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The literature on cross-border cooperation in Europe is predominated by the analysis of the European Union (EU) INTERREG Programmes' results, while other support funds are often neglected. To fill this research gap, the authors undertook the research on cross-border cooperation of the area-based partnerships (Local Action Groups – LAGs) from Poland and the Czech Republic, financed by the Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) 2014–2020. The main purpose of our paper is to identify the rationales for cooperation, strategies to find partners, the scope of activities and obstacles in implementing the joint projects. The qualitative research involved a content analysis of LAG documents and interviews with LAG managers. The actions in twelve identified cooperation projects were mainly related to local traditions, inventory and the promotion of local products and services, the development of tourism and environmental issues. The respondents have emphasised that these actions required separate financing by national RDPs following different administrative rules, even though when constituting the components of a single project. The bureaucratic restrictions resulted in a clear asymmetry of LAGs activities, manifested in a lower involvement of the Czech LAGs. As a result, many projects can be considered as highly unilateral, solely national rather than genuinely international, which has not been the intention of the LAG managers, however. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flood maps are a crucial component of integrated flood risk management. While their key role is commonly acknowledged by experts and scholars, however, literature and findings on the practical utilization of flood maps (including the user' experiences) within the processes of governance are scarce. Our study aims to contribute to closing this gap; by focusing on the Czech local government bodies, data collected through a questionnaire survey allowed us to examine (a) how, or whether at all, the officials employ flood maps in their agendas; (b) how do they experience and assess working with the maps; and (c) which data would they supplement the extant flood maps by. Our findings show that the praxis of local flood-related governance in the Czech Republic still largely neglects the up-to-date approaches and practices of flood risk management. The officials addressed mostly continue to rely on the earliest type of floodplain maps and purely technical aspects of floods, while largely omitting the newer flood danger and risk maps; thus, they are also missing the opportunities of applying multi-criteria assessment of the flood risk and more effective communication with the public. The paper concludes with a set of suggestions for relevant praxis and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper intervenes in current discussions within post-phenomenological geography. It analyzes the movement of people with visual impairments in order to develop an approach to post-phenomenology that emphasizes the in-betweenness of bodies in motion. Our perspective differs from phenomenological (and humanistic) geographies and from post-phenomenological geographies that are rooted in object-oriented ontology. They both rely on the differentiation between space and place, accept pointillism, treat places as points in space, time as exclusively chronological, and bodies as beings, not becomings. We analyze data from interviews with people with visual impairments. We first consider their movement through the perspective of humanistic (particularly phenomenological) geography. After acknowledging the limits of this approach, we turn to our actualized conception of post-phenomenological geography, which draws on Deleuze's concepts of movement, path, refrain, and involuntary memory. With this conceptual repertoire, we go beyond the space-place dichotomy and highlight the in-betweenness and virtuality of movement. We explore difference-producing repetitions, which are constituted through refraining into paths. Our approach conceptualizing movement as "refraining into paths" is instrumental to studying the movement of people with visual impairment: It helps to dispute ableism, and it enriches the current discussion about post-phenomenological geography in its insistence on relations and becoming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selected traits of the spatial organisation of a geographical environment which stem from two types of human behaviour (locational and interactive) are examined in this paper. An attempt is made to find and account for similarities in the spatial patterns of scalar and vector geographical data. In doing so, the paper analyses a core-periphery dichotomy, based on socio-economic information, and travel-to-work patterns. The paper uses the concept of a region as an integrating and focusing framework for the study. Formal regions (peripheral areas) are defined through the application of principal components analysis and cluster analysis; functional regions are defined by a standard rule-based regionalisation algorithm. The territory of the Czech Republic is used as an area for testing the basic hypotheses. The results show that there is some form of interrelationship and complementarity between the spatial distribution of scalar data and vector data, i.e. between spatial structure and spatial interaction patterns, which together form the spatial organisation of a geographical environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many changes to social behaviours in Europe. One of its major consequences was the temporary closure of borders, which was introduced as a measure to prevent the uncontrolled pandemic spreading and involved internal Schengen borders. This has had a major impact in the way in which cross-border cooperation has been conducted in Europe, including the Czech-Polish borderland, as it dramatically restrained all flows across borders. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of the pandemic on five roles of cross-border cooperation: 1) as a multi-level governance form; 2) as a regional development tool; 3) as a para-diplomacy form; 4) as a post-conflict reconciliation tool; and 5) as Europe-building. We argue that the impacts of the pandemic complicated regional development and the Europe-building role of cross-border cooperation in the Czech-Polish borderland. The article envisages re-bordering processes also in the Czech-Polish borderland, but with important exceptions in the regions with a high level of cross-border integration, mainly in the Euroregion Těšínské Slezsko/Śląsk Cieszyński. The paper also calls for the elaboration of the guidelines for possible repeated (Schengen) border closures and proposes modifications of the INTERREG microprojects schemes, to keep them attractive also in times of expected cuts in public finances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very few researchers have focused on the question of: if and to what extent, regional economic disparities affect military base closures. In this paper, we aim to explain regional patterns of military base closures in the Czech Republic, a country that has experienced a sharp decline in military employment and expenditures since the beginning of 1990s. Three groups of predictors of closure were considered: local (size, age, location and hierarchical position of the military base); regional (wages, unemployment, city size, the initial level of militarisation of the district); and national-level predictors (geostrategic priorities and restructuring of the Czech Armed Forces). Our research is informed by the theory of public choice and its application to the decision-making processes concerning military base closures and realignments. We employed a combination of regression models to determine which group of the above-mentioned factors affected the spatial distribution of military bases in the period 1994–2005. While geostrategic factors (such as distance from the border with West Germany) and restructuring of the army (type of a military base) were the most important, regional economic disparities showed no significant correlation with the intensity of military base closures/downsizing. We did not demonstrate that military bases in economically lagging regions had been systematically protected in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The differences in welfare amongst European countries are especially evident in border regions, and this affects cross-border cooperation and relationships. Due to the historical development of Central and Eastern European countries over the last century, the affected countries are unique "laboratories" for geographical research. This study assesses disparities in socio-economic indicators representing socio-economic phenomena in the Czech-Polish border region, through the analysis of cross-border (spatial) continuity, using quantitative methods (multivariate statistics and socio-economic profiling), GIS analysis and cartographic visualisation. It is demonstrated how such a combination of methods is useful for the comparison and evaluation of the complex socio-economic situations in neighbouring countries. This research project identifies the most suitable common indicators for a proper evaluation of cross-border (spatial) continuity, and it reveals the spatial patterns as reflected by a cluster analysis. The greatest cross-border (spatial) continuity is apparent in the easternmost part of the borderlands, while significant differences on both sides of the border are evident in the very central part of the areas under study. The paper also describes methodological aspects of the research in order to provide a quantitative approach to borderland studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various types of manufacturing firms located in rural municipalities are identified in this paper, and we determine the intensity of their economic linkages at the local and regional levels. We also examine the factors affecting the intensity of local/regional sourcing and purchasing. Due to the unavailability of detailed economic data at the municipal level, our research draws on a case study of 26 rural manufacturing small/medium-sized enterprises located in the Zlín Region in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. As a highly industrialised region, Zlín should theoretically provide a very favourable environment for the development of local/regional productive linkages of rural manufacturing firms. Several non-parametric tests have been employed to test the effects of firm size, age, industry and location, on the intensity of local and regional purchasing/sourcing. We found the most common firms are those that purchase and sell mostly on a regional (NUTS3) level rather than on the local level. Small firms source and sell more locally than larger firms. Effects of the firm age, industry and location, on the intensity of local/regional sourcing and purchasing were not confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of topophobia has been known in Geography for decades. Places which evoke fear in people's minds can be found in almost every city. The perception of fear within an urban environment shows a certain spatio-temporal concentration and is often represented by fear of crime. The meaning of topophobic places, however, derived from the experience of fear of crime changes over time, and thus can alter the usual patterns of population behaviours in relation to time (in the time of the day and over longer periods) and space. A spatiotemporal understanding of these changes is therefore crucial for local decision-makers. Using data from the Czech Republic, this paper deals with the analysis of topophobic places, and is based on an empirical survey of the inhabitants of four cities, using the concept of mental mapping. In contrast to most similar geographical studies, the paper emphasises the temporal dimension of the fear of crime. The results have shown that over time there are significant differences in the meanings of topophobic places, and they have demonstrated the necessity of taking local specifics into account. The paper shows how the intensity of and the reasons for fears vary, depending on time and place. In general, the results provide support for the idea of place as a process and contain useful information for spatial planning and policy in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping the daily spatial mobility of university students in an urban environment is the focus of this paper. It uses the city of České Budějovice in the Czech Republic as a case study, employing three different research tools – travel diaries, GPS loggers and Smartphone applications. We focus our attention on the analysis of spatial patterns of mobility using basic mobility indicators (distance, number of daily trips, time spent mobility), travel behaviours (use of transport modes) and the detection of time-space bundles (spaces of concentration of particular time-space trajectories) within the city. We identified four main time-space bundles. Then we compare the three main research methods according to their tracking accuracy and informative value. The Smartphone applications (using the A-GPS technology) provided the best results for the spatial mobility of respondents, although the travel diaries method is still unique due to the extent of some socio-demographic and transport characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent "shift" in flood risk management is associated with putting more emphasis on private mitigation and protection measures, and on shared responsibility. Based on case study research in the South Bohemian municipalities (Czech Republic) endangered by floods, this paper reports floods-related attitudes and actions of local inhabitants. A total of 305 respondents participated in a survey; responses and additional commentaries were examined through qualitative content analysis. Results show that though most of the local residents are aware of the constant threat, a minority of them take up any mitigation measures or have some strategy to handle a flood. Several cognitive biases and non-protective responses, the lack of interest and personal responsibility, perceived costs, as well as the prevailing low perceived importance of floods for the local quality of life, hamper improvements in general preparedness. From the viewpoint of Protection Motivation Theory, neither the locals' threat appraisal nor their coping appraisal is high enough to sufficiently incentivise them to adopt private mitigation strategies and measures. Flood information seems to be at hand for local residents, who are, however, mostly not interested in using it. Perceived obscurities in handling the financial resources contribute to the prevailing unwillingness to participate financially in flood protection. Differences in perceptions and actions are associated with respondents' individual characteristics (age, gender, level of education, previous experience with floods). Based on our findings, we discuss several relevant policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the concept of perceptual region – an essential part of the identity of a region and a part of every person's mental map – this paper demonstrates a way to examine the understudied transformation of (the identity of) a region and, specifically, its territorial shape (boundaries). This concept effectively fuses the "institutionalisation of regions" theory and the methodologies of behavioural geography. This case study of the perceptual regions of Bohemia and Moravia shows how and why these historical regions and their boundary/boundaries developed, after a significant deinstitutionalisation by splitting into smaller regions in an administrative reform. Many people now perceive the Bohemian-Moravian boundary according to the newly-emerged regional boundaries, which often ignore old (historical) boundaries. Thus, the territorial shape of Bohemia and Moravia is transformed, with the Vysočina Region emerging as one of the new regions to witness the most eroded consciousness concerning these historical regions and their boundaries. The impact of administrative reforms on the perception and thus also the transformation of regions and boundaries is obvious, but the results also suggest that the more radical the administrative changes (in terms of toponyms and boundary mismatches), the fuzzier the collective perceptions of historical boundaries become, as well as peoples' consciousness of historical regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science is a relatively new phenomenon in the Czech Republic and currently a general overview of existing citizen science projects is not available. This presents the challenge to uncover the 'hidden' citizen science landscapes. The main objective of this paper is to explore the (public) representation of citizen science (CS) projects and to describe their heterogeneity. The study aims to answer the question of what type of projects in the Czech Republic meet the definition of citizen science. Based on a specific methodological data-base search approach, we compiled a set of CS projects (N = 73). During the classification process, two general citizen science categories were identified. The first group (N = 46) consists of "pure" CS projects with a prevalence towards the natural sciences, principally ornithology, and thus corresponding to general European trends. Citizens usually participate in such research in the form of data collection and basic interpretation, and a high level of cooperation between academia and NGOs was detected. The second group of "potential" CS projects (N = 27) entails various forms of public participation in general, frequently coordinated by NGOs. Based on these results, we discuss the position of citizen science in the Czech Republic, including socially-oriented citizen science. Further research is strongly encouraged to achieve a more in-depth insight into this social phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geographical aspects of contemporary Czech religiosity are discussed in this paper. The main objective is to understand and approximate the spaces and places of faith which Czech believers inhabit, construct and reconstruct. An original focus on young believers was broadened to include priests, preachers and older members of several churches in Brno city, and the Přerov and Ústí nad Labem regions. Concepts of space and place, sacred spaces, and the imagery of post-mortem spaces are treated within the context of so-called secularisation and related phenomena. The methodology is based on an inductive qualitative approach using the Grounded Theory of Strauss and Corbin. The data are presented, discussed and ordered following the main themes originating from the research, including: (i) spaces of regular activities (related to the faith); (ii) spaces of dissemination and evangelisation of the faith; (iii) personal places linked with faith; and (iv) an introduction to the imagery of post-mortem spaces. The results document a long-term shift in the attitudes of believers, the change from rather public spaces of community gathering to personal places, influenced by specific secularisation tendencies. Also, the results represent the typical places of faith which are constructed and reconstructed by current Czech believers, and the current imagery of post-mortem spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air temperature and humidity conditions were monitored in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, by a network of meteorological stations. Meteorological sensors were placed across a representative variety of urban and suburban environments. The data collected over the 2011-2014 period are analysed in this paper. The data from reference standard meteorological stations were used for comparison and modelling purposes. Air temperatures at the points of interest were successfully modelled using regression relationships. The spatial expression of point measurements of air temperatures was provided by GIS methods in combination with CORINE land cover layer, and satellite thermal images were used to evaluate the significance of these methods. The use of standard climate information has low priority for urban planners. The impact of the urban heat island on city residents and visitors was evaluated using the HUMIDEX index, as it is more understandable for urban planners than temperature conditions as such. The aim of this paper is the modification, description and presentation of urban climate evaluation methods that are easily useable for spatial planning purposes. These methods are based on comprehensible, easily available but quality data and results. This unified methodology forms a theoretical basis for better urban planning policies to mitigate the urban heat island effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The position of urban allotments in the rural-urban spectrum is evaluated in this paper, which contributes to literatures on urban gardening, as well as contemporary rural-urban dynamics. Historically, European allotments can be seen as a product of urbanisation. At the same time, they embody a number of "non-urban" characteristics that create the impression of "the countryside in the city". This research project investigates how the urban and the rural are materialised, represented and practised in five allotment sites in Brno, Czech Republic. We follow three main lines of enquiry where the urban and the rural seem to meet: the physical environment of the allotments; the social life of these spaces; and food production as one of their core functions. Critical reflection of the rural-urban perspective advances our understanding of urban gardens, while, at the same time, allotments offer an example of hybrid spaces, which, in turn, contribute to discussions on current cities and countrysides. Overcoming the urban-rural dichotomy could facilitate the inclusion of urban gardening in contemporary cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The project of a canal connecting the three major Central European Rivers: the Danube, Oder and Elbe, is incorporated into a planned trans-European transport network system. Geographically, the course of the planned canal stretches into the territory of four Central European countries, predominantly that of the Czech Republic. The environmental impacts of the potential construction and operation of the Danube-Oder-Elbe (DOE) Canal is currently widely discussed by experts from various fields. This paper aims to assess some potential impacts of the canal on the alluvial landscapes in the Czech Republic. The method of geo-ecological assessment presented here applies GIS analyses at the larger landscape scale. The results of the geo-ecological assessment of potential impacts of the DOE Canal on the land-use of river floodplains, the fluvial dynamics of streams and the extent of their alluvial plains, and the quantified DOE Canal impact on protected areas and groundwater sources, are presented. The hydrological impact of the DOE Canal will affect a total of 1,975.4 km2 of river basins in the Czech Republic. The DOE Canal will affect 157 sites significant from the perspective of landscape and nature conservation, 7 nature parks and 113 existing water points which are used as groundwater sources. The results show that the most significant disruption of fluvial dynamics of the stream sediment regime would occur in the Protected Landscape Area of Litovelské Pomoraví. In general, the geo-ecological impact of the DOE Canal on the landscape will be very important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional, 'post-traditional' large-scale, and 'alternative' food shopping options are used in this paper to address the following questions: Who are the customers of these different retail formats? Is it possible to discern certain types of shopper according to retail formats? Do alternative food networks attract significantly different consumers than traditional forms and large-scale outlets? Relatively unique data collected in an omnibus survey by The Centre for Independent Public Opinion Research during 2014, 2015 and 2017 (n = 3,168) are used in this analysis. The consumption habits and preferences of a representative sample of the Czech population were subject to investigation. Results are presented mainly by descriptive statistics and the testing of hypotheses on the similarity or difference of given shopper populations by contingency analysis (associations between characteristics use contingency coefficients). A profile of shoppers according to food provisioning options is presented, and demographic, socio-economic and geographic factors influencing current trends in the shopping behaviours of Czech consumers are analysed. Significant differences between the customers of diverse retail formats and alternative possibilities to acquire food are among the most important distinguishing factors characterising Czech shoppers today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The academic debate on methodological approaches to the measurement of urban sprawl, particularly its most cited dimension, the density of residential settlement, is discussed in this article. The methodology of point pattern analysis, and its benefits in comparison to land-use data analysis, especially for researching the morphology of residential development, is examined. This empirical study was conducted in the hinterland of Prague and is based on point data from 2007, 2010 and 2016. The paper contributes to the scholarly discussion of suburbanisation in Central and Eastern European countries, including the morphology of suburban development. The role of scale is also emphasised, given our observation of two ambiguous means of development, namely spatial dispersion at the regional scale and increasing density at the local scale. The findings support claims regarding the crucial role of micro-scale research in understanding suburban form. The largest Czech suburb of Jesenice serves as a case study, where the morphology of built-up areas is analysed in the local context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crisis around the operation of the Turów coal mine and its impact on cross-border relations in the Polish-Czech borderlands is examined in this article. The genesis of the international dispute and its course is analysed on the basis of international relations and border studies theories. Moreover, the specific cross-border relations and asymmetries in the area are studied. Then, the authors discuss the methodology and results of the research through questionnaires and formulate conclusions drawn from the research conducted by the Polish-Czech research team in 2022. The results prove that the nearly two-year Polish-Czech dispute over the Turów mine hurt the cross-border activity of the inhabitants of the Polish-Czech border. Despite alarming media news, this impact was weak and short-lived. It ultimately did not significantly impact the cross-border integration of the inhabitants or cause a deterioration of relations between the Polish and Czech sides of the Euroregion Neisse-Nisa-Nysa. The crisis was caused by the lack of adequate communication between local governments from Poland and the Czech Republic and insufficient commitment from the local and regional authorities. Another cause was the poor integration of residents in the border area, although the cross-border cooperation epitomised by the Euroregion Neisse-Nisa-Nysa is not poorly rated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (non)contribution of schools towards cross-border integration in the divided town of Těšín/Cieszyn, located on the Czech-Polish border, is analysed in this article. The pandemic-related border closures revealed a substantial level of togetherness in this town, manifested by various social activities. Moreover, a part of these (during the pandemic restricted) cross-border social practices were those in education. We applied a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to diagnose the directions of cross-border educational flows, the approach of schools towards the identified joint cross-border social practices, and the possible level of togetherness. As a result, one-sidedness (Polish pupils attending schools in the Czech Republic) of cross-border flows was identified – which also follows the direction of a cross-border workforce. Except for the schools with Polish as the instruction language, located in the Czech part of the town, primarily serving Polish speakers living in the Czech Republic, we can mention hardly any mutually shared feeling of togetherness and an actual place-based approach towards educational governance in this divided town. We observe some ties in education between the autochthonous Polish minority in the Czech Republic and the Poles in Poland, without the involvement of pupils or teachers of Czech ethnicity, who do not reflect opportunities behind the border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement and evaluation of the attractiveness of shopping centres in the Czech and the Slovak Republics is examined in this paper, countries which had experienced seventy years of development within a single state. The methodological basis for measuring the attractiveness of 130 shopping centres is an evaluation of the factors that can be described as objective (exogenous and endogenous) and subjective (in vivo and in vitro approach). An aggregate indicator of the overall attractiveness of each shopping centre was computed as a combination of the sub-variables. Based on previous international studies, the factors (variables influencing attractiveness) that are typical for shopping malls anywhere in the world, as well as for the original specific information for the Czech-Slovak retail environment, enable a generalization of the results at least to the East Central European level, and to carry out a comparison with any other market environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of reurbanisation is discussed in this article from theoretical and methodological perspectives. Reurbanisation has been defined as one of the stages of urban development recently, but it is also tied to processes of gentrification, or perceived as a policy aimed at the revitalisation of inner cities. The main objective of this contribution is to discuss three principal and different perspectives of reurbanisation: firstly, reurbanisation as defined on the macro-scale of settlement system development; secondly, the concept as elaborated at the micro-scale of the transformation of inner cities; and, thirdly, reurbanisation viewed as a specific urban policy at the local government scale of analysis. The authors' singular understanding of the reurbanisation process - as suburban-to-urban migration - is then presented as an alternative conceptualization of reurbanisation. This paper presents and evaluates the use of the reurbanisation concept in research on residential environments in current conditions in the Czech Republic and relates it to the broader domain of research on post-socialist cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate of Central Europe, mainly winter seasons with no snow cover at lower altitudes and a spring drought as well, might cause erosion events on heavy-textured soils. The aim of this paper is to define a universal method to identify the potential risk of wind erosion on heavy-textured soils. The categorization of potential wind erosion risk due to meteorological conditions is based on: (i) an evaluation of the number of freeze-thaw episodes forming bare soil surfaces during the cold period of year; and (ii), an evaluation of the number of days with wet soil surfaces during the cold period of year. In the period 2001-2012 (from November to March), episodes with temperature changes from positive to negative and vice versa (thaw-freeze and freeze-thaw cycles) and the effects of wet soil surfaces in connection with aggregate disintegration, are identified. The data are spatially interpolated by GIS tools for areas in the Czech Republic with heavy-textured soils. Blending critical categories is used to locate potential risks. The level of risk is divided into six classes. Those areas identified as potentially most vulnerable are the same localities where the highest number of erosive episodes on heavy-textured soils was documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On Sunday, August 13, 2023, Stanislav Martinát – a respected Czech geographer and member of the Editorial Board of Moravian Geographical Reports journal – died after a short serious illness at the age of 47. Despite his relatively young age, Stanislav Martinát was one of the most productive and the most cited Czech geographers. He is the author or coauthor of over 100 peer-reviewed articles, of which more than 70 were published in journals indexed in the Web of Science database. This article is a collection of personal memories from people from different workplaces from several countries who had the opportunity to work with Stanislav (Standa) and to share a part of their life stage with him. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This communication concerns the prestigious award - the Karel Engliš Honorary Medal for Merit in the Social and Economic Sciences - that Bryn Greer-Wootten, Professor Emeritus at York University in Toronto and the Editor-in-Chief of the Moravian Geographical Reports (MGR), received from the Czech Academy of Sciences in2018. The article contains the most important and interesting points from the Laudation by Professor Radim Blaheta (Chair of the Institute of Geonics' Institutional Board and the previous Director of the Institute), the Response by Professor Greer-Wootten, and the Closing Speech by Bohumil Frantál (Executive Editor of MGR), which were presented during the award ceremony on August 28, 2018 at the historic Löw-Beer Villa in Brno, Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motorcycle users are generally perceived as one of the most vulnerable road user groups. It is therefore evident that, in addition to a range of prevention and awareness-raising activities, it is also necessary to identify specific locations where motorcycle users are at risk. We use a synthetic approach to identify the road network sections dangerous for motorcycle traffic. We perceive the risk level of individual sections as a complex combination of the causes (accident probability) and consequences (accessibility of medical services) of motorcycle accidents. The combination of both factors is then used to define the Road Network Hazard Index (RNHI) as a newly introduced indicator synthetically assessing the risk levels of individual road network sections for motorcycle traffic. The motorcycle accident probability on the Czech road network is extremely differentiated. The time accessibility of accident locations from EMS dispatch stations shows a clear correlation with the severity of motorcycle accidents. The model for the accident locations' accessibility indicates that the sparsely populated peripheral regions of the Czech Republic in particular show not only a higher motorcycle accident probability but also higher time accessibility values for emergency vehicles. The new RNHI provides a comprehensive view of the risk levels for motorcycle traffic in different Czech road network sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New empirical evidence regarding theories of the resource curse and regional resilience in the context of energy transitions is presented in this article. Our analysis aimed to answer the questions of what the principal differences are between coal mining and other regions in the Czech Republic, and what are the determinants of population decline, unemployment and populism as some of the key indicators of socioeconomic transformation. Unlike most current European studies focusing on NUTS2 or NUTS3 regions, we deal with data for districts (LAU1). The analysis revealed that (in aggregate) coal mining and post-mining districts are worse off in terms of air quality, population vitality, labour market and social capital indicators. It would be problematic for policy implications to consider coal mining and post-mining districts as homogenous categories, however, since there are significant inter-group and intra-group differences in most indicators. Coal mining itself and its decline did not prove to be a direct determinant of population loss, unemployment, and support for populism. The factors significantly affecting these phenomena are geographical (peripherality, urbanisation, population density) and socioeconomic (education level, business activity). In this respect, a provocative question is offered: to what extent is it effective and sustainable to economically support coal mining regions in their existing industrial production structures and population scales, and whether the current processes of reterritorialisation and depopulation can be considered a natural process. The fact that coal mining districts are at the forefront in the implementation of wind energy may be seen as positive, but it raises questions about spatial concentration, and the environmental justice of renewable energy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Child overweight and obesity represent a serious health problem worldwide. The Czech Republic now ranks the fourth most obese country in Europe and obesity and overweight is becoming more and more frequent in children and teenagers. This pilot study estimates the prevalence of obesity and overweight among Czech teenagers aged 14-15 years in terms of neighbourhood characteristics, and assesses the effects of neighbourhood environmental quality versus family or personal-level factors on teenage obesity and overweight. The results show that unsafe environments result in the risk of lesser physical activity of their inhabitants, but since the vast majority (92%) of the students felt safe in their neighbourhoods, mediation through safety of the neighbourhood is not at stake. Second, the housing estates demonstrate the most severe problems with both obesity and overweight and their built environments, but when perceptions of sporting facilities and similar opportunities for physical activity are factored in, they do not have low scores; therefore, mediation by physical activity is not a relevant response to the obesity problem. These findings imply that the most important obesogenic and obesoprotective factors are likely to be found within the family environment and personal life styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geological environment is undoubtedly one of the basic factors that influence the formation of surface runoff. The extent to which this factor can also affect the hydrodynamic characteristics of flash floods, which is also indirectly associated with flood risk, is the main topic of this study. In two geologically different areas of the Bohemian Massif (crystalline rocks predominate) and the western Carpathians (flysch rocks predominate), a total of 40 watersheds characterised by sharing a certain hydrological analogy were selected (20 watersheds from the Massif and 20 from the Flysch zone). In each of these watersheds, 1-year, 10-year and 100-year flash flood return periods were constructed using the two-dimensional hydrodynamic model Iber. The outputs from this model included raster datasets of areas, depths, and flow velocities during inundations. Subsequently, these rasters were analysed and compared with an emphasis on differences within the individual geological study areas. The outputs showed clear differences in the individual hydrodynamic characteristics (e.g. the average inundation area during Q100 was 29.07% larger in the Flysch than in the Massif). Overall, the Flysch zone appeared to be far riskier in terms of flash floods than in the case of the Bohemian Massif. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historical maps are a valuable resource in landscape research. The information gathered from them facilitates the cognisance of landscapes and may assist current landscape planning. This study focuses on the historical occurrence and spatial extent of man-made ponds in the Czech Republic. Based on the 1st Military Survey maps (1764–1783) of the Habsburg Monarchy, we use Historical GIS to identify 7,676 man-made ponds in the historical landscape. Compared to the 2nd Military Survey maps (1836–1852), 56% of these man-made ponds had been drained. Such disappearances mostly affected large ponds in fertile agricultural areas, but also affected small reservoirs in less fertile areas at higher altitudes. As the current maps and spatial datasets (Water reservoirs, Landscape water regime, Farming areas) show, a number of these agricultural regions have been affected by climate changes and face water shortages. The historical map information of former ponds has the potential to contribute to their restoration in areas where water retention in the landscape needs to be increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geography of ageing is addressed in this article by providing new empirical evidence about the significant role of daily activities on the perceptions of isolation and loneliness. The developed model of socio-spatial isolation is based on data from time-space diaries and questionnaires completed by older adults living in three cities in the Czech Republic. The study suggests that socio-spatial isolation is a multicomponent (consisting of passivity, isolation and loneliness components), place-dependent and gendered issue. The passivity is significantly associated with the income and leisure sport activities. The isolation can be well predicted by the age, gender and education, and the frequency of work and specific leisure activities, which are constrained by health conditions, financial opportunities and spatial mobility. Particularly trips to nature, sport activities, cultural events, get together with friends, and visits to restaurants have a positive effect on reducing isolation. Women, particularly those who raised more children, more likely feel lonely in old age when family contacts are reduced. Visits to restaurants, shopping malls and cultural events have a positive effect on reducing loneliness. A constrained mobility and higher time consumption for necessary activities also proved to be an age-related and gendered problem. In this respect, policy interventions should seek to improve flexible work opportunities, the digital skills of older people, and the accessibility and safety of public transport with regard to perceived constraints, which is gaining in importance in the Covid-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distance a person is willing to commute has a direct influence on her/his employment opportunities and wage level. It raises a lot of interesting questions, especially whether intra-urban commuting (due to a well-developed transport infrastructure, geographical concentration of job opportunities, etc.) is connected with any wage returns, and how they differ in comparison with those of inter-urban commuting. This article uses three data-sets at national (N1 = 1,884; N2 = 933) and local (N3 = 3,193) levels from the Czech Republic, and different approximations of commuting in order to contribute to the discussion. It provides robust evidence on positive wage returns to both inter-urban and intra-urban commuting, comparable with Western countries. The differences between large national and limited urban labour markets are reflected in functional form: wage returns are linear for intra-urban and non-linear for inter-urban commuting. The article also explores the validity of different measures of commuting time and distance provided by the on-line application Mapy.cz, and suggests that it represents a suitable approximation in the case of missing or limited data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River landscapes represent key areas of great importance to human society as they perform many functions and provide valuable services. Traditionally, these areas have been perceived as geomorphological phenomena characterised by specific soil conditions, hydrological regimes and unique habitats. Due to the availability of detailed data, it is possible to perform a spatial delineation of river landscapes by interpreting these data using several different approaches. The results of these different approaches can vary considerably, since it is particularly challenging to define the river landscape along small watercourses for which the availability of suitable data is limited. The main aim of this study is to analyse the various methodological approaches that may be used to define the river landscapes of small streams, and to evaluate the efficiency of those approaches that can be applied in nature and landscape conservation. Two medium-sized catchments in the Czech Republic were selected as the study areas in order to ensure different natural conditions and degrees of anthropogenic pressure. As a result, an approach based on combining soil characteristics and topographic information is considered the most appropriate solution to delineate the river ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orchard meadows are appreciated as an integrated land use of high cultural and biological value. While such meadows are typical habitats for temperate Europe, they experienced a decline in their total area during the second half of the 20th century, both in Western and Eastern Europe. In this contribution, we compare their current area and status in terms of semantics, law, public support in general, and the efficiency of public support in both Saxony and the Czech Republic. We estimated the area in Saxony on the basis of three public mapping projects. In the Czech Republic, where no recent mapping included orchard meadows as a specific land-use type, we carried out our own mapping. Hence, we mapped 124 randomly selected plots of 1 km2. To cross-reference results from both countries, we used the pan-EU project LUCAS (Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey). According to various different sources, the orchard meadows cover 0.09–0.55% of Saxony and 0.01–0.72% of the Czech Republic. Interestingly, the results of the three mapping projects conducted in Saxony vary from each other. Although orchard meadows are supported by financial incentives of the respective governments in both countries, the Saxon approach concentrating more on individual activities (sanitation of old trees, planting, grassland management), seems more focused than the single measure practised in the Czech Republic. One key to a greater public awareness of the orchard meadow problematic can lie in the promotion of a simple expression referring to this specific landscape feature in Czech, similar to the phrase common in the German language: 'Streuobstwiese'. Our suggestion for the Czech language is: 'luční sad'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variety of post-socialist agricultural transitions in four different rural regions located in South Bohemia (Czech Republic), with respect to the utilisation of the older premises, is subject to analysis in this article. A complete database was constructed, containing the identification of agricultural premises in 1989 and their use in 2004 and 2017. From 1989 to 2004, a number of agricultural brownfields emerged, and many sites had been utilised for non-agricultural purposes. After 2004, the acreage of agricultural brownfields was reduced and new land-use utilisation for housing and, especially other non-agricultural activities, significantly increased. The transition in the utilisation of pre-1989 agricultural premises is strongly influenced by the social and economic contexts in which particular sites are located. Proximity to an upper-level regional centre is of crucial importance for decisions with respect to how (and if) the site will be reused. The peripheral location of the site also affects the level and the selection of options for the ways in which particular pre-1989 agricultural premises are used. In the case studies reported here, the marginality of particular regions is increased by their location in the border regions of outer peripheries, where the probability of the presence of agricultural brownfields and the probability of long-term abandonment of agricultural premises is higher. For the traditional developed countryside, we found a typical low level of the share of long-term agricultural brownfields. After 2004, the re-use of pre-1989 agricultural brownfields for agriculture was ascertained, which is complemented by their use for housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Czech Republic has been developing its motorway network since the 1970s, while efforts to upgrade its railway system from the 1990s have been limited to improvements of existing major lines. Only recently has the government decided to construct new "speed connection" rail lines. This article investigates the possible territorial benefits from the future development of planned motorways and of various speed connection railway options. The modelling is based on Huff's gravity model that calculates the benefits from improved accessibility, to job and service centres for residents of each municipality. The modelling outcomes are used to compare planned motorway development and rail development options with respect to their efficiency, related to the investment and potential numbers of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind energy research is dominated by studies of local acceptance (or not) of wind farms and comparative studies at a national level. Research on the spatial differentiation of wind energy developments at the regional level is still insufficient, however. This study provides new empirical evidence for the extent to which regional differences in the deployment of wind energy are related to specific environmental and socioeconomic factors, by a statistical analysis of data for districts in the Czech Republic. Unlike previous studies, we found that the installed capacity of wind energy cannot be well predicted by wind potential, land area and population density in an area. In the Czech Republic, wind farms more likely have been implemented in more urbanised, environmentally deprived coal-mining areas that are affected by economic depression. It seems that in environmentally deprived areas, wind energy is more positively accepted as an alternative source to coal, and the economic motivation (financial benefits for municipalities) can have a greater effect on local acceptance, while public opposition is less efficient due to lower social capital and involvement in political matters. Based on these results, some implications for the planning and spatial targeting of new wind farms are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution of international migrants is an essential part of socio-geographical differentiation. In addition to international migration, internal or domestic migration plays an important role in the geographical distribution of immigrants. Based on data from the population register, the Census, and a quantitative survey, we analysed the internal mobility of Ukrainian and Vietnamese immigrants, which are the first and third largest international migrant groups in the Czech Republic. Using the assimilation perspective, the results of the analysis indicate that each ethnic group behaves differently. Specifically, the concentration of these immigrants differed at both regional and neighbourhood levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stewart and Oke (2012) recently proposed the concept of Local Climate Zones (LCZ) to describe the siting of urban meteorological stations and to improve the presentation of results amongst researchers. There is now a concerted effort, however, within the field of urban climate studies to map the LCZs across entire cities, providing a means to compare the internal structure of urban areas in a standardised way and to enable the comparison of cities. We designed a new GIS-based LCZ mapping method for Central European cities and compiled LCZ maps for three selected medium-sized Central European cities: Brno, Hradec Králové, and Olomouc (Czech Republic). The method is based on measurable physical properties and a clearly defined decision-making algorithm. Our analysis shows that the decision-making algorithm for defining the percentage coverage for individual LCZs showed good agreement (in 79-89% of cases) with areas defined on the basis of expert knowledge. When the distribution of LCZs on the basis of our method and the method of Bechtel and Daneke (2012) was compared, the results were broadly similar; however, considerable differences occurred for LCZs 3, 5, 10, D, and E. It seems that Central European cities show a typical spatial pattern of LCZ distribution but that rural settlements in the region also regularly form areas of built-type LCZ classes. The delineation and description of the spatial distribution of LCZs is an important step towards the study of urban climates in a regional setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Riparian vegetation reflects the current conditions and the dynamics of streams. The floodplain vegetation along the watercourse of the Morávka River was subject to study in this project. In some reaches, the river has the natural character of an anabranching gravel-bed stream; in contrast, other Morávka R. reaches are incised into the bedrock. These cases were used to assess potential changes in vegetation conditions as evidence of negative processes taking place in the gravel-bed streams of the Beskydy Mts. The results demonstrate a higher biodiversity in the floodplain along the anabranching river channel. In contrast, the floodplain along the incised river channel shows low biodiversity values. Redundancy analysis was used to determine the relationships between plant species composition, distance from the main channel and relative elevation from the mean water level of the main channel. In addition, the results show a higher degree of change in plant species composition on the floodplain along the incised river channel. The analysis of floodplain groundwater fluctuations shows a decreasing trend in the annual maximum groundwater level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stepped-bed system, with a step-like longitudinal profile, is typical morphology in steep headwater streams. These systems are created by a series of coarse sediments or instream wood (steps with supercritical flows) interspaced with finer material (forming pools with subcritical flows). In the case of well-developed steps and pools, the resulting channel-reach morphology is referred to as "step-pool" morphology. In this study, we identify a previously undescribed type of step-pool formation, the "foliaged step-pool", in the high-gradient Stoligy Stream of the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mountains. The defining feature of this formation is the significant presence of leaves in the step structure. The geometry of the steps and pools was measured and the parameters that characterise the distribution, amount and function of leaves acting in these areas were defined. Statistical results showed differences between non-foliaged and foliaged step-pool formations, in which the latter showed a significant increase in storage level, influencing the channel's hydrodynamics. Particle-size analyses demonstrated that foliaged step-pool formations had finer sediment in the pools, which indicates that there are differences in sediment transport processes between foliaged and non-foliaged formations. These results offer new insights into stepped-bed and step-pool morphology, providing directions for further research on small streams in deciduous forested regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of geographical distance on the extent of socioeconomic impacts of the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic is assessed by combining two different research approaches. First, we survey how people living in municipalities in the vicinity of the power plant perceive impacts on their personal quality of life. Second, we explore the effects of the power plant on regional development by analysing long-term statistical data about the unemployment rate, the share of workers in the energy sector and overall job opportunities in the respective municipalities. The results indicate that the power plant has had significant positive impacts on surrounding communities both as perceived by residents and as evidenced by the statistical data. The level of impacts is, however, significantly influenced by the spatial and social distances of communities and individuals from the power plant. The perception of positive impacts correlates with geographical proximity to the power plant, while the hypothetical distance where positive effects on the quality of life are no longer perceived was estimated at about 15 km. Positive effects are also more likely to be reported by highly educated, young and middle-aged and economically active persons, whose work is connected to the power plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on empirical evidence from the Czech Republic, differences in agricultural labour productivity at the micro-regional level are examined. The role of geographical factors: natural conditions, landscape fragmentation, localisation and urbanization economies, are discussed. In addition, we also test the effects of farm size structure to capture the results of internal scale economies. The key importance of natural conditions is confirmed: they were significantly more important than farm characteristics such as size structure, ownership status and mode of production. Regional agricultural labour productivity was positively influenced by the nominal price of agricultural land and population density. Surprisingly, micro-regions dominated by large farms performed at lower productivity levels than micro-regions with fragmented farm size structure in the Czech Republic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The symmetry and/or asymmetry in terms of cross-border openness of service providers is examined in this article, for the cases of two border twin towns: Cieszyn/Český Těšín at the Polish-Czech border, and Gubin/Guben at the Polish-German border. To assess the level of openness of firms towards clients from the other side of the border, four trans-border categories were examined: neighbour's language visible at store location; business offers in the language of the neighbour; the possibilities of payment in the neighbour's currency; and the staff's knowledge of the language. This enabled a comparison of both parts of the particular twin towns in relation to the character of cross-border openness, as well as an assessment of their symmetry/asymmetry. Comparisons of Gubin/Guben and Cieszyn/Český Těšín with respect to the analysed features were also carried out. The analysis shows significant variation in the level of cross-border openness towards clients from neighbouring countries. Whereas in the Polish-Czech town a relative symmetry was observed, in the Polish-German case, significant asymmetry was noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformations in the spatial organization of elementary education in the Czech Republic over the last 50 years are examined in this article, via case studies of two rural regions (Turnov district and Zábřeh district). The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of general development trends in elementary schools in territorial detail. Changes in the spatial distribution of schools, the size of school catchment areas, and the main education-related commuter flows are analyzed and visualized in cartographic form, in the context of educational policy and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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