SOCIO-SPATIAL ASPECTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH-WEST CROATIA: BETWEEN NORMATIVE ACTS AND PRCTICES Cover Image

SOCIO-PROSTORNI ASPEKTI RAZVOJA SJEVEROZAPADNE HRVATSKE: IZMEĐU NORMIRANJA I PRAKSI
SOCIO-SPATIAL ASPECTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH-WEST CROATIA: BETWEEN NORMATIVE ACTS AND PRCTICES

Author(s): Anka Mišetić
Subject(s): Regional Geography, Social development, Human Ecology
Published by: Hrvatska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti - Zavod za znanstveni rad Varaždin
Keywords: North-West Croatia; local community; space planning; participation; social sustainability; ecological sustainability;

Summary/Abstract: The relationship between society and space is characterized by lifestyle dynamics, values, norms and habits that drive development processes. In such interactions between culture and nature, people bring social values by which they affect natural resources. Therefore, socio-spatial analyses include different aspects: ecological, ambient, economic, social, cultural, while responsibility for the different processes that transform space can be associated with different social actors. Among them, the local community has a special role. Contemporary planning practices based on communicative planning concepts, more than ever, emphasize the relevance of the bottom-up approach as well as the importance of including local community in every phase of planning and implementing spatial strategies. To this end, it should be stressed that there is a consensus on two values: ecological as well as social sustainability, which in turn, also shape criteria for acting. Ecological sustainability refers to protecting conditions for life and life as a whole. Social sustainability refers to implementing participation, achieving balanced community, social cohesion and a just, diverse, connected and democratic community. In this way, we should try to ensure ecologically sustainable and socially unambiguous development. The analysis of socio-spatial development in North-west Croatia includes five counties. In the first stage, spatial planning documents are analysed in order to answer the extent to which they include dimensions of social and ecological sustainability. At the next stage, results of the two surveys are discussed regarding locals’ attitudes about community participation as well as environmental attitudes.

  • Issue Year: 2017
  • Issue No: 28
  • Page Range: 197-211
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Croatian