Josef KUNC a kolektivVšechna práva vyhrazena. Žádná část této elektronické knihy nesmí být reprodukována nebo šířena v papírové, elektronické či jiné podobě bez předchozího písemného souhlasu vykonavatele majetkových práv k dílu, kterého je možno kontaktovat na adrese -Nakladatelství Masarykovy univerzity, Žerotínovo náměstí 9, 601 77 Brno.

Abstract

One of the basic transformation processes of the period since 1989 has been that of demilitarisation. Among other things, one of its consequences is the emergence of abandoned military buildings and areas -so-called military brownfields. These kinds of brownfields have a large number of specific features to which their subsequent revitalisation must necessarily be adapted. Since a large number of these areas are situated within municipalities or are directly adjacent to them, it is essential for their revitalisation to be approached with great sensitivity. This contribution deals with chosen examples of Czech revitalised post-military areas with a special view to their residential function, which is presently their dominant functional use.key wordS: military brownfield, revitalisation, residential function, Czech Republic

Weak and ineffective regulation of the gambling market in the Czech Republic during the past 20 years, despite the large growth in gambling, has led to inadequate prevention and response to problem gambling which has become a considerable public health, social and political issue.

After the fall of the Iron Curtain, CEE cities (as well as other cities in the former Socialist Bloc) experienced dynamic development in many areas. The presented article deals with one of the key areas of the post-socialist transformation of the city, specifically the humanisation of mass housing in large housing estates. These housing estates from the central planning period still dominate the skyline of many CEE towns. At the beginning of the 1990s, housing estates suffered from a number of shortcomings that needed to be put right within the frame of their humanisation. The paper analyses a more than two decade-long process of housing estate humanisation which gradually led to the replacement of the monofunctional (strictly residential) model with a multifunctional model. This leads to improvement of civic amenities, implementation of new urban-architectural solutions and the creation of new job opportunities. As a result, these changes increase the quality of life in housing estates, both from an objective and subjective point of view. Changes in the spatial, social, economic and physical structure of housing estates after 1989 will be analysed using examples from hierarchically different locations in the Czech Republic. The synthesis of findings will be supplemented with the results of empirical studies that were carried out by geographers, sociologists and urban planners.

No abstract

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.

The transformation of Czech economy after 1989 brought many substantial changes. Gradually, new organizational, institutional and legal frameworks were shaped for the operation of a market mechanism. Similar to a number of other branches, the construction industry transformed significantly. The first half of the 1990 was marked by the restructuring, privatization and subsequent internationalization, which continued in the second half of the decade. Opening of the market towards the west, and the internationalization have brought many innovations. They can be seen for example in the application of new technologies or the implementation of modern building materials. A typical example of these innovations is the boom in construction of low-energy houses. The paper also deals with the gradual change in the residential construction, characterized by the gradual departure from state directives in residential construction, to institutional support of entrepreneurship, to highly integrated residential development.This paper was elaborated under the project GA AV ČR IAA301670901 „Časoprostorová organizace denních urbánních systémů: analýza a hodnocení vybraných procesů“ and project IGA UP PrF_2011_006 „Krajina jako geosystém: změny v časové a prostorové struktuře a jejich hlavní mechanismy“ funded by the Faculty of Science, Palacký University in Olomouc, Czech Republic.