Large Housing Estates in Slovenia: A Framework for Renewal

Some of the problems associated with large housing estates in Western Europe are emerging in Slovenia. Others, such as vacancies and high turnover, have yet to become significant problems in Slovenia. Moreover, the problems arising from poor construction are far less prevalent in Slovenia than in the West due to greater regulating control over construction standards after 1963 aimed at protecting buildings from earthquakes. Following the extensive privatization of the social housing stock after 1991, a range of new problems have emerged in Slovenia. There are already indications that the unsuccessful handling of maintenance problems after the introduction of housing reform, coupled with the absence of relevant legislative backup, may lead to the worsening of living conditions in some of the country's large housing estates. Owing also to the growing socio-economic polarization of the inhabitants as a consequence of the shift to a market-based economy, the transition period has also been marked by a slow but steady trend of outward migration of better-off households from large housing estates to more favourable locations. Consequently, there is a risk that, in the first place, the large housing estates might become residential enclaves of low-income households. This may, in turn, lead to their degradation and the corresponding negative attributes of such neighbourhoods. This paper discusses the outcomes of research carried out at the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia on the development of appropriate methods for the renovation of large housing estates. Guided by the research findings and supported by an extensive review of the various renewal strategies that have been applied in different countries, we propose a framework for the regeneration of large housing estates in Slovenia. This framework represents a comprehensive approach to housing estate renewal and improvement, extending from the physical analysis of the buildings and their surroundings to the evaluation of the measures as implemented. Proposals for administrative, legislative and financial measures necessary to support the framework are also put forward.