The Spatial Development Potential of Škale and Velenje Lakes.

The research area is the strip of narrow lake land surrounding Velenje and Škale Lakes (in the Northeast Sub-alpine part of Slovenia) which has different potentials that provide opportunities for sustainable development. The primary research goal was to create digital cartographic materials; current land use was displayed (updated in October, 2014 and February, 2015), and land use/land cover categories were created using GIS. An evaluation of the integrated assessment of the landscape’s visual aesthetic qualities was also made, followed by a questionnaire survey. Furthermore, the range of options to complement and improve existing proposals for the continued use of the lakes' banks, the direct hinterland of the lakes, and the surfaces of Škale and Velenje Lake, was established. Some ideas were in line with sustainable use - applying a natural concept, and some proposals were results of imaginative brainstorming. Finally, we proposed some spatial development scenarios for the area researched by the models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]