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The urban environment's inaccessibility to persons with disabilities is one of the crucial aspects of social discrimination. The paper explores the physical barriers that power wheelchair users encounter while moving around Zagreb, specifically in parts of the following neighbourhoods: Gornji grad (Upper Town)-Medveščak; Donji grad (Lower Town); and Trnje. The aforementioned neighbourhoods encompass a total surface area of 4.31 km2. A participatory approach was applied in the research, whereby wheelchair users were included in the part of the research where navigability of the streets was assessed and the barriers which made moving difficult or impossible were also assessed and mapped. Based on the conducted research, accessibility maps were created and a corresponding interactive GIS map was uploaded online. The results showed that, in the researched areas, power wheelchair users were not able to navigate 22% of total pavement length and 16% of pedestrian crossings by themselves; and they required the assistance of more than one person in order to navigate 19% of pavement length and 9% of pedestrian crossings. The most common barriers include inadequate pavements, kerbs and stairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses premigratory disposition among high school graduates in Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, and Osijek based on results of empirical research carried out in 2014. A representative sample of 1,830 students (844 male and 986 female) was made by using a probabilistic two-step cluster sampling model, stratified by the type of school and the city where the school is located. The data were processed using the statistical analytical program SPSS 20. The average age of respondents was 18.85, 54.6% attended vocational schools and 45.4% attended gymnasia. The research showed that almost half of the students intended to leave Croatia to continue their education or seek employment. A statistically significant difference was determined according to gender, type of school attended, and city of residence. Furthermore, a correlation between socioeconomic status, family completeness, and religiosity, among students with a lower premigratory disposition, was also determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with spatial analysis of catchment areas of the public primary schools in the City of Zagreb. Spatial analysis was based on data gathered from city administration bodies and the Croatian Bureau of Statistics. These data were collected in a database, i.e. mapped, processed, and visualised using GIS applications. This paper shows that catchment areas defined by the Decree on Primary Schools Network in the Area of the City of Zagreb in 2007 cross borders of City districts, statistical settlements, borders between counties, and are discontinuous and intertwined. A significant amount of house numbers, pertaining to specific catchment areas, extends beyond the 600 meters recommended by the City General Urban Plan. It was found that average and maximum distances of pertaining house numbers from primary schools also extend beyond the 600 meters. Buffers made based on primary school addresses and overlaid with land use data layers in the City of Zagreb indicate the quality of school surroundings and potential threats in their neighbourhoods. Analysis showed significant differences of land use in school surroundings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the morphological structure of an area (morphogenesis) is the outcome of numerous interconnected natural, social (anthropogenic, socio-geographical) and perceptive factors. These factors are visibly reflected in the morphology of an area in some way, so they can be read from it. Certain socio-graphical factors (and their changes) that have influenced the design and physiognomy of the current morphological structure of Dubrava are emphasized in this paper. Dubrava is the boundary area situated on the eastern outskirts of Zagreb. Its functional, demographical and morphological features, as well as the development of those features, have many similarities with those in other edging parts of the town, but on the other hand, Dubrava is characterized by processes and phenomena that are more pronounced in Dubrava than elsewhere in the town. Since the Middle Ages, especially over the period of the last eighty years or so, during which the so-called "narrow" centre of Dubrava has appeared and spread, specific dual morphological structure has been formed. This structure consists of both dispersed villages in the northern, north-eastern and south-eastern parts of Dubrava, whose nucleus originated in the Medieval period, and the area of recent development of "narrow" Dubrava with compactly constructed urban tissue. However, regarding the physiognomic-morphological implications, the latter is not homogenous as well -- there are clearly visible areas of the planned and the areas of unplanned, illegal construction. The aims of this paper are: to offer systematic overview and classification of factors that effect the morphogenesis of a certain area, and, by using diachronical analysis, description, and the comparative method as well as the cartographic technique (the working method of research, to explain how some socio-geographical factors (historical development, administrative and territorial division, planning and building regulations) have influenced the appearance and the development of the heterogeneous morphological structure of Dubrava. The example of the morphogenesis of "narrow" Dubrava indicates the interdependence of the analyzed factors. It also points out the early appearance of unplanned construction -- the phenomenon that is widespread in such a manner that it makes Dubrava one of the most unordered parts of Zagreb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper discusses suburbanization and quality of life in Bistra municipality in western part of Zagreb socio-economic region. Research is primarily based on questionnaire survey (systematic random sample). Main indicators are advantages, disadvantages and future development of municipality as seen by local population. Results have shown that Bistra municipality is representative example of suburbanization in Zagreb green belt. Residential suburbanization, dynamic demographic growth during 1990's and strong dependency on Zagreb have been recognized as main trends. Local population perceives unspoilt environment as the single most important quality of life in their municipality. Lack and inadequacy of communal infrastructure is considered to be the main disadvantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]