No abstract

Eastern regions of Poland are regarded as areas where numerous unfavourable socio-economic phenomena appear and accumulate. These are the results of historical conditions as well as post-war border localization and various processes, primarily in terms of economy. The consequences of the political transformation of the state in the 1990s and profound social and economic changes in recent decades are also crucial drivers of many disadvantageous changes in the region. The article shows population processes which can be recognized nowadays in Eastern Poland, and the attention of the authors is focused on the peripheral rural areas of the region. General tendencies reported in the text are based on the cases from the Lubelskie Voivodeship where concentration of the demographic and social problems is particularly noticeable. The analyses comprise changes of population growth and its components (natural movement and migration), population structures as well as some characteristics concerning the quality and conditions of inhabitants’ lives. The main causes of negative processes shaping the population, including domestic, regional and micro-regional factors, are also presented. The final part of the article deals with the most important outcomes of population changes which are reflected in the progressing ageing of society, the decline of villages and social infrastructure, among other facts. These unfavourable phenomena are shown in the context of the future development of the region.

The aim of the article is to present some of the consequences of the suburbanization process in Poland, where said the process became relevant in the 1990s and continues to this day. The author focuses specifically on the demographic aspects of this phenomenon, i.e., the changes in population it has implied in urban and suburban areas, as well as the characteristics of the relevant demographic structures and natural increase that affect the territories in question. The results of the research pertain to three of the largest cities in the Lubelskie voivodship: Lublin, Chełm, and Zamość, spanning the years 1995 to 2007. An analysis of available statistical data on this period allows us to note substantial differences in some demographic indicators for cities on the one hand and their respective communes (gminas) on the other. Additionally, the data suggests that the population shifts and changes that occur in the region are the result of an interaction between suburbanization processes and the ongoing Second Demographic Transition, which takes place simultaneously.

Population factors are the most important elements of the socio-economic development of regions. Contemporary structure of population in Eastern Poland is the result of post-war changes, mainly in the field of natural growth and migration. The goals of this article are to assess the present trends of population change in the regions of Eastern Poland and to identify the areas that are characterized by negative effects of selected phenomena. It is also an important research issue to identify the main causes of negative processes shaping the population.

The aim of the present study was to assess the possibilities of developing the Cittàslow network in the Lublin Province, a peripheral region in Poland, and to determine the status of revitalisation activities in the region. In the study, a socio-economic typology of towns was prepared based on Ward’s agglomerative clustering method. Next, a survey was carried out using a questionnaire addressed to the authorities of the investigated towns. Finally, we conducted a case study of the towns which declared interest in joining the Cittàslow network in the survey. An analysis of revitalisation programmes proposed in those towns was carried out. The present survey shows that the idea of Cittàslow is supported by few towns in the Lublin Province. There is definitely more interest in revitalisation activities. This is mainly due to the fact that revitalisation projects for areas in crisis can be financed by external funds. The conclusions reached in this paper can be of use in planning development and revitalisation measures for small towns, especially in peripheral regions. The Cittàslow network may offer an alternative development path for the towns of the Lublin region. In addition, it may contribute to increasing opportunities for revitalisation.