The Atlas on the Quality of Life in Slovenia (Nared et al. 2021) shows a higher quality of life in western Slovenia and a lower one in eastern Slovenia, a phenomenon that has also been highlighted by numerous studies in the past. The predominantly hilly, mountainous and border areas, defined in the past as problem areas, are still less developed and face numerous development challenges. They lack economic strength, have weaker infrastructure and poorer provision of public and market services. Although the polycentric settlement system and the locations of public facilities imply an adequate distribution of public services throughout the country (Nared et al. 2017), the accessibility of public transport and public services such as education, health care, public administration, justice, etc., shows immense deficits in some areas when analysing the time needed to reach each public service. Moreover, in sparsely populated areas there is an erosion of marketable services - even those (partly) controlled by the central government (public transport, post office, banks, shops). The persistent spatial inequalities that challenge spatial justice have recently been further influenced by new global challenges - such as demographic change, climate change and the pandemic COVID-19 - all of which have a massive impact on spatial dynamics. These challenges trigger changes in the spatial organisation of each country and provide an opportunity for each country to reassess its spatial structure from a spatial justice perspective.
Using GIS analyses, the accessibility of selected public and marketable services and the quality of life in Slovenia are assessed from a spatial justice perspective, also taking into account the expected impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate and demographic change. Necessary changes in spatial organisation in Slovenia are identified to achieve a fair and equitable spatial distribution of socially valued public services and opportunities to use them.
Mots clés : spatial justice|spatial disparities|quality of life|public services|mobility
A103134JN