Spatial patterns of the variability of native residentsin a transitional society: The case of the Czech Republic

Abstract

Currently, the native residents of a country are an important social phenomenon. Although extensive mobility challenges the bonds between places and their inhabitants, biographies of native residents are less often based in several spatial contexts because they are born and raised in a specific place and live there for their entire lives. This absence of residential mobility has important consequences for the ways native residents relate to their ‘home places’ and how they build local attachments. Using data from the Czech Republic, the main objective of this paper is to explore and analyse recent developments in the structure of native residents. The objects of analysis are the municipalities of the Czech Republic, and aggregate census data are used for the purpose of analysis. Spatial and non-spatial approaches to the analysis showed significant changes in the structure of native residents, revealing statistically significant spatial patterns. In general, the residents of Czech municipalities demonstrate levels of co-residence or ‘mixing’ in a significant way in recent years. Thus, further research into matters such as spatial belonging, attachment and identity should also take into account the influence of mobility.