Shrinking of cities in the Czech Republic and its reflection on society: Case study of Karviná City

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.

Urban Population Growth and Job Opportunities: The Case of Albania

“…Depopulation is also associated with economic slowdowns or recessions, because of the lack orfe migration of young people who are potential local leaders, founders, and managers of new businesses (Headey & Hodge, 2009; see also Maestas, Mullen, & Powell, 2016). It may lead to a downward spiral as the departure of young and skilled people determines an economic downward downturn that is associated with high unemployment, lack of security and criminality, and social problems (Šerý, Svobodová, Šilhan, & Szczyrba, 2017).…”

Urban Shrinkage and Sustainability: Assessing the Nexus between Population Density, Urban Structures and Urban Sustainability

“…[2,81]). The dominant policy strategy was to attract investment and to turn the economic decline into economic growth hoping it would stabilize and eventually create new population growth [12,82], even though the cause of population decline consisted of several factors, including drop in fertility in whole post-socialist countries [9]. In this context, such policy reaction does not seem adequate and is unlikely to be successful [15].…”

“…Moreover, residential segregation can be considered to be the cause and effect of shrinkage (cf. [82]).…”

Does urban shrinkage require urban policy? The case of a post-industrial region in Poland

“…The development of many Eastern and Central European regions at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries is characterized by a noticeable demographic decline. In some countries such as Bulgaria, (East) Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Latvia, it is strongly supraregional and not limited to individual administrative regions (Eurostat, 2016a;Großmann et al, 2008;Mladenov et al, 2008;Mykhnenko & Turok, 2008;Oswalt & Rieniets, 2006;Runge, 2008;Stryjakiewicz, 2014;Šerý et al, 2018). In most of these countries, the decline in the urban population was a new phenomenon.…”

“…Transformation in the cities of Śląskie Voivodeship is characterized by both positive and negative features. Should the depopulation process and the urban policy that does not follow it be seen only negatively in the transforming post-socialist state (e.g., Buček & Bleha, 2013;Šerý et al, 2018)? Answers to these questions were particularly important at the end of 2010 when the functional features of the region changed radically (Krzysztofik et al, 2016;, as well as the situation in the labour market.…”