The dynamics of population distributions in cities based on daily mobile phone operations: A case study of some Moravian cities

Analyses of the changes in the presence of persons in different central and residential parts of urban areas are subject to evaluation in this paper. Case studies of the cities of Brno, Ostrava and Zlín during the day and night are highlighted. Data from a provider of mobile phone services were used for the analyses. It appears that the data can be important for the comparison of different urban structures. The results demonstrate that the organisation of urban structure affects the number of visitors and thus the area attractiveness. It was confirmed that the number of mobile phone users in the city cores is higher than the number of permanent residents. The greatest differences between the day and night in the city cores were found in Brno, a concentric city with the most important central functions among the cities studied. Differences between the day and night in residential areas were not as large as expected. City neighbourhoods in Brno showed some specific rhythmicity.

Measuring the morphology of suburban settlements: Scale-dependent ambiguities of residential density development in the Prague Urban Region

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.

The role of manufacturing in the development of rural regions: Evidence from a highly industrialised Moravian region

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.

The role of administrative borders in determining regional identity: The case of Podlasie, Poland

The borders of voivodships in Poland today are not consistent with those of historical regions. The current administrative division is largely based upon imposed boundaries, dividing initial regions. This research topic arises from the dichotomy between the toponymy applied to voivodships because of the administrative reform of 1999 – and the names of historical regions. Implementing such a toponomy, although detached from historical and cultural contexts, has contributed to establishing attachments with current administrative regions, which surpasses identification with historical units. This paper presents the results of empirical research employing a questionnaire survey of the inhabitants of 71 communes (LAU 2 units) in north-eastern Poland. The main objective was to examine the impact of recent administrative reform on territorial identity, with particular emphasis placed on the region of Podlasie. The surveyed communities are to the highest extent attached to national and local levels than to the region, which was only ranked third in the hierarchy of identification with a given area. The regional identity of the population living in north-east Poland is related primarily to the contemporary administrative borders. There are, however, explicit differences in perceptions of the region of Podlasie depending upon respondents’ place of residence, which is an indication that relict borders persist in the residents’ social consciousness.

Decoding escape rooms from a tourism perspective: A global scale analysis

There has been a spectacular growth in the escape game sector over the past decade. The extraordinary global impact of escape rooms, their implications for tourism, and the limited literature provide grounds for this research. This paper examines such phenomena using an empirical methodology based on a geographic analysis of business repositories and a global survey. Tourism plays a significant role in the escape room industry: approximately one of every three customers is a tourist. Escape roomer-tourists have even been detected: people who essentially plan their trips with the sole intention of playing these games. A significant contrast exists between business-owners and countries, however, as to the role given to foreign customers and the opportunities that all the above implies. Indeed, the connection between escape room narratives and the local culture has been shown to be weak in a majority of cases. Thus, this contribution seeks to feed into an emerging and increasingly relevant debate that has been little addressed in tourism geography: linking experiences, creative economies, authenticity and cultural heritage, etc. – through escape rooms.

Public transport accessibility to upper secondary schools measured by the potential quotient: The case of Kraków

The spatial differences in public transport accessibility to upper secondary schools are examined in this article, using the potential accessibility model, and based on the example of the city of Kraków. In order to achieve this goal, the potential quotient index has been used, taking into account both the demand for educational services operationalised with the population aged 15–19, and the supply of services depicted by the supply of places for pupils in different types of upper secondary school. A supplementary objective is to present recommendations for transport and educational policy implemented in the city in the context of potential locations of new upper secondary schools based on, among other parameters, the mean centre of the potential accessibility distribution and the potential accessibility dispersion index. We conclude that to better balance access to different types of schools throughout the city in the future, a new location for a general upper secondary school could be considered in the southern or eastern parts of Kraków.

A tale of two cities: The comparative chrono-urbanism of Brno and Bratislava public transport systems

Time policies in urban environments are discussed in this article, including some difficulties in comparing such policies between cities and in an international comparison of urban times in general. In response to the need to systematise methodological approaches to the comparison of urban time policies, we offer a concrete solution in terms of a comparative chrono-urbanism. The main issues under consideration are the theoretical framings, systematic procedures and an empirical illustration comparing two urban times. The comparison serves as a tool for assessment, when one urban time becomes a criterion for another urban time. This approach is applied in the case of an international comparison of two similar cities – Brno (Czech Republic) and Bratislava (Slovak Republic). Their urban times are operationalised through the timetables of their public transport systems, the lines of which are conceived as the institutional carriers of urban time. Based on the analysis of timetables from 2016, we present a detailed description of urban times of Brno and Bratislava, as well as their comparison, which makes it possible to assess the time policies in both cities, as well as their implications for planning.

When home becomes a cage: Daily activities, space-time constraints, isolation and the loneliness of older adults in urban environments

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.

To fear or not to fear? Exploring the temporality of topophobia in urban environments

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.

A diversity of patterns: 10-year trajectories of men and women diagnosed with psychosis for the first time. A time-geographic approach

People with severe mental illness face a different ‘interventional’ landscape compared to some decades ago, when mental hospitals were dominant, in Sweden as well as in the rest of the Western world. The aim of the research reported in this article was to follow men and women diagnosed with psychosis for the first time over a 10-year period, and to explore what interventions they experienced. The interventions, here defined as “spheres”, were either community-based or institutional. A third sphere represents no interventions. Based on data from registers and using a time-geographic approach, the individuals were visualised as 10- year trajectories where their transitions between the different spheres were highlighted. The results show a great diversity of trajectories. Two main categories were detected: two-spheres (community-based and no interventions) and three-spheres (adding institutional interventions). One third of the population experienced only community-based interventions, with a higher proportion of men than women. Consequently, more women had institutional experience. Two sub-categories reveal trajectories not being in the interventional sphere in a stepwise manner before the 10th year, and long-term trajectories with interventions in the 10th year. The most common pattern was long-term trajectories, embracing about half of the population, while one-fifth left the institutional sphere before the 5th year.