National inventory of functionally degraded areas in Slovenia, 2017

Rapid social and economic changes also have a strong impact on the increasingly rapid dynamics of spatial development. On the one hand, we are faced with increasing demands from investors for new areas for the development of activities, on the other with an increasing dynamic of abandonment of already established activities, which leads to different types of degradation, most often, physical degradation of space. The research presents the characteristics of functionally degraded areas in Slovenia, the criteria for their definition, typology and arguments for further monitoring and regular updating of the new spatial and data layer. A functionally degraded area (FDO) is defined as an underutilised or abandoned area with a visible impact of previous use and reduced utility value. Precise spatial location and knowledge of the characteristics of devalued areas represent an important step towards sustainable planning and placement of activities in the space. In Slovenia, as part of a comprehensive approach to the treatment of PDOs, a system for the registration and monitoring of FDOs, based on the process of identification and recording of FDOs, was designed and established for the first time in Slovenia. it represents the acquisition of data on the ground through field visits, census and interviews with stakeholders at the local (municipal) level and the establishment and records of the FDO. FDO data and photos are also available in the web application.