SPECTRA

The main objective is to concentrate on novel approaches to strategic planning in all relevant levels of decision making respecting challenges streaming from the complexity and uncertainty in particular in global environmental changes and urban governance and on trans-disciplinary research in the field of institutional, behavioural and ecological economics.

This Centre concentrates the capacities working on the topic of smart urban development with special focus on smart land-use and smart structures for urban development.

Urban safety as an environmental quality - addresses not only physical but also psychological importance of safety for humans in the urban environment. In recent project URBAN SAFETY AS ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, developed in the collaboration with Government council for Crime Prevention and District authority in Trenčín, a unique methodology for the assessment of urban safety with special focus on environmental safety in Slovak conditions is currently being designed in the whole complexity.

The SPECTRA Centre of Excellence - China focuses on the advancement of knowledge, capacity building and promotion of sustainable cities in China, framing scientific, technical, financial and institutional collaboration in relevant areas of knowledge and sustainable planning and development management.

Short video-bulletin about SPECTRA Centre of Excellence 

Maroš Finka

president of Association of European Schools of Planning, professor of Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia and at Shanghai Jiao Tong Univerisity, China, Expert of UN Habitat III and Ministry for Investment, Regional Development and Innovations of SR, director of SPECTRA Centre of Excellence of th EU at STU in Bratislava.

The Central European Research and Training Centre SPECTRA-PERSEUS grows and develops its research activities, based on interdisciplinary research of the issues of complex spatial development, with the emphasis on the problems of development of the settlement structures. Their optimisation and ensuring of sustainable spatial development are basic preconditions for balanced, environmentally bearable social and economic development.

The Centre with its activities contributes to economic, social and cultural integration in Europe. By permanent research and proposals of the solutions for optimisation of spatial structures of settlements it helps to meet the objectives of sustainable spatial development, management and planning as well as to balancing regional disparities, improving quality of life and strengthening of social equity in Europe.

There is a long and rich tradition and history in the research of spatial development in Bratislava, represented before all by the Faculty of Architecture STU and the URBION Institute. URBION, already in the times of the former CSSR, belonged to the outstanding research units in the field of urbanism and town and country planning which can be proved by missions of its professionals in the countries of Europe, Africa and Central America. Many of its staff collaborated with the FA STU, thus strengthening its research potential.