URBACT in

Slovakia

Slovakia comprises of a polycentric network of 138 cities. Ten largest cities have more than 50,000 inhabitants. Morphological givens are an important factor for territorial development in Slovakia. Cities are usually located in basins along rivers and main transport axes.

URBACT - Slovenská republika

Slovakia comprises of a polycentric network of 138 cities. Ten largest cities have more than 50,000 inhabitants. Morphological givens are an important factor for territorial development in Slovakia. Cities are usually located in basins along rivers and main transport axes.

Cities currently provide housing for more than 54% of the population and make a significant contribution to the economic development of the whole country. Most of them are micro‑regional centres. Regional city centres (Bratislava, Trnava, Trenčín, Žilina, Banská Bystrica, Nitra, Prešov and Košice) act as centres of economic, public and commercial services of larger areas.

Despite the even distribution of cities in Slovakia there are geographical differences. Most of the country’s economic activities are concentrated in the western part, in the area around the capital, Bratislava:

More than 90% of the housing stock is privately owned;
There is an insufficient supply of affordable rental housing;
Dense network of cities enables to combine rural qualities and provisions of city services;
E-government development as the condition for introducing of smart city concept.

Webpages of six of the eight Regional Centres: