Establishing a system of indicators for measuring performance development of cities

Mesta predstavljajo gonilno silo razvoja v gospodarskem, družbenem in kulturnem življenju in so odraz prostorske organizacije človeške družbe. Današnja globalna mesta imajo pred seboj nove izzive, saj niso več samozadostna, temveč vpeta v širše, globalno dogajanje. Nadalje so mesta oz. strateške mestne regije vse bolj pomemben akter v globalni ekonomiji, pr čemer se vpliv nacionalnih držav manjša, vpliv mest in mestnih regij pa narašča. Proces globalizacije se odraža v vse večji težnji po doseganju konkurenčnosti mest in izkoristkih globalnih trendov. Prostorski in organizacijski učinki globalizacije se na nivoju mest kažejo v koncentraciji finančnih in ostalih specializiranih storitev, deindustrializaciji, spremembi rabe tal ter naraščajočem pomenu informacijsko komunikacijskih tehnologij Zadnjih dvesto let civilizacije obsežno definira raznolikost vizij o mestih. Naše razmerje z mestom sega tako na področje okolja, kakor tudi ekonomije in kakovosti življenja. Tehnologija, globalizacija in naraščajoča kompleksnost življenja postavljajo mesta v središče gospodarske razvitosti in družbenega napredka. Mesta tako postajajo središča inovacij, globalizacije, urbanizacije, znanstvenih odkritij in generacije širjenja informacij, obenem pa po »naravni konstrukciji«, optimalna družbena enota za implementacijo sprememb in izboljšanja življenja ljudi. Sicer majhna, ker razpolagajo z zadostno povezanostjo skupnosti za odobritev in sprejem novih programov, a hkrati zadosti velika za prikaz demonstrativnih učinkov predstavljajo glasnike prihodnosti v smislu: »spremeni mesta, spremeni svet«. Dejavniki uspešnosti posameznih evropskih mest se med seboj razlikujejo, vendar imajo kljub različnosti tudi skupen imenovalec. Vsa mesta so se pri reševanju raznolike problematike v raznovrstnih okoljih opredelila za pet ključnih strateških korakov: oblikovanje vizije in strategije mesta, izgrajevanje zaupanja v mesto, vzpostavljanje partnerstev, pritegnitev specifičnih dejavnikov in izvedbo ključnih projektov. Ob upoštevanju dejstva, da postajajo prav mesta generator gospodarskega napredka in vir rasti nacionalnega gospodarstva, se poraja potreba po prepoznavanju stopnje razvoja in pregledu nad rangiranjem in umeščenostjo razvojne stopnje mesta in regije oz. prepoznavanje stopnje kategorizacije, od katere je odvisna priprava ustreznih strateških in razvojnih smernic mesta in urbane regije. Da bi jih lahko primerjali med seboj po stopnji njihove razvojne uspešnosti, se je izoblikovala potreba po razvoju indikatorjev oz. skupine le-teh, ki merijo uspešnost mest, reprezentativnih in primerljivih med posameznimi državami in njihovo rigoroznostjo, ki omogoča verifikacijo tudi drugim. Upoštevajoč to nujnost, obstaja danes mnogo različnih indikatorjev mest oz. urbanih indikatorjev in veliko institucij, ki si prizadevajo za kompilacijo in analizo tovrstnih podatkov. Tudi sistemi merjenja uspešnosti, razviti za lastne potrebe, v nekaterih mestih že izkazujejo določeno stopnjo izvedljivosti merjenja. Temeljni problem pa predstavljajo njihova nestandardiziranost, nekonsistentnost in neprimerljivost (časovno in med različnimi primerjanimi mesti), odobriti pa jim tudi ne moremo uporabe v širšem okviru (benchmark) primerjalnih situacij. Teoretična izhodišča in nabor indikatorjev mednarodnih institucij kot nosilcev merjenja se največkrat nanašajo na kontekst primerjave globalnih mest, kar je v sklopu držav, ki jih opredeljuje npr. veliko število prebivalcev, razumljivo, pričakovano in smiselno. Posledično se moramo na primeru preučevanja srednje velikih mest vprašati o uporabnosti metodologije in indikatorjev, ki jih največkrat na primerih velikih, globalnih mest uporabljajo mednarodno priznane institucije. Cities represent the driving force of development in economic, social and cultural life and reflect the spatial organization of human society. Today's global cities have new challenges ahead, they are no longer self-sufficient, but embedded in broader, global developments. Furthermore, the city or strategic urban regions are becoming increasingly important players in the global economy, as the impact of national states decreases while the impact of cities and urban regions is increasing. The process of globalization is reflected in the tendency for gaining competitiveness and efficiencies of global trends. Spatial and organizational effects of globalization show the concentration of financial and other specialized services in cities, deindustrialization, land use change and the importance of information and communication technologies. The last two hundred years of civilization defines an extensive variety of city visions. Our relationship with the city extends towards the environment, as well as the economy and quality of life. Technology, globalization and the growing complexity of life set cities in the center of economic development and social progress. Cities are becoming centers of innovation, globalization, urbanization, scientific discoveries and dissemination of information and by the “natural structure” on the other hand also an optimal social unit to implement change and improve people's lives. Although small, because they posses sufficient community cohesion for approval and adoption of new programs, yet large enough to display demonstration effects they represent messengers of the future in terms of »change cities, change the world«. Success factors of individual European cities differ, however, despite differences, they have a common denominator. All cities have to solve a variety of problems in a variety of environments by identification of five key strategic steps: developing a vision and strategy, building confidence in the city, establishing partnerships, attracting specific factors and implementing key projects. Taking into account the fact that cities are becoming the generator of economic development and a source of growth for the national economy, the need to identify the development stage and the oversight of ranking and positioning of cities and regions (the level of categorization), upon which the preparation of appropriate strategic and development guidelines for cities and urban regions can take place, is emerging. In order to be able to compare the level of their development efficiency, the need for setting up adequate indicators, which measure the performance of cities, are representative, comparable between countries and allow verification to others, is arising. Considering this necessity, at the present many different urban indicators and institutions, seeking compilation and analysis of collected data, can be quoted. Performance measurement systems, developed for internal use in some cities already show a degree of measurement feasibility. The fundamental problem represents their inconsistency and incomparability (over time and between cities), their use therefore cannot be approved in a wider context (benchmark) of situations. Theoretical background and set of indicators, composed by international institutions are usually related to the context of the global cities' comparison, in national framework identified by a large number of people understandable, expected and reasonable. Upon the case of medium-sized cities we consequently have to question about the applicability of the methodology and indicators, which are used mostly in cases of large, global cities by internationally recognized institutions.