Jan Kubeš

Biocentres and corridors in a cultural landscape. A critical assessment of the ‘territorial system of ecological stability’

Abstract The concept of ‘Territorial Systems of Ecological Stability’ (TSES) was developed in Czechoslovakia in the mid-1980s. The methodology involves designing TSESs as systems of biocentres and biotic migration corridors hierarchically arranged within biogeographical units. This article describes the experience gained while applying the methodology in the Czech Republic. Particular attention is given to the importance for TSES of the category of ‘natural vegetation’ and to functions of corridors with regard to their shape and the possibilities of their establishment in the central European cultural landscape. Implications for corridor design from the Landscape Ecology literature are reviewed.

European post-socialist cities and their near hinterland in intra-urban geography literature

Over 180 articles concerning urban geography aspects of European post-socialist cities and their near hinterland, published between 1990–2012 in international journals, were selected for the analysis in this paper. Statistics of articles by journals, analysed cities (and their countries) and authors proves the preponderance of research on post-socialist Central European capitals, especially Berlin, Prague and Budapest, followed by Leipzig and Łódź, as well as Moscow and Tallinn. It also proves that the number of domestic authors and those who moved from post-socialist Europe to Western universities gradually increased, while the number of authors from the West decreased. The analysis of representations of article topics, their explanations and justifications were carried out in the second part of the paper. The most frequent article topics include ‘social spatial structure of the city and its transformation’, followed by ‘urban planning and management in the city’ and ’suburbanisation and urban sprawl in the near hinterland of the city’. A smaller number of articles refers to ‘physical spatial structure of the city and its transformation’, ‘housing structure in urban neighbourhoods in connection with changes in housing policy and market’ and ‘functional spatial structure of the city and its transformation’. Indexes of the articles are part of this paper.

What attracts people to inner city areas? The cases of two post-socialist cities in Estonia and the Czech Republic

Since the 1990s the inner city residential areas of CEE post-socialist cities have experienced substantial physical and social transformation. Previous studies have recorded a gradual rehabilitation of inner city housing stock and the displacement of lower status groups by middle and higher social status residents, but they have also shown that diverse social groups continue to live in the inner city. The scholarly emphasis on identifying the macro-scale factors that influence inner city change has resulted in a lack of studies considering micro-scale processes. We therefore herein attempt to address this gap in the literature by providing qualitative insight into the drivers of inner city dynamics at the level of the individual actors concerned. Our study is based on an investigation of two second-tier cities: Tartu in Estonia and České Budějovice in the Czech Republic. We found that, besides supply side factors which emphasise the conditions of urban spatial fabric, relocations to inner cities can best be explained by a combination of household socio-economic, life course and lifestyle factors. We also provide a typology of relocators to post-socialist inner cities, based on our findings.

GEOGRAPHY OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DIFFERENTIATION OF POLAND ACCORDING TO SUBREGIONS IN 2002-2014

The paper focuses on the territorial differentiation of socio-economic development of Poland between the years 2002-2014 and on geographic patterns of this differentiation at the level of Polish subregions (NUTS 3). Nine partial indicators entering the composite indicator and also the average base index are applied. The analysis of the socio-economic development of the subregions along the directional east-west gradient, rural-urban concentric gradients (around big cities) and the sub-bands of subregions along the border of Poland with the surrounding countries is used to explain the observed differentiation. Polish subregions underwent considerable development between 2002 and 2014, but the territorial differentiation of their development changed only partially. The big Polish cities and also their suburban subregions have the best position of all; the worst are still the rural subregions of eastern Poland and the inner peripheries of Poland. The directional east-west gradient, the rural-urban concentric gradients, as well as the higher development of subregions along the German, Czech and sea borders were confirmed.

Analysis of Regulation of Residential Suburbanisation in Hinterland of Post-socialist ‘One Hundred Thousands’ City of České Budějovice

Abstract Residential suburbanisation is currently the most important urbanisation process transforming metropolitan areas in European post-socialist countries, especially in Central Europe and at Baltic states. The paper compares the statements of the mayors of the suburban municipalities situated in the hinterland of the city of České Budějovice (a one-hundred-thousand city in the South-West of the Czech Republic) and also the local building officials, spatial planning ofcials and experts regarding the recent, currently on-going and upcoming construction of houses in the suburbs and the regulation of these constructions. Further, it discusses the possibilities of influencing the construction of the houses through the spatial plans of municipalities, settlement zones, and metropolitan areas. The interviewed mayors consider, rather uncritically, the recent large construction of houses in their suburbs in general as appropriate. One third of the mayors, however, do not want any further suburban development of this kind. Spatial planning officials and building officials do not have sufficiently powerful tools to influence the extent of the construction and the designs of houses in the individual suburban municipalities and their suburbs. Some of them, together with the experts, support the reintroduction of the metropolitan area spatial plan.