The social dimension of the sustainability of urban areas in Croatia: a study of the Zagreb Urban Agglomeration

The paper explores a quantitative framework for assessing the social dimension of sustainability of urban areas in Croatia that were established under the mechanism of Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI). A total of 34 indicators were analyzed in a sample of ten ITI urban areas. The factor analysis revealed seven factors that represent important aspects of the social dimension of sustainability: (1) social vulnerability; (2) housing transformation; (3) intensity of civic activities; (4) demographic utilization of residential space for housing; (5) ’studentification’; (6) demographic and educational capital; and (7) the need to expand the capacity of preschool infrastructure. The factor scores are used to compare the results of the analysis of the social dimension of sustainability and to identify spatial patterns and differences within and between urban areas. The research results are interpreted using the example of the Zagreb Urban Agglomeration, Croatia's largest urban area. The existence of pronounced spatial-functional differences between the central and peripheral parts of the urban area was confirmed, which is in line with previous studies. The quantitative framework enables an understanding of the spatial patterns of complex social relations within urban areas.