Published on and written by Cyril Jarnias
Long relegated to the sidelines of major European debates on sustainable cities, Slovenia is now catching up at high speed. Between ambitious national strategies, major transport projects, vast public housing programs, and industrial brownfield redevelopments, the country stands at a pivotal moment in its urban history. Behind the preserved façades of Ljubljana, Maribor, Celje, Koper, Nova Gorica, and Kranj, a new geography of development is emerging, blending ecological transition, digital innovation, and social ambition.
To understand the future of urban development in Slovenia, one must connect three levels: the national strategic framework, the major infrastructure investments reshaping the country, and the local operations carried out city by city in housing, mobility, brownfields, economic zones, and public spaces.
A National Strategic Framework in Full Transition
If Slovenia is accelerating today, it’s no accident. In just a few years, the state has equipped itself with a suite of strategic documents that set a very clear course for its cities.
The Slovenian Spatial Development Strategy 2050 is now the compass for public action. Adopted by the National Assembly in 2023, it promotes a polycentric development model: not a single dominant center, but a hierarchical network of cities and regional centers, connected by efficient transport and a national-scale “green infrastructure” system. The stated dual objective is to: reduce regional disparities and avoid urban sprawl that encroaches on agricultural land and natural spaces.
In practice, this strategy imposes several key cross-cutting principles that influence current and future urban projects:
– prioritize the redevelopment of brownfields and already-urbanized spaces over opening new land (following a logic of “circular land management” and limiting land sealing);
– integrate urban development with public transport provision to reduce the need for motorized travel;
– systematically integrate climate, biodiversity, water management, and natural risks into planning decisions;
– encourage mixed-use (housing, employment, services) at the neighborhood scale.
The national strategy identifies major challenges (demographic aging, housing crisis, energy transition, digitalization, vulnerability to floods). Following the events of August 2023, a law was passed to modify planning regulations and facilitate reconstruction and flood and landslide protection works.
€117 Million for Integrated Urban Renovation
For the 2014‑2020 period, €117 million were earmarked for urban renovation in urban municipalities via the European mechanism of Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI). In the new programming period, this approach continues, with increased focus on projects combining energy transition, housing, sustainable mobility, and public spaces.
Simultaneously, the National Transport Program and the Transport Development Strategy until 2030 lay the groundwork for massive and continuous investment in infrastructure, estimated at €600 to €700 million per year, to which an additional roughly €300 million annually in private and concessional long-term investment would be added.
The Infrastructure Turn: Rail, Road, and Ports
It’s difficult to talk about urban development in Slovenia without mentioning the major infrastructure projects that shape both the attractiveness of cities and the form of their expansions.
The New Rail Backbone to the Port of Koper
The flagship project is unquestionably the second Koper–Divača railway line, the country’s largest rail project. This new 27-kilometer line, featuring numerous tunnels and viaducts, is set to increase capacity from 90 to 212 trains per day, enabling the transport of up to 37 million tons of goods annually between the port and its hinterland. The updated cost is approximately €1.172 billion (excluding VAT).
The client, the public company 2TDK, has entrusted the heavy construction work to a consortium comprising the Slovenian company Kolektor CPG and two Turkish groups. Another team, led by SŽ-Železniško gradbeno podjetje and several Slovenian firms, is handling the final phase of railway equipment installation.
The announced completion of the line will change the scale of the Port of Koper, the country’s only maritime port, already capable of handling over 24 million tons of cargo and more than one million containers (TEU) per year. The strengthened connection to the hinterland (Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, Germany, the Balkans) solidifies Koper’s role as a gateway to Central Europe.
This is the amount, in millions of euros, of the port investment plan scheduled between 2021 and 2030.
Cities Reconnected to Rail
Beyond the coastal area, Slovenia is also reconfiguring its major internal lines. Several operations are underway or planned:
– major renovation of the Maribor–Šentilj section, with a new track, tunnel (Pekel), and viaduct (Pesnica), to increase capacity from 63 to 84 trains per day;
– improvement of the Ljubljana–Sežana line, with grade-separated crossings, substations, and automatic signaling;
– modernization of the Pragersko railway junction and the Ljubljana junction, including the reconfiguration of the main station and the creation of a major intermodal hub.
These investments are part of the European core TEN‑T network, crossing Slovenia via the Baltic-Adriatic and Mediterranean corridors. They aim at both international freight and improving passenger services, with hourly scheduling on the Ljubljana-Celje-Maribor axis, strengthened regional and suburban connections around the capital, and integrated ticketing and fares.
Highways, the Third Development Axis, and Alternative Mobility
On the road side, the country continues modernizing its network, notably through the continuation of the north‑south Third Development Axis, the second tube of the Karavanke Tunnel, and the rehabilitation of a national network where around half the road surfaces were considered in very poor condition circa 2015. The highway operator DARS already manages 746 km of expressways, while the DRSI agency maintains nearly 6,000 km of national roads, and municipalities over 32,000 km of local roads.
But the effort is no longer focused solely on cars. National strategic documents plan for the deployment of Park and Ride facilities, infrastructure for alternative fuels (electricity, gas, hydrogen), intelligent transport systems, and the promotion of scheduled timetables for both buses and trains. In Ljubljana, a major regional program proposes 38 P+R hubs, express bus lines, rail modernization, and a structured cycling network.
The Smart City as the Backbone of Projects
Digitalization also permeates all Slovenian urban projects. Driven by the SiMOS (Intelligent City) consortium, the country’s 11 urban municipalities have decided to coordinate their initiatives to build a common digital ecosystem.
The stated goal is to deploy Urban Digital Platforms allowing for the aggregation of data and services, while making the administration more accessible and transparent. The focus areas are clear: user-centered online services, open data, mobility integration, multifunctional urban cards, and real-time management of public space (traffic, parking, energy, environment).
Examples of Leading Cities
In Ljubljana, a tender has been launched for an urban digital platform, supported by a brand new Department of Digitalization. The capital targets 12,000 public employees and around 300,000 residents as potential users and plans to use this tool to orchestrate its policies on mobility, energy, water management, and citizen participation.
Amount in euros of the funding for the digital platform deployed in Kranj to connect urban services and measure various environmental indicators.
In Celje, a project for a central data platform, city map, and parking management system aims to aggregate all mobility services (CeleBUS buses, KolesCE bikes, the national IJPP pass…) and broadcast real-time parking space availability. Total budget: just over €1.37 million, with the stated ambition of reducing 363 tons of CO₂ per year through better management of traffic flows.
The city of Maribor has developed and launched an open data portal, accessible at mobilnost.maribor.si. This portal aggregates various information related to sustainable mobility, such as transport data, bike counts, air quality, and travel habits. Developed in phases for a total cost of about €33,000, it now serves as a foundation for other municipal digital projects.
In the urban areas of Nova Gorica and Novo mesto, a shared urban card (“Sitium”) is being tested to digitize a wide spectrum of public services (parking, culture, sports, libraries…), funded via a public-private partnership of about €100,000.
Finally, the port city of Koper is modernizing its access management system for the historic center with a new traffic administration platform, integrated with barrier control and traffic sensors. Project cost: approximately €40,000 excluding VAT.
All these local initiatives fit within a national Digital Slovenia 2030 strategy, which aims to elevate the country to the top tier of the European ranking for digital society, with a marked emphasis on inclusion, cybersecurity, AI, and smart cities.
Housing: Social Urgency and New Public Tools
The housing crisis does not spare Slovenia. Rapidly rising prices, especially in Ljubljana and on the coast, combined with insufficient new construction, have weakened housing access for households. The figures are telling: the number of building permits issued for housing fell by over 10% in 2024, new home sales dropped, while prices for existing homes continued to climb (over 11% median increase for apartments in 2024, and over 12% in Ljubljana).
Faced with this reality, the state and local authorities have rapidly evolved their public policy levers.
A Strengthened Housing Fund
The Housing Fund of the Republic of Slovenia (HFRS), established in 1991, plays a central role. Already the owner of over 3,000 non-profit rental units and nearly 800 cost-rental units, it also controls, via its subsidiaries, about 2,000 additional apartments. In total, the public rental portfolio is significant but still considered very insufficient.
A study conducted by PwC for the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) estimated the need for rental housing at about 49,000 units, plus over 3,000 student housing places, representing an investment deficit close to €4.7 billion.
The government has secured an annual flow of €100 million from 2025 to 2035 for the construction of public rental housing.
This ramping-up adds to the support from the CEB, which has already granted loans of €50 million (2018/2019) then €70 million (2021) to the Fund, and to the commitment of the European Investment Bank (EIB) via its Action Plan for Affordable and Sustainable Housing and the HousingTechEU initiative (€400 million at the European scale).
The government has set a political target: 20,000 new public rental units in ten years. The Fund already has a pipeline of 1,950 units and announced the delivery of 2,194 new public apartments by 2023 – proof that the production machinery is gradually restarting after a decade marked by very low state budgetary involvement (only €15 million committed to public housing between 2015 and 2022).
New Regulatory Framework
The Housing Act has regulated non-profit rents at a low level since 2006, with significant subsidies. The ongoing reform plans a progressive increase in these rents, offset by the creation of a maintenance allowance that can reach up to €2/m² for the oldest buildings (€0.50/m² for newer ones) to fund maintenance and energy renovation. The state will now cover subsidies for public rental housing, with municipalities focusing on support for the private market.
A new law limits short-term rentals to 60 days per year in apartment buildings and 150 days in single-family or two-family houses. The city of Ljubljana plans to further restrict these rentals outside the summer season to combat the housing crisis, thus prioritizing the needs of permanent residents, despite potential legal challenges from property owners.
Finally, a property tax reform is under study, with an annual tax around 1.45% of the estimated value of the property (excluding primary residences, which would be exempt). One of the stated purposes is to discourage speculative purchases and long-term vacant housing.
Ljubljana, a Laboratory for Affordable Housing
The capital is home to numerous emblematic projects. On the periphery, neighborhoods like Jelšin gaj (Trnovo), “Verižne hiše Vič”, “ILOVŠKIH 6” (Rudnik), or “Flats on the Green Bank” (Moste‑Polje) illustrate the rise of townhouse, duplex, or small apartment complex developments, often targeting a middle class seeking greenery and space.
Several major, structuring rental housing projects are currently in preparation in Ljubljana, ranging from large-scale neighborhoods to innovative housing models.
A new neighborhood comprising 361 rental units and an underground parking garage.
A project for 97 rental units.
An eight-story elliptical building housing 64 apartments.
Innovative housing models promoted by the municipality.
Private actors are also providing large-scale responses. Entrepreneur Ivo Boscarol is developing, near the BTC shopping center, a residential zone with 1,000 affordable homes, heavily landscaped and integrated into the large Šmartinska urban project led by the municipality. Slovak developer Corwin is transforming several brownfield sites to build about 1,600 homes in the next decade, including the Kvartet complex (four 15-story towers) already under construction in the Šiška district.
In this context, the construction model is also gaining importance: the use of modular and prefabricated construction, via companies like Karmod, is becoming common in suburban rings to reduce costs and timelines.
Redevelopment and Major Urban Projects: A New Way of Building Cities
Beyond housing, the most significant Slovenian urban projects revolve around the redevelopment of large sites, often industrial or railway lands, and the creation of new mixed-use hubs.
Ljubljana: Emonika, a Transport Hub and a Redesigned Skyline
The most emblematic project is undoubtedly the new Ljubljana passenger hub, a gigantic operation estimated at over €1 billion. Key features: new railway and bus stations, a shopping center, offices, hotels, housing, and a complete redevelopment of the area.
At the heart of the scheme, the Emonika project covers about 90,000 m² and will host, among other things, the city’s tallest tower. The main investor, Hungarian bank OTP, is investing some €350 million here. The whole complex fits into a series of flagship projects around the station: the 24-story residential tower led by Corwin, the Vilharia office building presented as the country’s “greenest,” and projects by the Corwin-Hartenberg duo on Masarykova and Linhartova, set to combine offices, hotels, retail, and services.
Further north, the BTC shopping center is becoming a true smart city lab: circulation of autonomous vehicles, detectors and sensors for energy management, a startup incubator (ABC Accelerator), real estate projects integrating advanced home automation and digital management.
The city is also investing in cultural and sports facilities: the transformation of the old Rog bicycle factory into a creative center, the rehabilitation of Cukrarna into a major contemporary art gallery, the creation of Cukrarna Palace as a youth center, the construction of a large sports center with pools near Tivoli Park, and the creation of a large congress hall at the exhibition center.
Celje: Healing Industrial Scars
In Celje, the country’s third city, the central urban challenge is the redevelopment of the “Stara Cinkarna” site, a 17-hectare (30 ha including surroundings) metallurgical-chemical brownfield on the bank of the Hudinja River, adjacent to the historic center. After over a century of operation by Cinkarna Celje, the soil and groundwater are heavily contaminated with heavy metals (cadmium, lead, zinc, arsenic…) and hydrocarbons.
A municipality, owner of the site since 2002, has conducted extensive scientific work including geostatistical mapping of pollution and hydrogeological monitoring. It tested three remediation techniques: immobilization using paper ash, cold recycling using cemented asphalt mixes, and capping with substrates based on compost and zeolite. Results indicate that a soil-ash composite in a 3:1 ratio produces an inert material usable for dikes or embankments, and that the substrates applied to polluted soils allow for surface-level uses to be considered.
This experimentation phase has led to a strategic action plan, which notably includes:
– the rehabilitation and reurbanization of the site, with an international urban planning competition already launched;
– the updating and publication of a GIS database on soil pollution at the urban area scale;
– the creation of a contaminated soil treatment center for their stabilization and reuse.
The constraints are strong: interventions minimizing soil disturbance, limitation of vegetation and water bodies that could remobilize pollutants, preservation of certain buildings (historical archives), consideration of railway reorganization projects. But the land potential is considerable: ultimately, it could be developed for housing (including student and senior housing), offices, commercial activities, and public spaces, in a neighborhood connected to the center by soft mobility modes.
In parallel, Celje is developing the Trnovlje-South business zone as part of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. On 15.6 hectares (of which 6.3 are still buildable), the municipality is investing over €2.2 million (€1.3 million from European funds) to equip the zone with roads, utilities, green spaces, and rest areas with charging stations, aiming for 50% of new floor space to be occupied within three years. A second business park on Bežigrajska cesta complements this strategy of strengthening the local economic fabric.
Maribor: Reinventing Brownfields and Circularity
In Maribor, the former industrial capital of eastern Slovenia, the city is betting on the conversion of old complexes and the transition to a circular economy.
The former men’s prison at Pobreška 20 in Maribor, a 16,000 m² star-shaped building vacant since 1964, is at the heart of a redevelopment project. Within the URBACT “2nd Chance” network, the city co-developed a strategy to turn it into a “green creative oasis,” integrating cultural spaces, artisan workshops, coworking, services, and green spaces. Student workshops imagined various scenarios, such as a modular “House of Boxes,” a cultural and commercial center connected to the nearby Europark center, and new pedestrian crossings to open up the site.
In the short term, the goal is to open the northern part, owned by the municipality, to temporary uses: exhibitions on Maribor’s textile heritage, artists’ studios, an incubator for cultural and creative industries, managed by a cooperative or association. In the long term, about 40% of the space would be dedicated to permanent cultural activities, the rest to mixed functions.
Another major focus: the Wcycle program, led by the Wcycle Institute Maribor, which aims to treat all waste streams, construction site soil, waste heat, and wastewater as resources in a circular logic. This seven-pillar approach (municipal waste, excavated soil, renewable heat, sustainable mobility, recycled water, sustainable land management, cooperative economy) earned the city a Future of Cities Award and European funding (€3 million) for the Urban Soil 4 Food project, dedicated to the reuse of urban soil and local agriculture.
Regarding public spaces, Maribor has undertaken the complete renovation of the Lent riverfront over two hectares, with new paving, planting, street furniture, performance spaces for the festival of the same name, playgrounds, and lighting. Along the Pekrski potok stream, the city is experimenting, via the European UPSURGE project, with nature-based solutions: a 500-meter green corridor, pocket gardens, “mobile forest,” riverbank renaturalization to increase floodwater retention. 216 trees have already been planted, each tracked via an interactive map.
Finally, Maribor carried out a massive energy renovation of 24 public buildings (schools, gyms, kindergartens) via a public-private partnership in 2019: €12 million invested, nearly 6,000 MWh of energy saved annually, 1,305 tons of CO₂ avoided, and €446,000 less in energy costs.
Nova Gorica – Gorizia: A European Capital of Culture as an Urban Lever
On the Italian border, the Nova Gorica – Gorizia duo embodies another way of city-making: through culture and cross-border cooperation. Joint winners of the European Capital of Culture 2025 title with the GO! 2025 project, the two cities are working to transform this fragmented territory into a true binational metropolis.
The former border zone, symbolized by Europe Square (Trg Evrope / Piazza Transalpina), is undergoing conversion. Once marked by a wall and barbed wire, it is becoming a large shared public space. The project includes a one-kilometer urban green belt linking the railway station, a railway warehouse, and the Slovenian and Italian city centers, following the principles of the New European Bauhaus: sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion.
Several structuring urban planning actions accompany this rich cultural program (over 140 events):
– a cross-border cycling loop linking the two urban centers, surrounding villages, and major facilities, at an estimated cost of €1.2 million between 2025 and 2028;
– car-free cultural days, with temporary pedestrianization of key streets and squares, budget of about €150,000;
– a digital mobility and accessibility tool (€250,000), to provide real-time information, multimodal route planning, and accessibility features;
– the harmonization of public transport between Slovenian (NOMAGO) and Italian (APT Gorizia) operators, including fare and schedule integration, at an estimated cost of €600,000;
– tactical urbanism projects with modest costs (€80,000) to test, with residents, new public space configurations.
Added to this is a flagship project, the EPICentre, a museum-narrative about life on the border, finally located in renovated old railway warehouses. This set of interventions is part of a broader strategy, with a sustainable urban mobility plan, a 2030 urban agenda, and a joint cultural strategy 2020‑2030.
Koper: A Port City Under Pressure
In Koper, the port expansion and construction of the new railway line will mechanically intensify goods and truck flows. The city must manage a delicate balance between economic development and quality of life.
Spatial analysis already shows a concentration of port functions east of the historic center, while urban functions stretch along an east-northeast / west-southwest axis. Quay extension projects, new reclaimed land, a sediment deposit site at Ankaran bonifika, and an external road terminal reinforce this polarity, but the municipality tries to maintain spaces for dialogue with residents, notably via the “Živeti s pristaniščem” (“Living with the Port”) platform.
Simultaneously, interventions in the old center (pedestrianization, parking management, public space rehabilitation) and the digitalization of access management to the historic core aim for a more livable city, despite the growing logistical footprint.
Mid-sized Cities in Transition: Mobility, Employment, Public Spaces
Beyond the major projects, many mid-sized Slovenian cities are deploying more targeted, yet revealing projects of a fundamental evolution.
Several Slovenian cities are deploying specific digital and social strategies: Kranj focuses on smart city and sustainable mobility; Novo mesto and Nova Gorica on urban cards and service digitization; Velenje on a digital transformation strategy; Ptuj on a climate roadmap. In Celje, a “SOCIO POINT” in the old town aims to integrate long-term unemployed people through personalized support, collective workshops, and “Work is fun” events to connect job seekers, companies, and institutions.
These initiatives reflect a new way of conceiving social cohesion as an integral dimension of urban projects: revitalizing a center is no longer just about repaving or attracting cafes; it’s also about creating local services, inclusion mechanisms, and social mediation spaces.
Market Logic, Taxation, and Regulation: Urbanization Under Scrutiny
Economically, Slovenia is experiencing a period of strong real estate tension. In 2024, the residential market saw a drop of over 20% in the number of transactions (8,124 homes sold), but prices continued to rise: nearly 12% more for existing apartments, with median values reaching €4,510/m² in Ljubljana and €4,320/m² in the coastal zone. The median price for single-family homes climbed over 17% in one year.
The use of mortgage credit is increasing: 16.3% of households were homeowners with a mortgage in 2024 (compared to 10.8% in 2015), and the outstanding housing loan balance equates to about 12.9% of GDP. Interest rates, raised by the ECB and then lowered again, remain around 3% for new loans.
This is the percentage increase in new construction costs in Slovenia between 2021 and 2024, one of the factors behind declining confidence in the sector.
To avoid a bubble and contain speculation, the state is relying on several levers: the future property tax, the reform of non-profit rents, regulation of tourist rentals, accelerated procedures for eviction due to serious non-payment, but also favorable taxation for social housing construction (VAT reduced to 9.5%) and rental income depreciation mechanisms.
Slovenian Urbanization Still Relatively Low, but Growing
A final contextual element illuminates the trajectory ahead. Slovenia remains, on a European scale, a less urbanized country: less than half the population lives in cities in the strict sense, and UN projections see this rate rising only to about 61% by 2050. The only two large, dense cities are Ljubljana and Maribor; elsewhere, small semi-rural municipalities dominate, often financially constrained.
This situation presents a double-edged sword. On one hand, it carries the risk of fragmenting action, slowing major projects, and accentuating territorial inequalities. On the other, it represents an opportunity to promote a more compact, green, and balanced urbanization, leveraging the network of medium and small towns to spread innovation, instead of concentrating everything in the capital.
The Spatial Development Strategy 2050, transport plans, the strengthening of the Housing Fund, and the smart city dynamic suggest a Slovenian urban landscape undergoing profound recomposition. Between brownfield reclamation, multimodal hubs, affordable neighborhoods, cross-border green belts, expanded ports, and digital platforms, the upcoming urban development projects in Slovenia sketch a landscape where ecological, social, and digital transition plays out first and foremost in the form its cities will take.
Long-term success depends on the country’s ability to maintain sustained coordination and funding despite budgetary constraints and to involve citizens in decisive choices for their future quality of life. This capacity will determine whether Slovenia transforms its current initiatives into a genuine shift in its urban model.
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Cyril Jarnias is an independent expert in international wealth management with over 20 years of experience. As an expatriate himself, he is dedicated to helping individuals and business leaders build, protect, and pass on their wealth with complete peace of mind.
On his website, cyriljarnias.com, he shares his expertise on international real estate, offshore company formation, and expatriation.
Thanks to his expertise, he offers sound advice to optimize his clients' wealth management. Cyril Jarnias is also recognized for his appearances in many prestigious media outlets such as BFM Business, les Français de l’étranger, Le Figaro, Les Echos, and Mieux vivre votre argent, where he shares his knowledge and know-how in wealth management.
