The Current Challenges and Future Alternatives of Supplying Remote Areas with Basic Goods: The Case Study of Idrijsko-Cerkljansko Region, Slovenia

Abstract

The accessibility of services of general interest (shops, post offices, banks etc.) in rural hinterlands is decreasing and villages that once supplied areas with services are losing their functions in the central settlements’ network. According to the current analytical framework the key challenges of supply are people’s dependence on car transportation, lack of village shops and other basic services, and e-services replacing location-based services. This paper examines the current dynamics of the supply of basic goods in the Idrijsko-Cerkljansko region of Slovenia. Using mixed methods approach, the paper covers a historical overview of service provision by a field survey and historical analysis, as well as an analysis of demand and supply, done via an online questionnaire. The aim of the paper is to combine the findings into a proposal for an optimized alternative supply network integrating good practices such as linking providers, promoting local products and reopening of village shops.

Keywords

• services of general interest
• rural areas
• accessibility
• basic goods
• central places
• centrality
• retail geography
• integration