Socio-economic development
We study the socio-economic development of small and medium-sized towns and rural areas. Particular emphasis is placed on spatial processes linked to cultural, creative and innovative social practices. We put a special focus on (old) industrial areas, exploring different aspects of their post-industrial and neo-industrial socio-economic transformation. Much of our interest in these processes is related to the participation of key stakeholders and civil society, where we are most often concerned with social inclusion, conflicts and voting behaviour.
List of notable achievements in the last three years:
- Bole, D., Mrdaković, M. S., Tiran, J. (2023). From a mining town to a town of industrial multinationals: Explaining transformation through human agency and mining assets. The Extractive Industries and Society, 14, 101243.
- Goluža, M. (2023). Conflicting Interests in Transport Infrastructure Planning: Theoretical Approaches and Practical Implications of Conflict Management in Planning Processes. In: Ruepert, G., Ilić, T. (eds) Young Geographers. Key Challenges in Geography. Springer: Cham.
- Tiran, J., Bole, D., Kozina, J. (2023). Industrial culture as an agent of social innovation: reflections from Velenje, Slovenia. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 36(2), 333-356.
- Bole, D., Ciglič, R., Gašperič, P., Kozina, J., Urbanc, M. (2021). Geoatlas of European screen locations in Indian film industries. Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Anton Melik Geographical Institute.
- Kozina, J., Bole, D., Tiran, J. (2021). Forgotten values of industrial city still alive: what can the creative city learn from its industrial counterpart? City, Culture and Society, 25, 100395.
List of research projects in the last three years:
- WIN – Improving the position of Women in the labour markets of peripheral INdustrial regions (European Regional Development Fund, Interreg Programme Danube Region; 2024–2026, leader at the institute: dr. Jani Kozina)
- TuneOurBlock – Transforming urban quarters to human scale environments: applying superblock concepts for different urban structures (JPI Urban Europe; 2021–2024, leader at the Institute: dr. Jernej Tiran)
- Places that don’t matter? Socio-economic transformation of industrial towns in Switzerland and Slovenia (ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency, SNSF - Swiss National Science Foundation; 2020–2024, leader at the institute: dr. David Bole)
- YOUIND – Youth in Industrial Regions: Raising institutional capacities on youth outmigration from industrial towns (European Regional Development Fund, Interreg Slovenia - Austria; 2020–2022, leader at the institute: dr. Jani Kozina)
- FilmInd – The Indian film industry as a driver of new socioeconomic connections between India and Europe (EU-India Social Science and Humanities Platform; 2019–2022, leader at the institute: dr. Jani Kozina)
Gallery:
Picture 1: Categories of challenges faced by youth in industrial cities and regions - a diagram from the project Cross-border Strategy: Youth Outmigration and Industrial Culture.
Picture 2: Extract from the Geoatlas of European film locations in the Indian film industry.
Picture 3: Exploring different types of small industrial cities in Slovenia and Switzerland from the project: Places that don’t matter? Socio-economic transformation of industrial towns in Switzerland and Slovenia.
Picture 4: Key legitimization problems and their impact on conflicts among actors in the case of the third development axis. Image from a doctoral dissertation on conflicts related to the integration of transport infrastructure into space.
Picture 5: Political polarization in Slovenia based on data from the parliamentary elections of 2022.