Slovenia at a Crossroads in Transport System Planning

Thursday, 20 November 2025, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM

Recording of the event, which was organized by the Transformative Transport Planning Research Group at the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia.

At a lecture on 20 November 2025 at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, Susan Handy drew attention to many pitfalls in transport planning. A round table with Slovenian guests confirmed the diversity of views on transport and the necessity of discussion.

The internationally recognized American transport planning expert Prof. Dr. Susan Handy, in her lecture “Shifting Gears: Towards a More Equitable and Sustainable Transport System,” pointed out, among other things, the negative aspects of persisting with a transport system that focuses primarily on the car. She presented the phenomenon of induced traffic, which has been proven by numerous studies and which paradoxically leads to new congestion appearing within a few years after road expansions. In addition to stressing the importance of planning modern public transport, she emphasized the need to transform transport system planning so that it is based on accessibility to services and focuses on people rather than on cars.

At the round table “ Paradigm Shift in Transport Planning,” the guests Assoc. Prof. Dr. Robert Rijavec (Institute of Traffic and Transport Engineering, University of Ljubljana), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marjan Lep (Faculty of Civil Engineering, Transportation Engineering and Architecture, University of Maribor), Dr. Aljaž Plevnik (Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia), and Prof. Dr. Susan Handy (UC Davis, California) discussed both road congestion and the importance of ensuring accessibility through various modes of transport. Dr. Aljaž Plevnik said that the current expansion of the road system in Slovenia, which is taking place without broad social consensus, will, according to foreign experience, certainly bring even more congestion. It is therefore necessary to move toward planning a transport system that provides high-quality alternatives for reaching destinations. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Marjan Lep also warned about the phenomenon of so-called evaporated traffic, which has been measured in Maribor and which causes part of car traffic to disappear when road capacity is reduced (road closures or lane removals), because people change their mode of travel, timing, or the need to travel at all. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Peter Rijavec highlighted Slovenia’s heavy dependence on cars: data show that more than 1.5 million people in the country have a driving licence, while we lag behind in developing alternative transport solutions, including public transport.

The guests agreed that Slovenia could follow many good practices from European countries and provide public transport fit for the 21^st century, since one-sided investments in the road network have many negative effects and fail to include at least a quarter of the population. They emphasized cooperation among different disciplines and the exchange of diverse perspectives on the transport system as a key advantage in planning a high-quality transport system for the future.

The event was moderated by Nataša Briški.

Photo: Urban Cerjak

Environmental noise and health

Library of Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia,
Tuesday, 15th October at 5pm, lecture in Slovene language, free of charge

Sonja Jeram will present the topic of environmental noise and the importance of a good soundscape in residential areas. She will explain the position of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Commission, as well as the role of the National Institute of Public Health in preparing opinions related to land use planning and action plans. She will present the level of noise pollution for traffic, industry, restaurants and wind turbines and highlight individual cases. As a contrast to noise pollution, she will also describe the role of quiet areas in the urban environment.

Environmental noise has several impacts on human health and well-being. Very loud sounds can cause temporary or permanent hearing impairment even in a short period of time. However, such sounds are not often present in the living environment. There is increasing scientific evidence of the negative effects of permanent noise in the environment even when it does not reach high intensities. Although, many people quickly get used to this noise and accept it as part of their everyday life, health effects are reflected in long-term cardiovascular disease. It is estimated that more than one million healthy life years are lost in Western Europe due to suffering from annoyance, sleep disturbance, cardiovascular disease, tinnitus and cognitive impairment in children. The data indicate the severity of the outcomes that we should not overlook.

Sonja Jeram is a researcher at the National Institute of Public Health in Ljubljana. She holds a PhD in biology from the University of Ljubljana in the field of neurophysiology in insect sound communication. She continued her work in the field of chemical safety and participated as a visiting scientist at the European Center for the Validation of Alternative Methods (Joint Research Centre, Ispra). For her outstanding work on alternative strategies for reducing animal use in experiments, she received the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Foundation Award. For the last ten years, she has been working on environmental noise and health also being involved in Horizon 2020 European projects.

The lecture is part of a project »Expert basis for spatial planning of green areas aimed at promoting physical activities for citizens«.

You are kindly invited to the lecture and the discussion that will follow. More info at info@uirs.si.

An uklad-based approach to protection and sustainable development of cultural heritage in Chisinau, Moldova

Irina Irbiskaya

Irina Irbiskaya will discuss the uklad-based approach to preservation of cultural heritage in the Republic of Moldova. An uklad is a persistent way of life / mode of activity which has a spatial expression. The ways uklads exist in the city differ according to the size and the role of a city (e.g. capital city, a regional administrative center or a small town). An uklad is characterized by the prevalent family culture, by its attitude to the surrounding space, by the manner in which people belonging to the uklad are aware of their past and construct their future, by how they perceive their children, how they interact with their territory and their neighbors, how they own their property and treat others' property, and by how they work and spend their leisure time.
 
The uklad-based approach to preservation of cultural heritage is elaborated within the framework of the ‘Russian Experts upon request’ program in accordance with Partnership Framework Agreement between the Government of Russian Federation and the UN Development Program.

Irina Irbitskaya is an architect and urban planner. She is  the director of the Center of Urban Competence at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) with expertise in housing projects and urban development and planning advancement. She is a co-founder of the international project Doktor Gorodov.

You are kindly invited to the lecture and the discussion that will follow.

More info at info@uirs.si.

Ljubljana – My City project

Renovation of building shells of buildings with the status of cultural heritage

The lecturer Karl Pollak, an arhitect and urban planner, will present »Ljubljana– My City project«, a project that has been ongoing since 1989 and includes the implementation of the renovation of building shells of monumentally important buildings. The motivation behind »Ljubljana - My City project« was the preparations for the 1991 World Designer’s Conference (ICSID 91), at which time the Municipality decided that rather than contribute to the customary glamour of such occasions it would be better to contribute funds to improving the city itself. At that time, a complete renovation was already underway in Ljubljana, where several buildings were renovated and plans for the revitalization of the old city core area were being prepared. However, the renovation then stalled due to social changes and denationalisation, the abolition of systemic funding sources and high refurbishment prices. Simultaneous with the restoration of individual important mansions and other buildings as part of the project they were also arranging public areas. In addition to that, the City of Ljubljana is also doing away with architectural obstacles which prevent wheelchair users and other disabled persons, including the blind and partially sighted, from moving around the city and having access to individual buildings. The project is still active but is now known under a different name. By restoring facades and roofs, arranging an open urban space - squares, streets and embankments, and eliminating architectural barriers, the city of Ljubljana follows the development flows of western European cities - although not with a complete renovation, which is virtually impossible to implement in our environment due to the fragmentation of ownership and lack of system resources. Nevertheless, the city is becoming not only more friendly to the inhabitants, but also more attractive for investments, the development of tourism, congress industry, etc. There is also a growing awareness of the importance and value of cultural heritage buildings.

Karel Pollak is an architect and urban planner that works at the spatial planning department within the City Municipality of Ljubljana. He has been running the project "Ljubljana - My City" for more than 25 years, and has been involved in many other tasks in the area of regulation and use of public spaces.

You are kindly invited to the presentation and the discussion that will follow. More info at info@uirs.si.

Lessons in collaborative place making

Lecture in English, free of charge

Although there is growing support for the principle of citizens co-creating places together with local authorities and the private sector, there still seems to be a disconnect between the desire to engage the public, and the reality of the standard consultation procedures followed. It is time to change the way things are done and to bring communities genuinely to the heart of planning and placemaking. This lecture will present innovative methods of co-creation (i.e. collaborative place making), and how they can be applied at a local-level.  What new possibilities might open up if there was real co-creation in place-making (as to opposed to consultation, which is often only a step away from tokenism)? How should pre-event activities be fed into and help inform design-led events? How can the impact of outcomes from design-led events be tracked during the follow-on stages of collaborative community planning? What constitutes effective best practice for clarifying the level of substantive planning and design expertise a facilitator requires, if any, at any given community design event? This research presented by the lecturer provides an important scoping of the many components and steps involved. Its findings will aid understanding and ultimately enhance the output performance of community participatory design processes.

Dr. Husam AlWaer (B.Arch, MRTPI, Ph.D, BREEAM AP, AoU, Recognised Practitioner in Urban Design RPUD) is an urbansit with a background in architecture, urban planning and sustainability, who writes and speaks extensively on making better places. He is an award-winning author and curator of events, focussing on issues of place making and urban design practice and their social impacts. He is an educator and facilitator and moderates events nationally and internationally. He is a Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Urban Design and Evaluation in the School of Social Sciences (Architecture + Urban Planning), University of Dundee. Dr. AlWaer has a passionate interest in the future of sustainable places and towns, in particular the development of new thinking on processes and methods to unlock sustainable urbanism and the way these processes are facilitated and managed.

You are kindly invited to the lecture and the discussion that will follow.

Participatory Budgeting in Chicago

Lecture in English, free of charge

Library of Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Tuesday, September 18th 2018 at 5pm

Teresa Córdova will discuss Participatory Budgeting (PB) in the city of Chicago and describe the role of the Great Cities Institute (GCI) in facilitating this democratic process of determining public spending. The presentation will include a history of participatory budgeting and describe the process and partnerships for making this process a success. In addition, the lecturer will also discuss the challenges of PB and strategies for overcoming them.

PB is a democratic process in which community members directly decide how to spend part of a public budget. It offers people a fundamentally different way to engage with government. The United Nations has promoted PB as a best practice of democratic governance. In February 2012 GCI partnered with The PB Project and a broad coalition of aldermen, city-wide institutions, and community-based organizations to launch PB Chicago. PB Chicago aims to implement and expand PB processes and direct democracy throughout Chicago. GCI is the lead university partner on PB Chicago, responsible for providing overall project management, community engagement, and evaluation. Since 2012, PB Chicago has engaged over 13,000 residents in twelve different communities in directly deciding how to spend over $18 million in public dollars.

Teresa Córdova is the Director of the Great Cities Institute (GCI) at the University of Illinois in Chicago. She is also Professor of Urban Planning and Policy in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) and an affiliate faculty of UIC’s Departments of Sociology, Gender and Women Studies, and Latino and Latin American Studies. Prof. Córdova received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. She has received multiple recognitions for academic achievement and leadership including recognition of her role in infrastructure planning and in developing a small business incubator and commercial kitchen.

You are kindly invited to the lecture and the discussion that will follow. More info at info@uirs.si.

'Doma Kultury'

Regeneration of Soviet socio-cultural centres into new urban nodes

Irina Irbitskaya, Center of Urban Competence, Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Admin.

The transformation of the socio-cultural infrastructure erected in the state-socialist period of the Soviet Union into local activity centers corresponding to the needs of contemporary society is one of the pertinent topics of the current urban planning in Russia. It includes various activities such as turning the excluded territories of schools and kindergartens into neighborhood centers; resetting the entire district life by transformation of the ‘doma kultury’; improving the diversity and the quality of social services and the quality of the urban environment while reducing the load on the municipal budget by attracting quality investment into the districts. The lecture will present a method of evolutionary transformation of the urban environment through the social and spatial transformation of a ‘dom kultury’ which initially was the cultural and educational centre provided by the Soviet state to a settlement or a city. The main goal of the proposed approach is to preserve the traditions kept in the territory of ‘dom kultury’ while giving it a new identity and bringing in an innovation. Irbitskaya will explain how to make an inventory of the traditions around the existing object by describing the way it functions, its relationship with the surrounding space, its attitude to the past and the future. Re-programming of the object will be discussed, as well as the tools to expand it spatially. Financial and management models will be proposed for all phases of the project metabolism (launch, implementation, use and adaptation), explaining how the emphases shift depending on the growth or decline of the economy.

Irina Irbitskaya is an architect and urban planner. She is a director of Center of Urban Competence at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) with the expertise in housing projects and urban development and planning advancement. She is a co-funder and a principal architect of Platforma, a strategic consulting and conceptual spatial and architectural design office.

You are kindly invited to the lecture and the discussion that will follow.
More info at info@uirs.si.

Hybrid Organisations and Activist Planning

A SROI analysis observing RIO’s change theory in Plymouth (UK)

Stefania Ragozino

Tuesday May 23rd 2017 at 5PM

Library of Urban Planning Institute of Republic of Slovenia