The regional identity of inhabitants in typologically different regions, which differ

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This contribution deals with the issue that has been somewhat neglected in Czech geography so far. It is the issue of perception of borders in the context of the extent of population’s regional identity. The study attempts to assess this phenomenon in regions with significantly different historical development with regard to continuity or discontinuity of the settlement tradition. Two model regions have been selected, the Jeseník region, where the population was almost completely replaced after the World War II, and the Valašské Klobouky region, where the population remained autochthonous after the war. There appears to be a clear difference in the nature of the results.

The article is focused on the phenomenon of regional identity and its relationship with processes of socio-historical development. The objective is to compare the regional identities of the inhabitants of two typologically specific regions located in Czechia. These regions’ specific characteristics are defined by dramatic interruptions in their development that occurred during the twentieth century. The existing regional identity of the inhabitants was assessed with regard to the role of the regions based on four principles used in the process of identity construction. Primary empirical data was obtained via questionnaire and subjected to further comparative analysis. In its conclusion, the article notes that the regional identities of the inhabitants of regions that experienced a discontinuity in their socio-historical development can vary considerably. In our conclusions, we augment the existing knowledge concerning the forms that the regional identities of inhabitants can take in regions with interrupted continuity in their development.

The contribution informs about the phenomenon of regional identity. One is able to see the importance of the regional identity for example as an useful tool for creating regional strategies or as ability to shape the individual's position in time and space. The issue of regional identity emerged in Western geography approximately in the 1970s. However, its position in Czech human geography is not embedded sufficiently up to now. The main goal of the study is to evaluate the development of the research of regional identity in Czech human geography.Key words: identity, region, historic land, research, perception, Czech Republic REGIONALNA IDENTITETA IN NJEN ODSEV V ČEŠKI DRUŽBENI GEOGRAFIJI IzvlečekPrispevek obravnava pojav, imenovan 'regionalna identiteta'. Na njen velik pomen kaže uporabnost tega orodja pri oblikovanju regionalnih strategij ali pri oblikovanju posameznikovega položaja v prostoru in času. Pojem se je v zahodni geografiji pojavil približno v 70. letih prejšnjega stoletja, a se doslej v češki družbeni geografiji še ni dovolj uveljavil. Glavni namen članka je ovrednotenje dosedanjega razvoja preučevanja regionalne identitete v češki družbeni geografiji.

Gambling is a specific type of economic activity that significantly affects many aspects of society. It is associated mainly with negative impacts on the lives of individuals and their families, but it also has a positive economic impact on the public budgets of states, regions and municipalities. In this article, we focus on a geographic assessment of the development of gambling in the Czech Republic, which is based on a spatial analysis of data on licensed games and data on the revenues of municipalities arising from gambling. It turns out that the occurrence of gambling is strongly influenced by binary centre/periphery dichotomy, with the exception of the Czech-Austrian and Czech-German border areas which are characterised by a high concentration of casinos resulting from more rigid regulation of gambling on the other side of the border. In this research, the authors develop an innovative scientific discipline within Czech human geography: The geography of gambling.

A comprehensive understanding of the assessment of an urban space by its residents is viewed as one of the most in demand approaches within the endogenous strategies of urban space planning. As a rule, this process only leads to the identification of topophilic or topophobic places. What is lacking is the identification and interpretation of places that may contain both topophobic and topophilic meanings. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to explore, analyse, and compare ambivalently perceived places within an urban environment. Methodologically, the paper stems from the perception of space. More specifically, the phenomenon of mental maps is elaborated on. The analysis proves the ambivalent perception of selected places in the town under study (Šternberk, the Czech Republic), which points, to the complexity of human perception that characterises each community. Two synthetic maps based on four follow-up methodical procedures are provided, accompanied by two analytical maps.