Potentials of Croatian karst periphery from the point of view of students from the University of Zagreb

Abstract

Lagging behind in economic and demographic development has been one of the fundamental features of Croatian peripheral karst areas for a long time. For that reason, the main research goal of this paper was to analyse attitudes of students from the University of Zagreb regarding the revitalisation potential for Croatian peripheral karst areas. A questionnaire survey was conducted using quota sampling, whereby 490 students were included. Th e willingness of respondents to return or move to peripheral karst areas was examined, as well as the association between the respondents' stated willingness and connection to these areas by place of birth or origin. Furthermore, economic activities that respondents saw as crucial to the revitalisation processes of karst problem areas were identifi ed. Respondents' views on the possible future development of peripheral karst areas were also analysed. Th e results point to multi-faceted views of the area. A low level of willingness to return or move to peripheral karst areas on the part of the respondents was determined, whereby respondents, who were linked with peripheral karst areas by birthplace or origin, considered moving or returning to these areas signifi cantly more. Rural tourism and organic agriculture were seen as the most important economic activities in the process of revitalisation. Regional self-government units and central state government were defi ned by respondents as most important actors in the process of revitalisation. Finally, respondents' predictions about the future of peripheral karst areas were predominantly negative.

Tourism in a Peripheral Setting: A Case Study of Farm Tourism Development in Lika, Croatia

“…This research focuses on farm tourism in Lika, a historical/geographical region in the area of Mountainous Croatia. Lika has largely been considered a part of the Croatian (rural) periphery, due to its geographic position at a relative distance from and between Croatia's important urban centres (Zagreb, Rijeka, and Zadar), a lack of its own regional centre, socio-economic underdevelopment, depopulation and unfavourable population composition, and prevailing rural characteristics (Pejnović, 2004;Nejašmić et al, 2018). Lika-Senj County is the contemporary namesake, which chiefly corresponds to historical Lika.…”

“…The debate is still far from specifying indicators that would best define peripherality and help reach a shared understanding of the concept (Steinführer et al, 2016;Salvatore et al, 2018;De Toni et al, 2021). The definition of the periphery and peripheralisation (the way peripheries are (re)produced) largely depends on the standpoint from which it is regarded as a social and spatial phenomenon, and the spatial and temporal contexts in which 142/216 peripherality is researched or even created (Miggelbrink and Meyer, 2015; Plüschke-Altof, 2016; Nejašmić et al, 2018;Willett and Lang, 2018). As noted by Willett and Lang (2018), two main responses to 'the question of why peripheries become or remain peripheral' (p. 258) are linked to structural approaches drawing on economic and governance themes on one hand, and approaches that draw on critical theories and philosophies emphasising how spaces are discursively produced, on the other.…”

The Influence of Urban Functions of Sisak and Petrinja on the Transformation and Gravitational Orientation of the Outlying Settlement of Mošćenica

“…U agrarnom društvu glavninu stanovništva pojedinih naselja činilo je autohtono stanovništvo, što se mijenja zahvaljujući industrijalizaciji i urbanizaciji. Iako je 1961. godine udio doseljenika u Mošćenici (57,2%) bio znatno veći od prosjeka urbanizirane okolice (40,4%), još uvijek nisu bili ispunjeni kriteriji da bi se radilo o naselju doseljeničkog tipa, za što udio doseljenika u ukupnom stanovništvu treba iznositi najmanje 66,6%(Nejašmić, 1994.). Kao rezultat prostornog širenja urbanih funkcija, u mnogim je naseljima do 1991. godine stupanj autohtonosti smanjen, a to upućuje na usmjeravanje doseljavanja prema naseljima okolice.…”