No abstract

Modern shopping centers of the "West-European" type have existed in the Czech and Slovak republics since 1997 and 2000, respectively, i.e. for less than two decades. Despite this rather short period they have become synonymous with the most significant transformations both in shopping behaviour and in the more generally understood patterns of social and cultural behavior of all population groups (entertainment and leisure time utilization). This article compares similarities and differences in the temporal, spatial and functional structures of shopping centers in two countries that had, until 1993, developed for seventy years as a single state, and which have demonstrated significant similarities in their economies, cultures and societies even after the separation.

The shrinking of cities is a process that accompanies cities in post-conjunctural changes, when they are entering a phase of economic decline and the decline in population connected with it.The Ostrava-Karviná area is one of the economically problematic regions in the Czech Republic nowadays but it used to be ranked as one of the economic heartlands in the period of socialism. The region, dependent on bituminous coal mining and heavy industry, gradually began to decline after the year 1989 and one of the consequences is a significant decline in its population. This paper deals with identification of the causes and consequences of shrinking cities explained through the example of the town of Karviná through an analysis of quantitative data, questionnaire surveys, and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire survey revealed that the main reason causing the departure of young and educated citizens is the lack of work opportunities. High unemployment and thus the presence of many socially disadvantaged people causes the atmosphere in the city to deteriorate, and this is accompanied by social problems, such as ageing of the population or criminality. Lack of safety of citizens and a bad environment are other reasons why young people leave the city. The decreasing number of citizens closes the vicious circle by leading to a lower demand for services, closing of shops and other services and increasing numbers of empty houses and flats. Another essential part of the paper is the question of possible measures by the local authority leading to the elimination of these undesirable phenomena, but also the belief in the necessity of help from the government.

ABSTRACT:The definition and delimitation of metropolitan areas has been the focus of many geographers and other specialists for quite a few decades. The complexity and diversity of the methods and techniques used, and the differing attitudes of those working in this area have brought considerably different, and often controversial, results. The EU has introduced a tool, Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI), to support study in this area by motivating EU member states to define their metropolitan areas. This article will introduce the methodological approaches related to the functional integration of regional units and to inter-regional relations, used with ITI to delimit the metropolitan areas in two large cities, Brno (monocentric system) and Ostrava (polycentric system), and will compare the results with those achieved using our own method. Through a comparison of the results this article will examine the efficacy of the methods previously used and their possible transferability to studies of metropolitan areas with completely different settlement systems. Finally, this article will consider whether a unification of previously fragmented approaches is possible.

The aim of this paper is to introduce basic developmental consequences, changes, trends and the current situation in amenities through retail and commercial services in the rural areas of the Czech Republic. The example illustrated herein is the South Moravian Region. Methodically, the text is built on previous survey (2002), and on our own survey conducted in municipalities up to 3,000 inhabitants of the South Moravian Region in 2018 (n = 355). There are semi-structured interviews (n = 18) that link back to these surveys. The data obtained was processed by the methods of statistical and graphical analysis, comparison, interpretation and synthesis. The paper concludes that since 2002, commercial amenities have experienced remarkably negative development. The smaller municipalities in the periphery have encountered the greatest decline, but stagnation is also seen in the suburban areas of Brno. From among types of commercial amenities, the ones most weakened were specialized shops, which could no longer compete with large retail chains. Almost a fourth of municipalities support commercial trade and services, mainly through subsidies or lowered rent. The regions also provide subsidies. Even simplifying red tape or providing tax relief on the part of the public sector would support civic amenities. Another key may be retaining young and educated people in municipalities where they will live and work. Contributing to this could be not only developing infrastructure in municipalities, but also for example the next wave of digitalization and introduction of stable, high-speed Internet service in rural areas.