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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]

The main research goals of the article are to explain the historical context of urban food gardens in Czechia, to describe the current spatial pattern of allotment gardens, and to introduce and analyse recent trends in urban gardening. The main method for achieving the first goal was a literature study. For the second goal, geographical mapping and analysis of data relating to the spatial distribution of allotment gardens were used. For the third goal, mapping together with analysis of semi-structured interviews carried out in community gardens in Prague were used. The analysis showed a strong tradition of urban agriculture and urban food gardening activities in Czechia. Both allotment gardens and newly emerged community gardens were concentrated mainly in the biggest cities and in areas with a rich industrial and mining tradition. This finding supports the significance of gardening as an important element of urban agriculture. However, uncertainty regarding land tenure and long-term sustainability were among the greatest obstacles for the future of allotment and community gardens. The authors' main recommendations are that urban agriculture should be included as primary land use in sustainable planning and there should be broader community involvement in planning and decision-making processes. [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]

Abstract: The paper aims to critically evaluate the potential of alternative food networks (AFNs), mainly the farmers' markets (FMs) in Czechia (or post-communist countries with similar experience and development). First, it describes geographical and historical context of AFN development in post-communist Czechia. After an overview of the current situation of FMs in the country, the paper analyses the data gathered through two waves of interviewing and a focus group discussion. Four main issues are identified together with their positive and negative aspects for the future of FMs existence and for rural development in general. The concluding remarks indicate the importance FMs from the (urban) community point of view, without, however, any significant impacts on the development of rural areas in Czechia. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper discusses the ‘Regional Brand’ initiative as the regional quality certification with potential to build links with viable rural tourism products. This branding system is explained in the context of a multi-functional paradigm in the development of viable rural economies. A questionnaire survey of certified producers conducted for the first part of the research within this paper revealed mainly a strong awareness of the regional branding system, however, with underused further potential. In the second phase of the research, a qualitative study was conducted in the model region of Vysočina, Czechia, and the results of semi-structured interviews with entrepreneurs in culinary tourism about their involvement in the creation of tourist packages and their cooperation with regional brands were analyzed. The conclusion stresses the need for a significantly more effective interconnecting body at the regional level with the capability of creating fertile links between rural tourism and regional products. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Geographies of children and youth are a surprisingly neglected research topic in the transforming (post-communist) countries, where many societal changes are taking place. This article introduces a research project that focused on teenagers and their leisure-time activities, concentrating especially on teenagers who spend the majority of their leisure time in shopping malls. The goal of the article is to reveal how such teenagers use the micro-space of the shopping mall, how they socialise, and how their social identities may be produced through different practices in the mall space. The study focused on teenagers aged 14-17 'hanging out' in shopping malls in the largest Czech cities. The data were collected by participant observation and interviews. The teenagers studied have abandoned typical public spaces used for leisure time and produced their own spatial identities in the specifi c space of the shopping mall. They have created a true microculture through a combination of the personalities, locations, and events that they share in in the mall environment. The article also discusses interesting results concerning preference factors for leisure time activities in the mall environment. The concluding part of the article draws implications from the study for the future research agenda in the geographies and sociologies of youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Smoking constitutes one of the main public health problems worldwide. In the Czech Republic, one of the post-communist countries undergoing societal transition, there was a significant decrease in smoking prevalence during 1985–1997, followed by certain stagnation in prevalence of smokers. The most serious problem is the smoking among young population and socially disadvantaged groups. This paper examines social inequalities in smoking in the Czech population using multilevel approach. Data were analysed by multilevel modelling using smoking in the past, current smoking and current moderate/heavy smoking as outcomes of interest. Men were significantly more likely to be smokers than women. Further, the analysis confirmed that current smoking is the most common among young people. Education was strongly inversely related to all smoking outcomes. Smoking was also significantly more reported by divorced and unemployed individuals. While the association between small-area characteristics and smoking was limited, smoking was more common in the areas with higher unemployment and higher proportion of non-Czech nationals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Czech Republic traditionally ranks among the countries with the highest alcohol, consumption. This paper examines both risk and protective factors for frequent of alcohol, consumption in the Czech population using multilevel analysis. Risk factors were measured at the, individual level and at the area level. The individual-level data were obtained from a survey for a, sample of 3526 respondents aged 18–64 years. The area-level data were obtained from the Czech, Statistical Office. The group most inclinable to risk alcohol consumption and binge drinking are mainly, men, who live as single, with low education and also unemployed. Only the variable for divorce rate, showed statistical significance at both levels, thus the individual and the aggregated one. No cross-level interactions were found to be statistically significant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The second half of the 1990s saw a dynamic development of Czech retailing and its spatial structure. Recent massive development of large-area commercial outlets in particular has revealed some problematic aspects and has also raised the question of whether their construction needs to be regulated. The role of local government in the decision processes concerning such developments is extremely weak and these processes are also complicated by a notably high level of bureaucracy. Although legislative documents proclaim the concept of sustainability as a key principle of future spatial development, its practical application will always depend on the will of the individual participants in the negotiation process. The authors argue that if a regulative approach to planning is chosen in the Czech Republic, planning offices must be respected bodies with enforceable rights and bound to act as strong authorities and effective agents of spatial plnning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The past 10 years have seen a considerable increase in the number of large-scale retail outlets in the post-communist countries. Since these outlets are located mainly in greenfield areas in the urban fringes, their uncoordinated construction has led to several important problems. Among the most serious of these are land use changes and the loss of quality agricultural land in the hinterland of big cities. The aim of this paper is to investigate these impacts of the new retail development on the periphery of Prague. A pilot study has been conducted in this area, based on the identification of the large-scale retail objects in the suburban landscape from the orthophotomaps. The relevant plots in the affected cadastral units have been analyzed by GIS with regards mainly to the land use changes under the new retail development and the quality of appropriated soils. The results reveal that in Prague''s periphery the large-scale outlets considered in this pilot study cover 128.3ha of agricultural land. Despite Czech legislation imposing an obligation to protect the highest quality soils in particular cadastres, the soils appropriated are mostly in the higher quality ranks, particularly Chernozems and Luvisols which amount to a total area of 79ha. It is obvious that large-scale retail construction has to be regulated and the protection of fertile suburban agricultural land should be at the top of the agenda of urban and regional planners in the Czech Republic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines changes in shopping behavior in two postcommunist countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, by replicating Bitgood and Dukes's study of pedestrian choice point behavior. It also extends the former study by applying the methodology to a different type of intersection and subjecting the results to a random resampling statistical test. A survey conducted via naturalistic observation in selected Czech and Slovak shopping malls is presented. Is the movement of shoppers disorganized and unplanned, or is there a tendency to use the principles of the economy of movement, which suggests that pedestrians tend to move in a way involving the least number of steps? A randomization resampling test with 100,000 samples was performed on the data obtained in shopping malls. It can be concluded that pedestrians tend to avoid unnecessary steps by economizing their trajectories (t = 11.34, p = .00013). The results, thus, show that a qualitative change occurred in the shopping behavior of Czech and Slovak shoppers (as compared with year 2002), and there is an obvious tendency to minimize the total distance in correspondence with the principles of the economy of movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign investment is of particularly importance in countries undergoing far-reaching economic transformation. Also the location of foreign investment throughout the country is very important for further regional development. Actual location decisions of investors are influenced by various factors, but it is rather obvious that behind these decisions there is also always a lack of information or a distorted view of potential locations and regions for investment. The aim of this paper is to indicate the image of Czech regions that foreign entrepreneurs construct and to understand the character of spatial perceptions of foreign entrepreneurs from various points of view in order to find out what main factors are influencing location decisions of foreign investors in the country. The paper provides a summary of preliminary results of the survey. It provides current mental maps of foreign entrepreneurs and the most important results of explanatory statistical analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study examines the relationship of family, school and geographic factors in relation to the prevalence of different health risk behaviours among Czech adolescents (aged 15-16 years) based on cross-sectional study design. Risk behaviours such as cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking and marijuana use among adolescents have often been shown to co-occur with each other. Data from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs 2007 were used. A total of 7616 students from the Czech Republic were analysed in the study. About two thirds of students (63.5%) did not engage in any type of considered health risk behaviour, 21.1% reported one risk, 10.8% two risks, and 4.6% three risks. Thus, in sum 15.4% of Czech, students were engaged in multiple risk behaviour forms. Separate multilevel logistic regression models were performed in order to explore the redistribution of factors on categories of multiple health risk behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]