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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.

Gambling is a specific type of economic activity that significantly affects many aspects of society. It is associated mainly with negative impacts on the lives of individuals and their families, but it also has a positive economic impact on the public budgets of states, regions and municipalities. In this article, we focus on a geographic assessment of the development of gambling in the Czech Republic, which is based on a spatial analysis of data on licensed games and data on the revenues of municipalities arising from gambling. It turns out that the occurrence of gambling is strongly influenced by binary centre/periphery dichotomy, with the exception of the Czech-Austrian and Czech-German border areas which are characterised by a high concentration of casinos resulting from more rigid regulation of gambling on the other side of the border. In this research, the authors develop an innovative scientific discipline within Czech human geography: The geography of gambling.

Dojížďka za obchodem a službami představuje významný aspekt obslužné funkce sídel a lze ji považovat za jeden ze základních regionotvorných procesů. Jedná se o pohyb nepravidelný, jehož analýzy jsou vázány na datovou základnu, která je z oficiálních zdrojů nedostupná. Příspěvek představuje vybrané výsledky šetření spádovosti obyvatel za obchodem a službami na příkladě obslužných procesů v zázemí města Brna. Výsledky šetření mají jak časovou dimenzi v jednom modelovém prostoru (srovnání výsledků z konce 70. let s aktuálními), tak nabízejí možnost srovnání odlišných metodických přístupů (odpovědi reprezentantů obcí a odpovědi místních obyvatel). Je tedy možné sledovat vybrané změny nákupních možností, resp. spádovosti za obchodem službami v horizontu zhruba tří desetiletí.

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.