EFFECTIVE URBAN DENSITY AS ECOLOGICAL NECESSITY OF CITY DEVELOPMENT IN SLOVAKIA

The study evaluates the current state of application of sustainable city development principles in Slovakia. It focuses to the analyses of master plans, key tools for controlling the urban development, of selected cities. This study emphasis evaluation of density regulation methods, rate of area usage of selected cities, its build up areas, as well as they proposed development areas. One of the goals of this study is an analysis of the ratio between expected exploitation of free or transformable areas inside the cities to expected usage of "new areas" outside the city. This paper also evaluates application of indicators of land use intensity, which define the future density of urban structures in the observed master plans, in the scope of international theory and praxes. Master plans of selected cities were used to evaluate the range of development areas and capacities of urban structures.