The Government approved the Decision on the Composition of the Zagreb Urban Area at its meeting last week, establishing an independent urban area of Velika Gorica. The new composition of the Zagreb Urban Area covers 24 local self-governing units, compared to the 30 local self-governing units that were previously included: 11 towns and 19 municipalities.
The composition of the larger urban area of Velika Gorica includes seven local self-governing units: the towns of Velika Gorica and Ivanić-Grad, and the municipalities of Krva, Orle, Pisarovina, Pokupsko, and Rugvica. The initiative for Ivanić-Grad and several other towns not previously part of any ITU centre was to become one, with the proposal that Ivanić-Grad become part of the future ITU centre of Velika Gorica.
The mayor of Ivanić-Grad, Jovan Bojan Leš, stated that the ITU mechanism makes it much easier to initiate projects, as there is no need for extensive preparatory work as is the case when drawing funds from EU funds. He stated that the inclusion of Ivanić-Grad in the new urban area of Velika Gorica is of great importance for the further development of the town, estimating that the ITU mechanism will make between three and four million euros available to Ivanić-Grad for the financing of its own development projects.
The Minister of Regional Development and European Union Funds, Nataša Mikulić, stated that the conditions for the establishment of the new independent urban area of Velika Gorica had been met in accordance with the provisions of the new Law. She added that, based on the consent of the representative body of the City of Ivanić-Grad, it was proposed that it be included in this urban area.
The representative bodies of the City of Velika Gorica, as well as the municipalities of Krva, Orle, Pisarovina, Pokupsko, and Rugvica, have adopted decisions to withdraw from the scope of the Zagreb Urban Area. The Zagreb Urban Area was established in 2016 on the basis of the then-current Law on Regional Development of the Republic of Croatia.
The new composition of the Zagreb Urban Area includes the cities of Zagreb, Donja Stubica, Dugo Selo, Jastrebarsko, Oroslavje, Samobor, Sveta Nedelja, Sveti Ivan Zelina, Zabok, and Zaprešić, as well as the municipalities of Bistra, Brckovljani, Brdovec, Dubravica, Gornja Stubica, Jakove, Klinča Sela, Luka, Marija Bistrica, Marija Gorica, Pušća, Stubičke Toplice, Stupnik, and Veliko Trgovište.
The establishment of urban areas is prescribed to ensure the effective planning, coordination, and implementation of sustainable urban development. Urban areas are established as the urban areas of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, and Osijek, as well as larger urban areas with more than 35,000 inhabitants that are not included in the urban agglomerations, and smaller urban areas with fewer than 35,000 inhabitants, the central settlements of which have more than 10,000 inhabitants or are the seats of counties.
