Analysis of economic centres in Ljubljana

The project is financed by the City Municipality of Ljubljana, with the goal of analysing contemporary economic centres in the city, which are a result of an intensive economic and spatial development in the last two decades. The project analyses socio-economic characteristics of post-industrial Ljubljana, classifies contemporary economic centres and ascertains their geographic characteristics. Special attention is made to investments and their spatial distribution as well as to creative groups, which represent the engine for further economic and spatial development of the city. The analysis represents the basis for the evaluation of the proposed spatial plan of Ljubljana, mainly the basis for those chapters, which deal with the spatial development of the economy.

There are around 1000 hectares of areas in Ljubljana, which could be defined as economic areas. These zones can be, on the basis of their common surface, divided regarding their meaning for the area. The biggest percentage of economic areas is presented by industrial zones from the post-war period (1945 – 1990). The Greenfield development in Ljubljana represents less than 5% of all economic areas. Eleven economic areas incorporate more than 20 hectares of surface, with the biggest area being the Industrial zone Šiška, followed by the area along the Letališka street and BTC, which all have an above-regional sphere of influence. (figure in high resolution)

A display of secondary economic centres in the Ljubljana area (the number implies the order regarding the common surface size of the area). (figure in high resolution)

Future expansion of secondary economic centres implies possible spatial and functional changes. Special emphasis will be made on the Greenfield development of mainly production areas and the structural transformation of up-till- now combined industrial, business and shopping areas (BTC, Vič, Stegne, etc.). A generalized spatial model of allotting a place for economic activities points to the fact that there is a tendency towards de-concentration with simultaneous specialization of economic activities. Some authors talk about a shift towards a multi-core, mosaic, polycentric and network-, etc. structure of a city. Ljubljana doesn't differ from other European cities regarding this spatial changing. (figure in high resolution)

The proposal of a spatial plan from Municipality of Ljubljana has certain deficiencies, which have been made known and were put into re-estimation to the planners. Among the biggest deficiencies is the over-dimensioning of industrial areas concerning their actual needs and the problem of competitiveness among some of programme-related planned economic areas within the city region.