkov. V članku smo analizirali filme tuje produkcije, ki so bili posneti v Sloveniji od 50. let 20. stoletja dalje, da bi prepoznali pomen izbranih lokacij v zgodbah. Izmed 24 analiziranih filmov, so večino producirala ameriška filmska podjetja, sledijo nemška in italijanska. Lokacije v zgodbah filmov večinoma nadomeščajo resnične lokacije v drugih državah in regijah. Drugi najbolj pogost motiv so fantazijski prizori ali nedoločljive lokacije. Prepoznali smo tudi lokacije, ki predstavljajo idealizirane gorske pokrajine in pokrajine Severne Amerike. Rezultati kažejo, da slovenske pokrajine pogosto ne-avtentično nadomeščajo druge globalno bolj poznane pokrajine in njihove prvine. Nizki stroški v globalno konkurenčnem trgu najverjetneje še vedno igrajo pomembno vlogo pri odločitvi za destinacijo. Razumevanje pomenov slovenskih filmskih lokacij v filmskih zgodbah je lahko uporabno za poklicne iskalce filmskih lokacij in turistične delavce, ki pripravljajo promocijske strategije.