Regional Development Planning in the Slovak Republic

Regional development is very closely related to a region and its competitive advantages which affect the competitiveness of the region. The regional development is influenced by many factors that act differently depending on the region. To ensure the effective and harmonized regional development, the systematic approach is needed. Every region is unique and differs from the other by the level of economic development, living standards of its inhabitants, unemployment rate and by employment possibilities. Regional policy is a strategic investment policy which focuses on all regions and cities in the European Union. The aim is to boost economic growth and to improve the quality of people’s lives. Solidarity is the main feature of the policy, because policy focuses on support for less developed regions. A fundamental aspect of regional development is to reduce disparities between the regions and cities. The paper focuses on the analysis of regional development of Slovakia. The intention is to follow the logical continuity of the article’s parts, the correctness and the adequacy of information and data. First part is focused on the definition of the regional policy and regional development. Important task is to identify the differences between European policies – regional, structural and cohesion policy. This section is prepared by using the analytical methods – the analysis, the casual and historical analysis. This part is based on literature review. The empirical part is based on statistics and secondary analysis which were aimed to analyse the regional development and effectiveness of its planning in the Slovak Republic. The question of this article is whether it is possible to plan the regional development by application of the plan for economic and social development, called the Municipal Development Plan.

Introduction
The main theme of this paper is the use of strategic management, strategic planning especially in the regional development planning in the Slovak Republic. Currently, the terms like strategies, objectives, vision, and priorities are used almost every day. The media talks about regional development strategy. The law provides that municipalities must have a municipal development plan. In practice, great confusion exists in the terms and concepts used that are often used as synonyms or as indication the same process or output. In summary, it is important to say that there is a difference between development strategy and program of development, and between strategic planning and strategic programming. So, what is a municipal development plan? Is it possible to plan a regional development by using a plan? Law no. 539/2008 Coll. on regional development support, as amended, defines the regional development as "a set of social, economic, cultural and environmental processes and relationships that take place in the region and contribute to improving its competitiveness, sustainable economic development, social development and territorial development and to reducing the economic disparities and social disparities between regions." [1] The mentioned law defines the regional policy, too. According to the law, "regional policy is a coordinated set of activities and procedures of the competent authorities and organizations at national, regional and local level, contributing to economic development, social development and territorial development of regions." [2] Regional policy is a strategic investment policy which focuses on all regions and cities in the European Union. The aim is to boost economic growth and to improve the quality of people's lives. Solidarity is the main feature of the policy, because policy focuses on support for less developed regions. Regional development is very closely related to a region and its competitive advantages which affect the competitiveness of the region. The regional development is influenced by many factors that act differently depending on the region. To ensure the effective and harmonized regional development, the systematic approach is needed. Every region is unique and differs from the other by the level of economic development, living standards of its inhabitants, unemployment rate and by employment possibilities.

Research Objective
The main issue of this article is the strategic planning and the use of municipal development plan for ensuring the regional development. The general subject is the municipality as a local subject of regional development. Currently, considerable attention is devoted the issue of regional development in the academic researches, but also in the circles of politicians and economists, but it is mainly based on the practice. Innovation, new ideas, technology development, delegation of power and responsibilities represent major challenges of contemporary society. But the question of this article is: "Whether it is possible to plan the regional development by application of the plan for economic and social development, called as the Municipal Development Plan?" The article elaborates on the:  definition of public administration, strategic management and the application of strategic management in public administration (the article deals mainly with the strategic planning);  definition of regional development;  definition of the municipal development plan and its implementation in context of regional policy and regional development in the Slovak Republic.

Methods and Methodology
The research is processed by using a wide scale of the scientific methods and procedures. The specific range of methods was based on the research needs of the individual parts. The intention is to follow the logical continuity of the article's parts and the correctness and the adequacy of information and data. First part is focused on the definition of public administration, strategic management and strategic planning. Second part is focused on the definition of the municipality and the Municipal Development Plan by the Law no. 539/2008 Coll. on regional development support, as amended. These sections are prepared by using the analytical methods -the analysis, the casual analysis, the synthesis, the induction and the deduction. The law, scientific publications and scientific articles, papers by various authors (e.g. Pawera, R. The main definitions and differences are determined due the secondary analyse of various documents. [8] Empirical research was carried out and is based on analytical methods. Results were obtained due the qualitative research -questionnaire survey which was conducted in the Slovak municipalities. Questions were asked regarding the existence and the use of the municipal development plan. Article represents the basis of the planned long-term research.

Public Administration and Principles of Strategic Management
Public administration is the administration of public affairs and manifested as the executive power in the state. Executive power acts as a power public. According to Klimovský [9], two scientific directions dominate in public administration: 1) Economics and Management direction is the first direction. This direction is mainly based on concepts of public management, new public management, and lean administration. Other concepts are used to a lesser extent, e.g. design concept, the study of public administration with the concept of regional development.
2) The political direction is the second direction. This direction is based mainly on the concept of public policy-making and good governance.
Needs and expectations of citizens continue to grow. Meeting the needs necessitates the modernization of public administration. Modernization and improved efficiency of public administration is pursued by the methods of modern management through the application of the most advanced knowledge of management. One of such element is the introduction of the principles of strategic management, but in particular process management system in public administration. [10] Strategic management as a scientific discipline results from the natural evolution of the environment and the need and necessity of reacting to constantly changing environment, and factors that operate in this environment. The strategy is the most elementary object of strategic management. The strategy is the simplest concept in preparation for the future. Who has the strategy thinks of the future and knows what to do now in order to fulfil the objectives and achieve the expected success. [11] Strategic thinking is one of the ways of human thinking, the attention is focused on analysis and the thinking is futureoriented. Strategic thinking creates solutions that do not solve only the main problem, as well as related issues, see things from a broader perspective and in relation to each other. [12] A large part of strategic management approaches originally developed in the private sector but there are also possibilities for using it in the public sector. According to Sedláková [13], it is for this reason that the difference in the management of private and public sector is much smaller than it was in the past. Another reason is that the border between the sectors mentioned is progressively disappearing. The differences that remain in business and management in the public service are as it follows:  approaches that are applied in the business sector cannot be taken without some modifications;  consequences of decisions taken by management in the public sector have impact on the general public;  rules and restrictions are defined in advance in the public sector, they are presented in the form of legislation and standards;  limitation of personal individualism or creativity can exist;  profit criteria cannot be applied in the public sector;  public sector is dependent on the primary policy decisions;  low efficiency because of the waste of public resources;  little personal responsibility in the case of bad or wrong investment decisions;  non-existent or unclear system for measuring the performance of public organizations, which should measure their effectiveness and efficiency;  managers in the public sector have minimal freedom.
Management of public administration and its implementation is based on the basic principles and methods that can be applied to business management in any organization. [14] The decentralization of responsibilities to local government is one of the reason. Effort to strengthen transparency in the use of public resources was also cited as a major reason. Therefore, it is possible to apply a strategic approach in the public sphere.
According to Slavik [15], the process of strategic management consists of the process of formulating the vision, the mission and the goals of the organization, followed by an analysis of an external and internal environment of the organization. The next step is to formulate the strategy and its implementation. The process is closed and the monitoring of the control strategies provided that there is feedback. Within the control, it is necessary to evaluate the timeliness of the chosen strategy with the changes taking place in the environment. The concept of strategic management is illustrated by Tony Morden in Figure 1. [16] The concept of strategic management consists of four principal components -1) strategic analysis and planning; 2) strategy formulation and strategic decision-making; 3) strategic choice; 4) strategy implementation. Planning represents the activities of the organizations, municipalities, and regions, during which the objectives are adopted, and the tasks are set out. The most important feature of planning is goal setting. Planning is just a starting point for further action, which provides the basis for all strategic decisions. Planning is the basis for formulating strategies and criteria Based on the criteria, it is possible to evaluate the success of the implemented strategy. [17]

Municipality and Municipal Development Plan
The municipality is a separate local authority and the legal unit of the Slovak Republic. The municipality has the status of a separate political and legal entity with a legal personality, it is self-employed with the income and its own assets and based on European Charter on Local Self-Government. According to Kováčová [18], the main task of the municipal government is caring for the overall development of the municipality that satisfies the interests and needs of its inhabitants. Municipalities represents the local government. Municipalities can act only in the areas specified by law and this includes also applies to activities in the field of regional development. Municipalities carry out tasks in its competences called as the original competences. Tasks result from the Act. 369/1190 Coll. on Municipalities, as amended. The original competences are financed through municipalities' own resources. Municipalities have also the so-called "transferred competencies" but these are controlled and managed by the State. accordance with Act no. 416/2001 Coll. the transfer of some competencies from state administration to municipalities and higher territorial units, as amended. Exercise of these transferred competencies is financed by the State through subsidies from the state budget. [19] Act No.539 / 2008 Coll. [20] on regional development support, as amended, specifies that the main documents of regional development are -National Strategy of Regional Development of the Slovak Republic, the development program of higher territorial unit of the village development program, a joint program of municipal development. Municipal development program is a development document that is being executed at the regional and local levels in accordance with that law. Based on the analysis of §5- §8a the hierarchical superiority of individual documents can be determined. Figure 1 shows the extent of the planned strategy of regional development at various stages. Figure 2 -Level of regional development due the Act No.539/2008 Coll. on regional development, as amended Regional policy is applied in the Slovak Republic at three levels:  Central / national level -the relevant central government authorities guarantee its performance. This level is more selective, focusing on pre-defined regions.  Regional level -power is provided through the Higher Territorial Units (NUTS 2 classification of regions), with nationwide coverage. Its orientation is on intra-regional issues (focuses on municipalities, micro-regions, and districts), cooperation between regions and cross-border cooperation.  The regional / local level -implementation is ensured through the village. The municipality area is smaller than the region, i.e. only part of the reference region in the context of regional policy The National Strategy is a comprehensive (default) strategic document, which defines a regional development plan in terms of the state in the long run. We have to mention that the concept of sustainable development must be maintained. The Economic and Social Development Plan of the Higher Territorial Unit is based on the National Strategy. This document is a medium term development document, setting out the objectives and strategies tied to the concept of the region. Municipal Development Program/Plan has been drawn up in accordance with the objectives and priorities of the National Strategy and takes into account the objectives, strategies and priorities contained in the Program of Economic and Social Development of the Higher Territorial Unit. It is essential for the municipality to dispose of a well-developed program, mainly for operational programs aimed at building local infrastructure.
The plan is being executed with internal and external development actors who can equally participate in the programming process and directly during the formation of the document defining the problems and prospects of the way that the result is a mixed agreement and satisfaction. The result of this should be a good and workable document that has a mobilization of internal resources, material, financial, but above all human, which are an essential part of the implementation of the development strategy of the program.
Law no. 539/2008 Coll. on regional development support, as amended, defines Municipal Development Program in §8 as follows [21]: 1) "The Municipal Development Plan is medium-term development document, drawn up in accordance with the objectives and priorities set out in the national strategy and reflects the goals and priorities set out by the development of the higher territorial unit in whose territory the village is located, and shall have the binding part spatial planning documentation of the village.
2) The Municipal Development Plan provides the municipality in applying partnership.

3) The Municipal Development Plan established under the Partnership consists of:
a. the analytical section, which provides a comprehensive assessment and analysis of the initial situation of the village, an estimate of its future development, potential risks and threats in relation to the existing strategies and concepts and use of the internal potential of the area, its limits and development, defining the conditions for sustainable development of municipality, b. the strategic part, which includes the village development strategy taking into account the specifics of its internal and determines the main directions, priorities and objectives of community development respecting the principles of regional policy in order to achieve balanced sustainable development of the territory, c. program portion which consists primarily of a list of measures and activities to ensure the implementation of the program of development of village. d. the implementation part, which focuses on the description of procedures to ensure the institutional forms of partnerships and organizational support for implementation of the program of community development, monitoring and evaluation of program performance community development with the provision of measurable indicators, material and time schedule for implementation of the program through community development action plans, and e. the financial part, which contains the financial security of individual actions and activities, institutional and organizational implementation of the program of development of municipality. 4) An update of The Municipal Development Plan shall be established as necessary. 5) Municipal Council approved of The Municipal Development Plan and its updating. 6) Approval of The Municipal Development Plan and the relevant spatial planning documentation, if the processing requires special regulation is required to submit an application for municipalities received subsidies from the state budget and from additional resources under § 4." Towns and villages ensure the economic and social development of the area it administers and acts as the independent government units that have legal and economic personality. One of the municipalities' competences is the preparation of The Municipal Development Plan, in terms of formation and implementation of regional policy. Municipalities decide how to implement this program by using its own funds. The Municipal Development Plan should, therefore, become the main instrument for the guidance and support of socio-economic development of the villages. [22] The Municipal Development Plan is a medium-term strategic programming document, which, according to Buček, includes:  Analysis of economic and social development of the village, a prerequisite for its future development, setting goals and needs;  The role and needs of the development of technical infrastructure, social infrastructure, care for the environment, education and other areas;  Proposals for financial and administrative security. Búšik [23] defines the strategic document as a "comprehensive development policy document in a form of a written document. It is the basis for further development guidelines and is designed for longterm need to coordinate public and private activities of economic, social, cultural and ecological character in the city or town. It is a key document necessary to harmonize interests and achieve prosperity. It arises as a conclusion of open dialogue across the entire spectrum of subjects and groups in the form of defined, shared values and goals." The structure of program, by Hamalová and Belajová [24], consists of the following four parts: 1. The introductory part -the content of which is the Purpose of the program, an explanation of the methodology used and explanation of the structure of the document. 2. Analytical part -consists of evaluation and analysis of the initial situation in which the village is located. The economic situation of the village is under review, the business sector operating in the village, the human potential, working in partnership with stakeholders, the development of technical and social infrastructure, exploitation of natural resources. Elaboration of the SWOT analysis is the end of the analytical part. SWOT analysis or SWOT matrix is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and is a structured planning method. 3. The strategic part -vision, strategic goals and specific community development are formulated based on the analysis. The objectives are ranked in priority and measures. 4. Implementation part -is the most important part in developing the program. This section consists of the action plan. The action plan contains a list of the most important activities, timetable for implementation of planned activities and funding, and also functional responsibility for the filled portion of the program.
According to Výrostová [25], the program design should be approached on the basis of participatory planning. It means that when the municipality creates a document, the municipality has to involve the socio-economic partners, and the general public, too.

Results and Discussion
The existence of large regional disparities between the Member States leads to a lengthy discussion in many European forums. The discussion deal with the questions about the efficiency in the use of funds and the eligibility and ineligibility of regions. Effectiveness remains a problematic issue. The main reasons are the causes of the deepening of regional disparities in the Slovak Republic, which may be:  nature of regional policy;  insufficient infrastructure equipment of the Regions -elevated concentration of the support on selected regions, and increase of the polarization of regional infrastructure;  disproportionate growth in unemployment rates between regions;  deteriorating demographic indicators -population aging, displacement of some areas, differences in the level of education, and the distribution of poverty;  high level of administrative burden and bureaucracy applying to regional policy in Slovakia;  underspending -which can be caused by the high degree of bureaucracy, irregularities and incompetent officials, inexpedient use and eventual corruption errors in public procurement, reporting for using funds (ineligible expenditure) errors in monitoring and control;  illiteracy in regional policy -at the municipal level. The survey, carried out in selected municipalities in the Slovak Republic, showed:  The Strategic Framework for Regional Policy -priority areas do not correspond to real needs that municipalities and higher territorial units have. Municipalities feel that in the strategies that affect them, there is a little willingness to consult priority areas and objectives with them.  The Financial Framework for Regional Policy -many municipalities are in financial difficulties.
Moreover, they are slow or unable to ensure the smooth running of their own government. Financial participation for them burdensome. After bad experiences from the past, municipalities do not have the willingness to apply for a new loan, while still repaying the old ones.  Received development plans -many mayors admitted that their development plans are outdated, do not know how a proper development plan should be made. They admitted that they do not have a qualified person who would help them with the preparation of good strategy and plan. Municipalities do not cooperate during the process of planning with the higher territorial units.  Development of the Regions -a very difficult area with inadequate dynamics of regional development in Slovakia and disproportionate development of only certain areas.
Many mayors are sceptical about the application of cohesion policy in Slovakia. They agreed that the policy should be centrally managed. They see great importance in the central control which can coordinate all allocated resources. Although we must admit that it is still true that "the higher territorial units" are more optimist in this area than mayors.

Conclusions
The municipality is the most important and the most fundamental entity through which a State can provide the effective regional development. For the purposes of the efficient development, the municipality uses strategic management, in particular strategic planning. As previously mentioned, regional policy is applied in the bottom-up direction, so municipalities are the first and the most fundamental entities which should be targeted by regional policy. These are the municipalities that involved in the preparation and implementation of regional development programs.
According to the introduction, the terms relating to the strategic development planning are often confused. Based on the analysis we have reached a few key facts:  Development strategy is the output of the strategic planning process. It is essential to determine the objectives and areas of development.  The program of development represents a strategic programming output. Strategic programming focuses more on the concretization of processes of implementation and achieving the objectives, as opposed to the development strategy. In the process of strategic programming, the strategic planning is used as one of several instruments.  The Strategy of development is generally a document that contains the audit issues and the analysis and defines the objectives. Usually, this strategic document should be completed by objectives. The growth strategy/ the strategy of development is often restricted only to this issue and abstracted in a wider context.  Development Program/Development Plan is a document that is intended to affect the widest and the most comprehensive area, or a complex of different areas. In addition, it consists of a detailed audit and analysis.


Slow steaming and a new dawn for wind propulsion: A multi-level analysis of two low carbon shipping transitions

The key enabler of international trade, shipping is heavily reliant on fossil fuels and responsible for approximately 2% of global carbon emissions. For the sector to reduce its emissions in line with climate change objectives, a wholesale transition is required from the current carbon intensive shipping system to one with a lower climatic impact. Drawing on the multi-level perspective from the socio-technical transitions literature, this paper focuses on two technological developments which could reduce the emissions from shipping – slow steaming and wind propulsion. Outlining the landscape changes which may hinder or support the incorporation of each of these innovations into the broader shipping regime the paper shows how slow steaming has been accommodated within this regime, in response to high oil prices and the economic downturn. In the longer term it concludes that additional policy measures may be required to ensure slow steaming persists should landscape pressures reduce. Oil prices, and the environmental agenda, are driving the development of wind propulsion, but more needs to be done to support those companies which seek to demonstrate and commercialise modern incarnations of the original pioneers of the seas. & 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Introduction
Shipping has shaped modern economies. Historically, seaborne imports of raw materials drove the industrial revolution and shipping opened up new markets to manufacturers [1]; technological innovations on the seas and on land, coupled with infrastructure development, regulations and new organisations underpinned the global system we see today [2]. From a common ancestry, distinct maritime sectors evolved where cargo specific vessels require different port infrastructure and operate under different business models.
Compared to other parts of the global economy, the shipping industry is subject to little regulatory pressure to reduce its carbon emissions. Under the UNFCCC framework, nations have committed to keeping global mean temperatures to within 2°C of pre-industrial levels by 2100. Shipping is regulated via the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which in principle accepts that the shipping industry "will make its fair and proportionate contribution" to the levels of mitigation deemed necessary to reduce the likelihood of a global mean temperature rise commensurate with averting dangerous climate change [3] and has introduced two policies to this end, the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) applicable to new ships and the use of Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plans (SEEMP) for the existing fleet [4]. A comparison of the impact of these policies with projections of future shipping demand, however, suggests they will have little impact on absolute emissions, which are projected to grow with increasing demand for shipping services [3,5].
Against this backdrop of increasing CO 2 emissions and little evidence of meaningful mitigation policies, the High Seas project has explored how UK shipping may make radical reductions in emissions commensurate with stabilisation within 2°C of pre-industrial levels by 2100. The project has considered the apportionment of emissions [6], the potential for technological innovation [7] and has developed scenarios articulating pathways for UK shipping emissions in-line with the 2°C target [8]. Shipping is blessed with a large number of technologies with the potential to reduce emissions (see for example [10]), yet as the High Seas scenarios highlight, emission reduction pathways are framed not only by technology and changing operational practices, but also by the quantity and origin of goods transported. The scale of the challenge, given projected growth in demand for shipping, is such that incremental improvements in technology are inadequate, but instead a wholesale transition to a new socio-technical system is required, necessitating changes to multiple linked elements including technology, infrastructure, business practices and culture across different scales and including diverse actors.
Much of the work focusing on reducing emissions from shipping has assessed emission abatement potential and the cost ; the cost effectiveness of more expensive measures would be increased by the EEDI and SEEMP [9]. Clearly, however, given that many cost effective measures have yet to be widely taken up there are many barriers to adoption, which have been the subject of subject of industry studies (e.g. [12,13]) and an increasing academic literature (e.g. [14][15][16]) . Contractual arrangements in shipping are highly complex, and in some forms fuel costs are paid by a shipper and not a vessel owner, reducing the incentive for owners to invest in energy efficiency measures [16]. Many companies do not measure and manage fuel use; systems may not be available to record actual consumption, as opposed to fuel bunkered [12] and companies may not have the resources to analyse data that is collected [13,17]. When fuel prices were low, energy efficiency was not a high priority for ship owners or operators [12], with a lack of clear responsibility for delivering energy efficiency as a consequence [17]. Communication between shore and ship is a key barrier to implementation of many operational measures including voyage management, fuel measurement and reducing delays in ports [12,14,17]. Ship owners may be hesitant to invest in new technology in the absence of clear, independent data on vessel performance, and ship yards reluctant to include novel technologies on new build vessels [12,18].
Reducing emissions from shipping, therefore, requires us to look for action beyond ship owners and operators, to encompass a host of actors working across national borders: ports; ship yards, their engineers and designers; banks and finance companies; shipping regulators. Changes are required to multiple linked elements, not technology in isolation, but also infrastructure, business practices and culture across different scales, from vessels to the wider system in which they operate. This paper answers a call to move beyond economic assessments [19] and consider this wider socio-technical system in all its complexity.
Taking up this challenge, the goal of this paper is to explore the transition from an unsustainable system, to a more sustainable one, focusing on two promising areas of innovationslow steaming and wind propulsion. An analytical framework developed by transition researchers for the study of radical sociotechnical innovation, the multi-level perspective approach, is adopted [2,[20][21][22]. The aim is to explore progress and the trends within shipping (the regime level) and the exogenous landscape level which may support or hinder these developments. In Section 2, the paper briefly introduces the MLP, using it to frame an overview of the shipping system to make the case for the usefulness of the approach; Section 3 describes the methodology. In Section 4, the MLP is used to analyse two elements of a new, low carbon shipping system, slow steaming and wind propulsion, whilst Section 5 concludes by considering the implications of this work for the reduction of emissions from the shipping sector.

Theoretical framing: transitions and the multi-level perspective
Conceptualising shipping as a socio-technical system highlights that the shipping sector is made up of elements such as technology, infrastructures, policy, consumer practices, markets and cultural meanings, aligned and maintained by a diverse set of actors including engineers, policy makers, industry and consumers. Existing socio-technical systems are characterised by stability, lock-in and path dependence [23], which leads to incremental change to the system [20] as radical changes have to fight against incumbent technologies and ways of doing to become widely adopted. If the shipping sector is to make the significant reductions in emissions required by climate change mitigation, incremental change is not enough, instead a transition from the current fossil fuelled system to a new, low carbon socio-technical system is required. To analyse and understand the interactions and interplays which shape such transitions, researchers have developed the multi-level perspective (MLP) [2,21,22].
The MLP has been applied to the historical analyses of transitions across many sectors, transport included, such as sailing ships [2]; land transport [24]; cargo handling [25] and aviation [26]. These studies shed light on processes of technological transitions and highlight that a technology transition is not solely about the technology, but instead innovation is supported by changes across multiple dimensions such as institutions, culture, infrastructures, markets and user practices. In essence technology transitions are multi scalar, with changes having to be manifest across these dimensions from the micro-scale, within firms, to the meso and macro, within specific sectors through to the wider economy and nation state.
The MLP identifies three levels within a socio-technical system: niches, the regime and the landscape (see for example [2,22]). Radical innovations emerge at the micro-level within the protected space of a technological niche, where these innovations can benefit from macro-level landscape changes to durably change the incumbent meso-level regime. This framework is illustrated with reference to shipping, in Sections 2.1-2.3.

Landscape influences and the shipping system
The landscape is the external context which bounds the interactions of the actors within the socio-technical system [2]. The sociotechnical landscape influences development within the shipping regime through diverse factors such as oil price, economic growth, demographics, cultural values, politics, policy and the environment. Walsh et al. [27] provide a historical overview of drivers of growth in trade and show that diverse landscape changes have shaped shipping. Macro-level trends may stabilise the regime, acting as a barrier to change, or conversely destabilise it, providing an opportunity for regime change [20].
An enabler of international trade, transporting some 80% of global trade by volume in 2013 [28], shipping has enjoyed a long period of growth, increasing at around 4% per year since the 1990s [29]. Despite the challenges presented by the global recession, with downturns in EU economies impacting on major exporting countries, shipped trade continues to grow, albeit at a slower pace supported by increasing South South trade and growing demand in Asia and Africa, [28,29]. Projections of future trade show continued growth across shipping as a whole and are likely to exert a stabilising pressure upon shipping, reinforcing the existing regime. That said, growth may not be consistent across all parts of the regime, thus, whilst container shipping is likely to grow over the coming decades [5] if there is a widespread decarbonisation of energy systems to meet climate change objectives, this may impact considerably on demand for the shipping of fossil fuels [5,30].
Regulation within shipping has been driven in response to landscape changes, and vessel design and operation has changed as a consequence. Public and political concern over oil spills from tankers, for example, has prompted maritime safety legislation including the IMO's MARPOL 73/78 regulation following the Torrey Canyon accident in 1967 [31] and the US Oil Pollution Act of 1990 following the running aground of the Exxon Valdez in 1989 [32]. Emerging landscape pressures, therefore, could drive change towards more sustainable practices and transform the shipping regime. In recent years, environmental issues, most notably climate change and sulphur emissions, have placed pressure on the sector


extfieldsofstudy: Physics Geography

text:
Open Space between Residential Buildings as a Factor of Sustainable Development – Case Studies in Brno (Czech Republic) and Vienna (Austria)

The characteristics of open spaces between residential buildings have, as authors suppose, an impact on the sustainable development of urban areas. Spatial arrangement and accessibility of these spaces, the type and height of surrounding buildings, the quantity and character of greenery, and many more characteristics influence the quality of environment, and the quality of life of local residents. These and further characteristics of the open spaces between residential buildings influence the ecological stability of the area, its hygienic qualities, the intensity and way of using by various social groups, and also the prices of real estates. These qualities indicate the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the urban area. The proposed research methodology assessed specific indicators of sustainability within a range from 0 to 10 points. 5 points correspond to the general standard in the area, 0 points indicate degradation, and 10 points indicate the highest contribution to sustainable development. Observation methods, questionnaire survey, statistical analyses, and methods of measurement were used to determine the values of the given indicators. The paper analyses the impact of the open spaces between residential buildings on sustainability via the case studies performed in the Central European cities of Brno, Czech Republic and Vienna, Austria. Two forms of residential urban structures in the City of Brno in the Czech Republic were selected for the analysis: the closed courtyards in the urban block from the 19th century and the open spaces in the housing estates constructed under socialism in the 20th century. The question is, if the different forms of spaces between residential buildings influence the sustainability of urban area and satisfaction of inhabitants in different ways. A complementary case study in Vienna indicates that inhabitants of a housing estate in Vienna, as well as inhabitants of housing estates in Brno, highly appreciate the meaning of large green open spaces between buildings. The paper presents results of basic research. The results indicate that the sustainability of open housing estate forms is higher than the authors expected.

Introduction
50% of all people over the world live in the cities. Life of people takes place not only in the buildings, but also in the open space between them [1]. There is a limited amount of these places in the cities. Open spaces between residential buildings represent a valuable place where people spend time in contact with other people and nature near their home. The character of these spaces can, as assumed, have a significant impact on the quality of environment, the quality of life and therefore on the sustainable development of the area. The open spaces between residential buildings are part of an urban structure and a conception of the cities. Two types of urban structures which appear in a large number in post-socialist cities of central Europe are: courtyards in closed urban blocks from the 19th century, and open spaces surrounding houses in high-rise panel housing estates constructed under the socialism era in the 20th century. Sustainable development of housing estates is often discussed [2] considering the intensity and way of using of the open spaces between residential buildings. How do the open spaces in housing estates affect the character of the environment? Do the residents use these open spaces and consider them as important for their quality of life? Can the importance of these open spaces compete with the significance of the closed courtyards in the centre of the city? The case studies carried out in the Central European city of Brno are trying to answer these questions.
Open high-rise housing estate development occurs not only in post-socialist Central European cities, but also in Vienna, Austria. Vienna did not pass the socialist period which could distort the socioeconomic relations. Do the residents of a housing estate in Vienna have the same opinion on the importance of open spaces between residential buildings as the residents of housing estates in Brno?
The case study carried out in the area of Vienna -Wohnpark Alt Erlaa is trying to answer these questions.
The list of indicators and characteristics has been compiled taking into account the literature review of existing research. The following characteristics of the open spaces can influence the hygienic qualities of environment. Grass surfaces and tree shades efficiently reduce the high surface temperature [3]. Urban greenery reduces the air temperature in the urban area, at least on the local scale [4]. Greenery is legitimately becoming a part of architectural and urban conceptions, which is documented in several published projects [5,6]. Different forms of buildings help to mitigate the level of traffic-induced noise in the open spaces [7]. Other characteristics of open spaces may have impact on social qualities of neighbourhood. The level of noise pollution in the environment is perceived differently by various social groups, with higher sensitivity in the middle-aged people [8]. There are other factors as air pollution that have a strong influence on the health of communities and their social development [9]. The presence of greenery in public space may also influence the feeling of safety [10]. Greenery, water and quality public space can influence the price of surrounding real estate [11,12].
The aim of the study is to explore the correlations and impacts of the open spaces between residential buildings on the sustainable development of the area. The paper presents results from a total of six case studies in Brno and Vienna.

Methods and obtaining of data
This paper aims to identify some relationships between characteristics of open spaces and selected indicators of sustainability. The analysis of the relationship between the characteristics of the open spaces and the indicators of sustainability allows to identify the advantages and disadvantages of specific forms of open spaces in a broader sense.
The basic characteristics of the open spaces include: location of the space within the city and its transport connections, the quantity and character of greenery, the way of use of the open spaces, the ownership of the spaces and surrounding buildings, etc.
The characteristics of the open spaces between residential buildings can influence the ecological stability of the area, its hygienic qualities, the intensity and the way of using by various social groups and the prices of local real estates. These qualities indicate the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the urban area.
A multi-criteria decision making method was used to evaluate the quality of open spaces between residential buildings, where the indicators of sustainability were used as the criteria. The selected indicators of sustainability are grouped into four main pillars: ecology, hygiene, society and economy. Each indicator was evaluated on the scale from 0 to 10 points when the median value (5 points) referred to common standards in the area, 0 points referred to degradation of the measured indicator, and 10 points referred to the maximal contribution of the phenomenon to the sustainable development. given indicator could only attain unfavourable values, it was evaluated on a scale from 0 to 5 points (e.g. manifestations of vandalism). If a given indicator was not assessed or not determined in the studied area, it was assigned the neutral value of 5 points and was not depicted in colour in the pertinent tables. The median values for certain indicators (diversity and number of activities, numbers of visitors, etc.) were determined on the basis of preliminary observations in a pilot study of the area BV2 on the Brno-Vinohrady housing estate. The median values in questionnaires corresponded to a neutral perception of the given phenomenon. Consideration was given to the importance of the individual indicators of sustainability by means of weightings -an index that converted the points awarded for a partial indicator or group of indicators. This weighting index was developed by dividing the overall weighting of 100 among the individual pillars of sustainability, subsequently among framework aggregated groups of indicators, and finally among partial measurable indicators. Specialists in the individual pillars of sustainability performed the allocation of weightings and the definition of indicators on the basis of mutual coordination. The environmental pillar was divided into an ecological pillar and a hygiene pillar. Of the total weighting of 100 %, 10 % was allocated to the ecological pillar, 25 % to the hygiene pillar, 35 % to the social pillar, and 30 % to the economic pillar. The resultant value of weighted points in the sustainability pillar is equal to the sum of weighted points in the framework aggregated indicator. The resultant value of weighted points in the framework aggregated indicator is equal to the sum of the weighted points of the partial indicators. The weighted points of the partial indicators were obtained as the product of the points and weightings of these indicators divided by 10, where the number 10 represents the maximum of available points.
To determine the values of selected and identifiable indicators, the following methods were used: the observation, questionnaire survey among the residents of related houses, the statistical analysis, and the analysis of real estate prices.
A field observation was the source of the information about the investigated locality. It was performed by the researchers who were focused on the information about the manner and frequency of using the open space, and on the occurrence of pathological phenomena which potentially influence the feeling of safety in the investigated space. Measuring of the data about quality of environment was part of the observation, i.e. measuring of temperature, humidity and acoustic pressure. The observation was held from 12 to 15 o'clock. This information was used to determine the hygienic indicators. It is a confirmation of the studies which argue that high-grown greenery can positively affect the microclimate and it reduces air temperature in summer. Also, the grass surface and tree shades help to reduce surface temperature [3]. Urban greenery legitimately reduces the air temperature in the urban area [4].
Another source of information was a questionnaire survey among the inhabitants of the adjacent residential buildings. During 2-3 weeks there were approximately 150 questionnaires collected, which means that 35 % were successful. This investigation aimed at the manner of using the space, at the way the users perceived it, whether they feel safe, and last but least at the feeling of belonging to the given locality. The questionnaire investigation served to quantify some social indicators.
Subsequently the index of residents' satisfaction [q] was quantified. The source of data to quantify the satisfaction index was also the questionnaire answers. The index is a proportional ratio of the total sum of the concrete points obtained from the respondents' answers to the maximal sum of available points. It expresses the level of inhabitants' satisfaction; the higher evaluation, the higher satisfaction. The index of satisfaction reflects the answers to the questions concerning e.g. frequency and purpose of the visits in the investigated space, the feeling of safety, aesthetic quality, neighbourhood relationship, feeling of home, interest in the arrangement of the space, and the perception of noise, wind, dust and smell.
The analysis of the statistical data was used to get the data about the social structure of the residents in the adjoining houses. The main source of data was the 2011 census and a comparison of data from the 2001 and 2011 census performed by the Czech Statistical Office [13]. The data about population age structure, economic activity and education structure (among the residents older than 15 years). The source of information about the property prices and the rents were the statistics of the real estate agency Real Spectrum [14].

Study areas
The city of Brno with almost 400 000 inhabitants is the second largest city in the Czech Republic and represents a typical post-industrial city in the Central Europe. The city offers examples which represent various periods and various urbanistic concepts. Vienna, the capital city of Austria, is similarly as Brno a representative of a post-industrial city in the Central Europe although the number of inhabitants (1.741 million) is markedly greater. Two forms of residential structures in the City of Brno in the Czech Republic were selected for the analysis: closed courtyards in closed urban blocks from the 19th century, and open spaces in high-rise block housing estate constructed under the socialism era in the 20th century.

Courtyards in the city centre of Brno (spaces BS1-BS2
). The surveyed spaces are courtyards inside closed urban blocks of four-to six-floor residential buildings from the second half of 19 th century which are located in the wider city centre of Brno. The paper presents results of two case studies, labelled BS1 and BS2. The courtyards with a significant proportion of well-maintained low and fully-grown greenery are not accessible to public. The BS1 courtyard is partly used by the primary and nursery school. All courtyards are the property of the city which maintains them. The adjoining buildings are owned by a cooperative or association of flat owners. The locality is close to the city centre and represents an attractive place of housing which is undergoing continuous renovations. The sale and rent prices of housing and commercial space in the locality are above the average within the city of Brno.

The spaces between residential buildings in the housing estate in Brno-Vinohrady (BV1-BV2).
The survey was performed on two public spaces between residential buildings in the prefabricated concrete panel housing estate in Brno-Vinohrady, in the eastern part of the city. The surveyed spaces labelled BV1-BV2 are located on the plots owned by the city who maintains them. BV1 labels a space with a significant amount of well-maintained low and full-grown greenery. The BV1 space surrounds a twelve-story prefabricated block of flats in private ownership. The BV2 labels the space with a significant amount of well-maintained low and full-grown greenery. The space is surrounded by two residential buildings; in the south, it is a four-story building with flats in private ownership, in the north it is an eight-story building owned by the city. The prefabricated concrete panel housing estate was completed in the socialist era in the second half of 1980s. The housing in this housing estate is considerably popular thanks to its vast services and amenities as well as affordable prices. The only significant drawback is a lack of parking spaces.

The space between residential buildings in the housing estate in Brno-Lesná (BL).
The survey was focused on the BL public space between two eight-story apartment buildings in the prefabricated concrete panel housing estate in Brno-Lesná, in the northern part of the city. This vast space with a maximum proportion of low and full-grown well-maintained greenery is located on the property of the city who maintains it. The flats are owned by the residents. The housing estate which was conceived as an open complex of buildings in the greenery was completed in the socialist era in the second half of the 1960s. Housing in this Brno-Lesná estate is popular thanks to the natural environment and extensive greenery that is an object of interest of the residents. The estate is probably also popular as the professionals evaluate it as the best prefab housing estate in Brno. It is inspired by the Tapiola housing estate in Helsinki, Finland. There is a live discussion about its potential to become a protected monument [16].

The space between residential buildings in the housing estate in Vienna -Wohnpark Alt Erlaa
(WA). The article presents the results of investigation in the public space WA between two 22-to 26storey apartment buildings in the Wohpark Alt Erlaa housing estate which is located in the Vienna -Leising city part in the southern part of the city. The studied open space with a large amount of greenery is located on the properties owned by the city which maintains them. The flats in the buildings are managed by a company whose majority is owned by the city of Vienna. The construction of the housing estate was completed in mid-1980s. A great advantage of this housing complex is the quality of available services and facilities, including a swimming pool on the roof, parking spaces in the underground parking garages, and a system of disposal and collection of household waste.

Results and discussions
The following table presents a summary of the indicators and the pillars of sustainability for the analysed case studies. The following commentaries summarize the significant or outstanding phenomena reflected in the indicators.

Ecology
The closed courtyards in the city centre (BS1 and BS2) and the spaces between the residential buildings in the prefab housing estate Brno-Vinohrady (BV1 and BV2) show good evaluation in terms of ecological quality of the area. The spaces between buildings in the housing estates Brno-Lesná (BL) and Vienna -Wohpark Alt Erlla (WA) show, in comparison with the studies BS1, BS2, BV1 a BV2, the highest evaluation. The reason is especially their largeness and ecological interaction with the surroundings. In all cases the spaces have a significant amount of maintained greenery which includes diverse species. The evaluated spaces generate a good ecological quality which is not generally standardized in urban areas.

Hygiene
All analysed spaces create a hygienically quality environment, only the BV1 space is slightly below average. In case of the BS1 and BS2 spaces it is worth mentioning the capacity of closed blocks to reduce the level of acoustic pressure and to eliminate the outside traffic noise. The BV1, BV2, BL and WA spaces do not have such capacity. Moreover, in comparison with the other spaces, the BV2 space lacks the capacity to eliminate winds. All spaces are able to raise the humidity to a desired level. In the BL and WA spaces are present significantly pleasant natural sounds and smells. The comfort of staying in the surveyed inner courtyard is considered of good to very good level. It might be added that the residents of all adjoining buildings around the surveyed spaces perceive the comfort very positively and in case of BL and WA spaces the feelings are often uncritically strong.

Society
The social indicators of sustainability are above the standard in all surveyed spaces, none of the localities is considered a socially degraded area. The number of residents in the buildings around the BS1 and BS2 spaces in the centre of Brno is stabilized when the decrease between 201 and 2011 is only 2 %. The age structure (40 years) corresponds with the median age in the country; there are more seniors than children in this area. The ratio of residents with higher than primary education is higher than the state average (85 %) reaching 89 % [13]. The gender diversity in the space seems to be balanced. Using of the spaces is strengthened by the feeling of safety in the BS1 and BS2 courtyards. The level of safety and good maintenance is enhanced by the fact that the courtyards are not open to public. According to the questionnaires, the BS1 and BS2 spaces satisfy the residents' needs. The residents consider the place their home. The local respondents have shown a unique willingness to get financially involved in the maintenance of the courtyards if they were more used by children.
The buildings in the Brno-Vinohrady housing estate suffer from the decrease of residents; between 2001 and 2011 there was an average decrease of 10% in this housing estate. According to the census in the analysed buildings, the age structure shows a predominance of children under 14 years to the seniors, where the ratio is roughly 2:1. The ratio of the residents of the prefab blocks of flats with higher than primary education reaches the state average (85 %), [13]. Using of inner courtyards in the housing estate is decreased by a lower feeling of safety. The numerous inner courtyards more likely do not satisfy the residents' needs. The age structure of the residents in Brno-Lesná housing estate shows a prevalence of children to seniors (83:17). The ratio of residents with higher than primary education reaches 83.2 % [13]. The inner courtyard is perceived as a very safe area and it satisfies the residents' needs. A significant phenomenon in Lesná housing estate is "longtime residency" when residents rarely move out of this locality. The residents consider the place a very good address.
In case of the Vienna Wohpark Alt Erlaa housing estate (WA) the statistical data were not obtained. In other indicators the WA case study is very similar to BL study. The residents state a strong feeling of home, there are very good relations among neighbours, and the residents rarely move away. The residents perceive the locality as a good address.

Economy
The BS1 and BS2 case studies benefit from their location in the city centre. They are popular in spite of the higher prices which exceed the city average [14].
The prices of flats in Brno-Vinohrady (BV1 and BV2) and Brno-Lesná (BL) housing estates are below the city average; the rents in Brno-Lesná (BL) housing estate are average with exception of the sales prices of the outside parking space which in both cases exceed the city average as there is a considerable lack in both locations.
The prices of rented flats in Vienna housing estate were eventually obtained and are lower than the city average. Generally higher average prices of rented flats in Vienna increase the considerable share of newly built flats available to numerous, well-to-do residents of the Austrian metropolis.
It might be stated that the economic parameters of the evaluated case studies are significantly influenced by the characteristics of the locality as a whole, by its facilities and connection to public transport.  Table 2 presents the overall sustainability [s] as well as the Satisfaction Index [q] (see section 3.6). The overall balance suggests that the most sustainable spaces seem to be the case studies in the Brnocentre locality (BS1, BS2). This result is given by several facts. The spaces between buildings in the closed block development are, in comparison with other case studies, slightly above the average in terms of ecology, moreover they create hygienically quality spaces which are comparable with the spaces dominated by natural features (BL, WA). The BS1 and BS2 case studies are also above the average in terms of society. The resulting economical sustainability of the BS1 and BS2 case studies exceeds the other spaces. The Brno-Vinohrady housing estate (BV1 a BV2) is the opposite of Brno-centre locality (BS1, BS2) although it does not mean that it is an unsustainable area with unclear future. Two more case studies localized in BL and WA housing estates show a good overall sustainability where the high ecological, hygienic and social quality of the area is indicated by the weighted points in the relevant pillars of sustainability. In case of BL and WA, the economic sustainability analysed by the selected indicators is slightly lower, although in case of WA a significant part of the indicators was not obtained, which decreases the relevance of the conclusions.

Residents' Satisfaction Index
The "Residents' Satisfaction Index" [q] was calculated from the answers in the questionnaires completed by the residents living around the investigated space. The index is a percentage ratio of the sum of the particular points gained for the answers against the maximum number of points; thus it expresses the residents' satisfaction: the higher the evaluation, the higher the satisfaction.
The following table shows the overall balance of sustainability [s] and the Residents' Satisfaction Index [q] for the analysed case studies.
The satisfaction of residents closely relates to the character of the particular locality and local development. A considerable share of satisfaction might be caused by the environmental parameters of the locality. The residents living in the buildings in Brno-centre locality (BS1 and BS2) have expressed high level of satisfaction. Closed, calm and quiet courtyards with relatively higher humidity of air are protected from winds, dust and unwanted visitors. The courtyards and adjoining buildings are also located near the city centre.
Slightly different situation might be in the housing estates whose concept is to be open housing development. In case of Brno-Vinohrady (BV1 and BV2), the respondents expressed a relatively lower satisfaction with the location. They perceive the area as being uniform and plain; the spaces between buildings do not significantly influence the quality of environment. The residents do not have an outstanding feeling of home here; they do not consider it a good address.
A considerable satisfaction was expressed by the residents in Brno-Lesná housing estate (BL). The reasons might have environmental base, although the residents have a tendency to overrate some hygienic facts. There objectively might occur balanced temperatures with fewer extremes in summer period. The perception of satisfaction is also influenced by the psychological impact of staying in natural environment which positively stimulates the feelings. The residents have the feeling that they live in the park moreover there are vast forests within the walking distance from the housing estate. Living on a hill surrounded by greenery, in a calm, hygienically quality environment, without large fluctuation of residents, in a housing estate with a strong, publicly discussed unique image, these are the probable factors influencing the satisfaction of local residents. The residents' satisfaction cannot be lowered by the economical demands on maintenance of the space between buildings as this is not perceived by the residents of Lesná, in a locality with an outstandingly quality natural environment, the highest within the evaluated spaces.
The respondents of the Vienna -Wohnpark Alt Erlla (WA) housing estate declared, in comparison with other case studies, the highest satisfaction, which might be related to a generally more positive attitude of local residents. But there must be other reasons of the satisfaction. The developed and varied WA park creates a favourable microclimate and presents a calm place in a busy metropolis. The quality and vast WA park thus emphasizes the uniqueness of this metropolitan locality with quality, above the standard services (church) and good transportation services. The local residents, similarly as the residents of Lesná (BL), appreciate the quality natural environment. The natural features of the urbanized area are perceived both by Vienna and Brno respondents as outstandingly important for the quality and image of their home.
Generally, it can be stated that the residents' satisfaction with living in certain localities and buildings is the result of many factors.
A significant role is certainly played by technical aspects, e.g. the indicators of occupancy rate (space per resident, number of residents per room), indicators of technical conditions of the flats, their disposition, etc. that were not included in this research.
The quality of environment forms the second significant group of factors; its level is influenced by several parameters of the space between buildings, which is confirmed by some published studies, namely the influence of greenery [3,4] and the type and height of the buildings around the space [7]. The third factor is the quality of neighbourhood. Good relations with neighbours can be considered as very important, sometimes also decisive for the development of local community. Good relations with neighbours enhance the feeling of home.
Within the presented methodology the observed satisfaction of residents is reflected in the partial indicator of "good address".

Conclusions
The case studies presented open spaces between buildings as a part of two different urban conceptions. The courtyards in closed blocks and open spaces in housing estates of free standing high-rise blocks were presented. The results suggest that both conceptions may provide quality housing. The spaces between buildings may create hygienically quality environment. And local residents perceive the influence of the environment on their quality of life.
According to the results of the research, the closed courtyards in the locality Brno-centre (BS1 and BS2) have a considerable importance for sustainable development of the area and for the satisfaction of local residents. The residents perceive the courtyards as a valuable, safe place to relax. The courtyards create an environment with a considerably higher quality than the surrounding streets. The hygienic quality of the environment in the courtyards is on average roughly at the same level as in the observed inner courtyards in the housing estates which are dominated by natural features (BL and WA). It has been proved the significance of hygienic parameters as well as the feeling of safety in the closed courtyards.
In the Brno-Vinohrady housing estate (BV1 and BV2) with a lower social potential of sustainability, the spaces between buildings are uniform, featureless and they are numerous, which lowers their significance for social interaction. As the residents have suggested in the survey, the spaces should be differentiated and suitable for particular use. Nevertheless, it is necessary to state that the interest of young families about housing in the housing estate contradicts the unfavourable prognosis. It is supported by affordable prices of the housing as well as good services in the locality.
There might be a different situation in distinctive housing estates, as for example in the Brno-Lesná housing estate (BL) where the significance of the extensive spaces between buildings with abundance of quality and maintained greenery is enhanced by their considerable environmental contribution which is comparable to the contribution of staying in the suburban nature. Also the significance of these spaces might be enhanced by a long-lasting discussion about the good and specific image of this locality. Local residents in Lesná (BL) perceive these discussions intensively. Similarly, the residents of Vienna -Wohpark Alt Erlaa housing estate (WA) perceive the significance of the large green spaces between the buildings. Austrian society, unlike Czech society, did not undergo the socialism era which might have deformed some socio-economic conditions. Nevertheless, the respondents' opinion in the WA case study more or less corresponds to the opinion of the respondents in the BL case study. Thus it might be stated that the vast green spaces between the buildings in the housing estate development might have significantly positive influence on the satisfaction of the local residents. Such spaces might considerably compete with the significance of closed courtyards. The results indicate that one of the conditions is an above standard environmental quality, regular maintenance enhancing the feeling of safety, and the overall good image of the locality. This image is also a reflection of the uniqueness of the urban conception as well as the expected above standard environmental conditions in the area.
In general, it might be stated that significant characteristics of open space between buildings are the type and height of the buildings, their arrangement, and the character of the greenery. The greenery influences the hygienic conditions and attractiveness of the area. Open space between buildings represents a significant and irreplaceable potential for increasing of the residents' quality of life. The quality environment might also contribute to the creation of good image of the locality.
The overall balance of sustainability of the area and the residents' satisfaction shows that the analysed urban conceptions have succeeded in all cases to create good exterior conditions for housing. Architects and urban planners were generally aware of the significance of open, green space between buildings for the recreational and social use, for the satisfaction of local residents. A suitable urban form which reflects the conditions of wider area and also supports the uniqueness of the locality may significantly influence the sustainability of the area and satisfaction of local residents. In conclusion it is necessary to state that this text provides a number of data which might be further processed, analysed, variously evaluated and interpreted. Nevertheless, it would be suitable to continue in the study of spaces between buildings. It might be possible to observe the dynamics of the development in the defined areas, extend the case studies to other types of residential areas or eventually in other cities, and to continuously develop the methodology of this study.


Safeguarding Worker Health and Safety from a Changing Climate:

Changing climate conditions threaten the health and safety of the State of Delaware’s most important assets: its workforce. Building on momentum at the state level to assess climate risks and implement relevant adaptation actions, ﬁve state agencies implemented the Climate- Ready Workforce Pilot Project to identify and safeguard at-risk workers from the impacts of extreme events such as storms and ﬂoods as well as extreme temperatures. Findings indicate that the ﬁve participating agencies have an important foundation of worker health and safety policies, procedures and practices. Enhancing their climate resilience will require both strengthening the fundamentals of current policies and procedures by improving processes for policy development, implementation, and enforcement, more explicitly incorporating climate considerations, and sharing agency good practices are key actions.

Delaware's Changing Climate
Delaware is already experiencing higher temperatures, increasing rainfall, and rising sea levels, and these changes are expected to continue-and become more serious-in the coming years. Findings from the Delaware Climate Change Impact Assessment 1 indicate that: • Annual and seasonal temperatures have increased by approximately 2˚F over the past century.
• Average temperatures are expected to increase by another 2.5 to 4.5˚F by 2050, and as much as 8˚F by the end of this century.
• The number of very hot days (over 95˚F) is expected to increase, and heat waves are projected to become longer and more frequent.
• Heavy rainstorms are expected to become more frequent and more intense, with an increasing number of very wet days with two inches or more of rainfall.
• Sea level rise is already occurring along Delaware's coast, with an increase of 13 inches over the past century.
• Higher sea levels will likely increase coastal flooding as storm surge reaches further inland.

Climate-related Risks to Worker Health and Safety
Changing climate conditions pose health and safety risks to state employees whose duties require extended periods of outdoor exposure. These risks include increased exposure to high heat days and other extreme weather conditions, including flooding and storm-related hazards, as well as indirect impacts related to air quality, vector-borne diseases, and water-related illnesses. Table 1 summarizes climate change hazards that may affect workers, occupational health impacts, the work and individual factors that contribute to vulnerabilities, and the types of work environments that are most affected.
Climate change effects can be a "risk magnifier" for vulnerable populations, such as outdoor workers who face greater exposure to environmental conditions.
Individual workers may have additional vulnerabilities that increase their risk. For example, people with underlying health conditions, such as asthma or cardiovascular disease, may be more sensitive to extreme heat and worsened air quality. Age, weight, and fitness can all affect an individual worker's vulnerability to weather-related challenges.

Climate Adaptation in Delaware
Delaware has been taking action to adapt to these changing climate conditions. In September 2013, former Governor Markell issued Executive Order 41: Preparing Delaware for Emerging Climate Impacts and Seizing Economic Opportunities from Reducing Emissions. The Executive Order acknowledged the challenges facing Delaware from climate change and the opportunities for building a cleaner, more sustainable state. It directed state agencies to develop strategies to address both the causes and consequences of climate change. One result was the development of the Delaware Climate Change Impact Assessment, 1 which summarizes the best available science on the potential impacts of climate change to people, places and resources in the State. The Climate Framework for Delaware was prepared in 2014 in response to findings in the Climate Change Impact Assessment and contains over 150 climate change adaptation recommendations from Delaware's eleven state agencies. Many agencies recognized a common concern-the risks climate change poses to one of the State's most valuable assets: its workforce.
The Climate-Ready Workforce Pilot Project was launched in 2016 to protect the health and safety of state workers, particularly in the face of changing and unprecedented extreme weather conditions.
Four Twenty Seven and MDB, Inc. were hired as the consultants for this project, and five of Delaware's agencies were involved: the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, the Delaware Department of Transportation, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget. Representatives of each of these agencies created the inter-agency pilot project team which helped to steer the project. Four Twenty Seven and MDB, Inc. worked with the interagency pilot project team to: • Review and evaluate current state agency health and safety policies and practices, • Conduct outreach to at-risk state workers (e.g., outdoor workers) to identify opportunities to improve current policies and practices, and • Recommend "best practices" for supporting worker health and safety and reducing risks posed by climate change.

Delaware's At-Risk Workers and Their Work Environments
The inter-agency pilot project team members identified the at-risk positions that work in six types of climate-exposed environments. Rather than focusing simply on "outdoor workers," participating agencies identified at-risk workers as individuals who spend time in work environments in which they are exposed to weather-related hazards, such as extreme heat, cold, storms, and flooding. At-risk work environments include both indoor and outdoor settings: • Indoor unconditioned spaces, which vary in size and include both smaller spaces such as mechanic shops, electrical rooms, and fee booths, and larger spaces such as buildings, homes and warehouses.
• Indoor confined spaces, which include compost rooms, crawl spaces, drainage systems, and building mechanical spaces.
• Outdoor urban spaces, which consist of paved areas such as garages, bridges, and outdoor areas surrounding buildings, as well as unpaved areas such as crawl spaces, roofs, and outdoor open areas.
• Outdoor natural areas, which are commonly identified as wooded forests, meadows, state parks, beaches, and trails. Many of these outdoor work areas are adjacent to or near built infrastructure such as a rest area or a highway.
• Outdoor suburban areas, which can be found in the suburbs or in neighborhoods, include residents' yards, streets, empty lots, and other grassy areas.
• Heavy equipment, which are used by agencies' staff and include loaders, leaf vacuums, wood chippers, and spare tires, and vehicles, which include trucks, skid steers, snow plows, street sweepers, tractors, and fork lifts.
Agencies identified at-risk workers who spend time in each type of work environment. An at-risk worker in the climate change context is one who is more exposed to the negative impacts of climate change during her or his workday. 2 The inter-agency pilot project team recognized that at-risk workers will be affected by changing climate conditions related to extreme heat, flooding, and storms, with impacts on air quality, vector-borne diseases, and water-related illnesses.
The vulnerability of at-risk workers is defined in part by the work environment (exposure) and the type of work being done (e.g., degree of physical exertion, use of tools). Other factors that contribute to risk is a worker's age, health and physical condition, level of safety training, availability of safety equipment or protective gear, and a workplace culture that values and supports health and safety.
Different agencies considered a variety of positions to be at-risk but there were commonalities among the five agencies. The positions that were most often classified as being at-risk by at least three of the five agencies include technicians, maintenance workers, engineers, those who provide support services and managers and supervisors. In addition, many agencies indicated that they had seasonal positions which accounted for a large number of employees, as in the case of DNREC, which employs more than 190 seasonal maintenance workers. Pilot project team members identified the types of job positions and work environments that could be considered atrisk, and estimated the numbers of positions in their agency divisions.

Framework for Analysis
The framework used for this analysis and good practice recommendations are the Occupational Health and Safety Administration's (OSHA) Publication 3885 entitled "Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs" (2016). 3 Although OSHA's coverage in Delaware extends only to private sector employers and does not include public employers and employees, the federal agency's guidelines are a useful and widely accepted benchmark for assessing the effectiveness of occupational health and safety policies and procedures. The core elements in the OSHA guidelines, outlined below in Figure 1, informed the determination and organization of the key findings and recommendations. Additionally, "advancing the framework for considering the effects of climate change on worker safety and health" provided a climate change specific framework for the policy review. 4 This framework for climate related occupational hazards includes: 1) increased ambient temperature, 2) air pollution, 3) ultra-violet radiation, 4) extreme weather, 5) vector-borne diseases and other biological hazards, 6) industrial transitions and emerging industries, and 7) changes in the built environment.

Methods
The Climate-Ready Workforce Pilot Project included three methodological components to inform the assessment of the five Delaware agencies' readiness for climate change. They were: 1) a thorough review of participating agencies' existing policy documents relevant to employee health and safety in changing climate conditions, 2) key informant interviews with staff responsible for defining or implementing health and safety policies and procedures, and 3) a survey targeted to obtain feedback from at-risk and other staff across the participating agencies.

Policy Review
The participating agencies provided the consultant team with the relevant written policy documents relating to worker health and safety. The consultant team reviewed each document to evaluate assurance of employee health and safety and the applicability of those policies to at-risk workers as climate conditions change. Relevant sections of each policy were highlighted as either good practices or gaps in assuring employee health and safety, and recorded in a policy review matrix.
Good practices were defined as policies that account for worker health and safety in a variety of climate conditions, including extreme heat, cold and severe storms. These policies identify the risks associated with these conditions, explain how to prepare for them, detail the training needed to prepare for and respond to these conditions, provide information on recognizing hazards and/or climate related illness, and/or instruct staff on how to respond to those hazards. Policies were categorized as gaps if they lacked the type and level of information that could be found in policies labeled as good practices. For example, policies could be defined as gaps because they include instructions limited to the care of equipment, or only provide information on reactive actions such as emergency response functions.

Key Informant Interviews
The goal of the interviews was to better understand key informant's thoughts, experiences, and knowledge about the existing safety and health policies and procedures in each agency and the potential impacts of climate change on those policies and procedures. The inter-agency pilot project team identified the key informants and provided their contact information to the consultant team. Key informants are agency staff that were identified by participating divisions as being important actors in the development or implementation of agency health and safety policies. Their insights were used to inform survey development, in order to obtain a broader understanding of issues highlighted during the interviews.
The consultant team reached out to these potential interviewees via email and conducted eleven interviews between December 19, 2016 and February 9, 2017.
Based on availability, the consultant team was able to conduct interviews with representatives from four (DHSS, DNREC, DSHS, and OMB) of the five agencies. Each interview was approximately 45 minutes long, and interviewees included director-level, manager-level, supervisor-level, and technical-level staff. The interview questions focused on familiarity with and the perceived effectiveness of agency health and safety policies, procedures and training; the impact of climate conditions on interviewee's (or their staff's) work, and opportunities for improvement.

Surveys
An employee survey was also conducted to compile a broad range of feedback on agency health and safety policies and procedures from agency staff. The survey was deployed using SurveyMonkey and distributed to staff either via email or on paper depending on whether those staff had access to a computer. Each participating agency selected the employees to take the survey. While the focus was on employees who were considered "at-risk" to changing climate conditions, the agencies also disseminated the survey to staff who are not considered at-risk (e.g., work in offices) at their discretion.
Survey questions focused on staff familiarity with and perceived effectiveness of agency health and safety policies and procedures. Questions included inquiries into whether staff were informed of agency polices, how and by whom; whether they were notified before extreme weather, how and by whom; what the most significant hazards affecting staff work are; and what the most important improvements to make might be.
All electronic and paper survey responses were entered into SurveyMonkey for analysis. The analysis of survey responses was conducted using the SurveyMonkey "Analyze Results" feature, in addition to an agency-specific analysis conducted in Microsoft Excel.

Key Findings
Based on the policy review, key informant interviews, and surveys, the consultant team identified:

Cross-Agency
• The strengths of the overall set of policies and procedures of all five participating agencies in incorporating climate resilience, and • Opportunities for improvement in the overall set of policies and procedures of all five agencies.

For Individual agencies
• What each of the five agencies is doing well in regard to incorporating climate resilience into its worker health and safety policies and procedures, and • What each of the five agencies is not addressing and/or could improve.

Background and Key Concerns
The work environments in which agency staff spend the majority of their work day is an important factor in exposure to climate change-related hazards. The work environments that are subject to the greatest exposure to these hazards include outdoor urban spaces and natural areas as well as vehicles and facilities that are not fully protected from weather.
Thirty percent of survey respondents spend the majority of their work day outdoors in urban or paved work sites, and another 30% spend the greatest part of their work day in an office. The remainder of respondents spend the majority of their work day in a facility that is not fully protected from weather conditions (11%), outdoors in rural or park work sites (8%), or in a vehicle (4%) (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Work Environments in which Survey Respondents Spend the Majority of their Work Day
In terms of climate hazards that affect their work, survey respondents indicated that extreme heat is the greatest concern (71%), followed by extreme cold (68%), severe storms (64%), strong winds (55%), and floods (39%) (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Weather Conditions of Greatest Concern in relation to Survey Respondent
Appropriate adaptation actions can help to reduce the impacts of climate change-related hazards on worker health and safety. While some of these actions may be more explicitly linked to weather and climate hazards (e.g., early warning), in many cases, strengthening the processes related to health and safety policies will enhance worker protection from climate change hazards. The greatest number of respondents (56%) indicated that early warning to take preventive action would be most valuable. A significant number of survey respondents also indicated that the following would be important: policies and procedures that clearly articulate roles, responsibilities and required protective actions, and employees knowing where to find relevant policies, procedures and other information (see Figure 4).

Summary of Findings
Policy Guidance • Addressing gaps in safety and health programs related to climate change is built on the foundation of core safety and health policies and procedures.
• In reviewing health and safety policies across the five agencies we discovered a high degree of variation in detail and implementation of the written policies.
• There is a need to improve clarity and consistency in agency-level policies and incorporate relevant weather and climate factors, including high heat, extreme cold, and vector-borne diseases, into safety and health policies and procedures.

Roles and Responsibilities
• Supervisory leadership was repeatedly rated highly by survey respondents, and many supervisors play a key role in informing workers about the agency's safety and health policies and guidance.
• There is a need for clearly defined agency-wide guidance on roles and responsibilities for leadership and staff, detailing specific actions required for safety and health policy development, implementation, training, and review.

Communications and Training
• Communications and alerts regarding severe weather events varied by agencies, and many surveyed employees reported being unaware of the location of relevant safety and health policy information. However, they also commonly expressed an interest in learning more about existing policies.
• Across the five agencies there is a need to increase communications and training regarding health and safety policies and procedures.

Implementation and Enforcement
• Effective implementation of policies requires a specific action plan with personnel assigned to action steps on a detailed time line.
• There is a need to develop systems for accountability to ensure policies are implemented, and time lines and responsibility are established for solving problems, and updating policies and procedures.
Evaluation and Improvement • Managers are responsible for customizing, writing, and implementing health and safety policies for their staff.
• There appears to be a lack of systems for employee and union involvement across the agencies, and there was no evidence of cross-agency or inter-agency cooperation in developing policies and sharing good practices.
• There is a need to establish an appropriate process for reviewing and updating safety and health policies, engaging staff, eliciting feedback and sharing health and safety information, policies and good practices between and within agencies.

Recommendations
Our review of the impacts of climate change on Delaware state agencies' occupational safety and health policies and procedures reveals important opportunities for improvement. Strengthening the fundamentals of the current policies and procedures by improving processes for policy development, implementation, and enforcement, focusing on gaps specifically related to climate change, and sharing agency good practices are key actions. Establishing a system of safety and health committees that include front line employees will be an important part of creating an ongoing process of management commitment and employee involvement to achieve continuous improvement of policies and procedures. In so doing, Delaware will provide a model of leadership on addressing the occupational safety and health impacts of climate change on employee well-being.
To help inform next steps in state agencies' efforts to take advantage of identified opportunities for improvement and integrate climate change considerations into worker health and safety policies, the consultant team developed a set of recommendations.
Policy Guidance • Develop detailed agency occupational safety and health policies in recognition of the higher occurrence of extreme weather events. These policies should: • Address thermal stress, working in hot and cold environments, • Include detailed procedures, Describe: • The signs and symptoms of health effects, • Employer provided equipment and clothing, • Preventive actions such as hydration and response actions related to first aid procedures, and mandatory training, early warning and communications.
• Use and reference relevant national and industry guidelines and standards in developing the above polices such as the NIOSH Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot Environments, 5  • Require development of Emergency Action Plans that set forth site-specific emergency and disaster plans (preparation for responding to floods, other extreme weather events, air pollution, and the mental health impacts of exposure to traumatic events and fatigue).
• Develop policies, procedures, information, and training on biological exposures certain field employees are likely to encounter such as Lyme Disease. Other biological exposures that may be of concern include Zika, Histoplasmosis, and mold.
• Convene an inter-agency working group to identify shared concerns and opportunities to develop policies, procedures or supporting materials (e.g., factsheets describing hazards) that may be used across agencies. Seek to leverage an existing inter-agency mechanism.

Roles and Responsibilities
• Ensure that policies clearly state that staff who are assigned safety responsibilities are adequately trained and have access to necessary resources and equipment.

Communications and Training
• Develop and implement a consistent method and process to provide early warning for at-risk employees to take action in extreme conditions based on established, clearly articulated thresholds as well as reminders of the appropriate protective actions.
• Include training on the impacts of climate change, and designate an individual to integrate the information into decision-making processes.
• Provide additional information and training such as factsheets with photos of potential threats (e.g., ticks) and training on hazard specific safety and health control policies.
• Create a regular schedule to update all staff about health and safety policies and procedures.
• Ensure that safety and health policies, standards and guidelines are posted in a visible and highly trafficked area, and that employees are aware of where they are posted.

Implementation and Enforcement
• Establish systems for accountability to ensure policies are implemented, and timelines and responsibility are established for solving problems and updating policies and procedures.
• Promote monitoring and accountability by: o Tracking incidents, and o Ensuring staff are aware of and implement relevant health and safety policies and procedures.
Evaluation and Improvement • Create a system of safety and health committees to provide an ongoing process for employee participation and management leadership.
• Create a regular schedule to review and update safety and health policies.
• Create a product evaluation committee and process that is charged with incorporating risk evaluation information provided by relevant staff and selecting protective clothing, PPE, and other safety equipment.

Conclusion
The State of Delaware has already taken important steps to characterize changing climate conditions and identify potential opportunities to integrate climate considerations more explicitly into existing policies in order to safeguard the health and well-being of the State's most valuable asset, its workers. The findings from this project will be used to inform the next steps that the state should take with regard to health, safety and climate change.
Climate change does and will continue to affect all agencies' workers and operation. Looking forward and thinking about how health and safety policies and procedures address climate change is important to build resilience in the state as well as protect our workers.
Participating State agencies now have an opportunity to leverage and share their experiences and lessons learned as well as use the results of the Pilot Project to more explicitly incorporate climate considerations into existing health and safety policies and improve relevant processes.