The Spatial Development of Litija Municipality - From Vision to Design

Litija municipality is located in the geometrical center of Slovenia. Although it is close to Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital, the municipality is underdeveloped and stagnating. The main emphasis of our project was to prepare a development model, where all aspects – economic, social and environmental would be promoted on all hierarchical levels: from vision and strategy to detailed design.

First, five main topics were analysed: demography, economy, environment, climate and infrastructure. Next, three scenarios were prepared where different development alternatives were considered: (1) business as usual, (2) smart textile industry and (3) Litija as green heart of Slovenia. Third, the vision was developed. Litija was emphasized as a municipality with good quality of life and strongly connected to Sava river. Further development of strategy was based on SWOT analysis on regional level, where Litija’s main characteristics were evaluated according to their contribution to the three fields/pillars of sustainable spatial development. Next, five main objectives of spatial development were set along with the measures for their implementation. Further on, five projects have been identified for further implementation of objectives on local level. These projects focused on the development of: (1) biking, hiking and educational network, (2) Litija's public space, (3) Sava river, (4) 4 season sport facilities and (5) countryside with small local centers. All projects address different objectives as well as the main vision. Further on, nine projects were designed in detailed level on a scale 1:1000 and 1:500.