Citizens are increasingly becoming an important source of geographic information, sometimes entering domains that had until recently been the exclusive realm of authoritative agencies. This activity has a very diverse character as it can, amongst other things, be active or passive, involve spatial or aspatial data and the data provided can be variable in terms of key attributes such as format, description and quality. Unsurprisingly, therefore, there are a variety of terms used to describe data arising from citizens. In this article, the expressions used to describe citizen sensing of geographic information are reviewed and their use over time explored, prior to categorizing them and highlighting key issues in the current state of the subject. The latter involved a review of ~100 Internet sites with particular focus on their thematic topic, the nature of the data and issues such as incentives for contributors. This review suggests that most sites involve active rather than passive contribution, with citizens typically motivated by the desire to aid a worthy cause, often receiving little training. As such, this article provides a snapshot of the role of citizens in crowdsourcing geographic information and a guide to the current status of this rapidly emerging and evolving subject.

This paper discusses how the structure of urban public open space is created and interpreted in the mental image of its users in the case of Ljubljana, Slovenia. It reveals how spatially continuous urban open space is physically interconnected into the overall spatial structure of the city and how it is defined by a variety of the built form components. The question is how such space is present in the mental image of users and whether and how such space is structured into sub-units by its users. The paper aims to establish what its dimensions are, how it is divided into separate units at a mental level, and what the perceived hierarchical relations between such units are, in terms of spatial, functional and intangible characteristics of space that conditions this perception. It is argued that both the overall spatial structure of the city and its constituent components play an important role in how users conceptualize urban open public space.

Ljubljana was the first post-socialist city awarded with the title European Green Capital. The title awarded by the European Commission is given to a city that is achieving high environmental standards, is setting ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development, and can act as a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices to all other European cities. The article is based on a hypothesis that at the moment when Ljubljana applied for (and was awarded) the European Green Capital title, it had strong strategic spatial planning and successful territorial governance, as well as the interweaving of both. To prove the hypothesis, the timetable and characteristics of the strategic spatial planning and territorial governance in Ljubljana are presented in this article and critically evaluated. Critical evaluation and analyses are also assessed using a qualitative research method, i.e., semi-structured in-depth interviews among experts from four professional fields including spatial planning, urbanism, architecture, and management. The results confirmed the hypothesis: Ljubljana’s sustainability-oriented strategic spatial plan prepared by a variety of stakeholders, experts, and citizens, as well as the effective governance system established by the mayor, a manager by profession, were two factors that coincided at a crucial moment. This was recognized by the European Commission and Ljubljana was awarded a prestigious title. Ljubljana can therefore serve as an excellent sustainable example for other post-socialist cities in terms of strategic spatial planning and governance.

Interests of young people are neither often well considered in public spaces nor in decisions about the environment around them. One of the most important achievements of growing from childhood to adulthood is the development of one’s own social life and increasing one’s autonomy, which also means a widening of one’s spatial range of action. Despite these spatial needs and benefits for their own development, teenagers are often treated with suspicion in public spaces. One will often find them in large groups, standing around, chatting loudly with one another or playing around. Spatial needs, appropriation and practices, on the one side, and social norms, on the other side, do not necessarily match. In an inclusive city, spatial consumption and production is part of a dialogue with citizens, including vulnerable, “undesirable” and marginalized groups, in order to guarantee them not only the access to public spaces, but also their involvement in planning and decision-making processes. Studies show that young people have a great potential to bring unique insights to the built environment. This chapter explores the potential of young people to be involved in placemaking, reflecting on challenges facing such involvement and taking into account the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Backed by studies in Cork, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Stockholm and Volos, it addresses the question how to use placemaking to change the city into a more inclusive and responsive environment for young people. These cases demonstrate that placemaking can be used as a tool for engaging young people in the decision-making process about their city and local environment, collating evidence-based research on the relationship between young people and public spaces.