No abstract

The objective of this article is the regional differentiation of rural space in Czechia, which is defined as the territory of rural municipalities of up to 3,000 inhabitants. The ultimate determination of particular types of rural space is realized at the level of authorized municipal authorities. Current socioeconomic characteristics of rural municipalities in Czechia are compiled and used for analysis. These characteristics were selected on the basis of their potential to represent important socioeconomic phenomena, processes and factors that are typical for the Czech countryside and that influence the development of rural municipalities. Four statistically significant components are identified through the statistical analysis of the indicated data at the level of authorized municipal authorities, namely: size, growth, human potential and housing. Different combinations of these components enable us to define eight main types of rural space, in terms of potential for development. This provides evidence to confirm our affirmation that rural space in Czechia is not homogenous. The results of the statistical analyses conducted also show that the basic differentiation of the Czech countryside is determined by the geographical location of particular areas.

Abstract:The delimitation of rural and urban municipalities as well as the delimitation of contiguous rural areas has not been sufficiently resolved in either academic literature or legislative practice. In relation to the scale and size of their administrative units, different countries use very different methods for delimiting rural municipalities that are based on simple counts of the population, on a municipality's position in the system of public administration or on a combination of multiple socio-economic factors. For the delimitation of rural areas, the various EU member states utilize a method based on population density in relatively large NUTS III regions. This article discusses divergent approaches to the delimitation of rural municipalities, on the one hand, and the delimitation of contiguous rural areas, on the other. Concepts concerning the delimitation of rural municipalities, along with differing characteristics leading to the delimitation of rural municipalities for the statistical processing of large amounts of data or characteristics for subjective evaluations of a small group of units, are discussed using the example of Czechia's settlement structure. The article then focuses on the critical evaluation of methods used for the delimitation of rural areas and, on the basis of various tested variations, proposes a new method for delimiting rural areas in Czechia, using modified OECD criteria. Changes arising both from the significantly smaller units of observation, where instead of considering units at the NUTS III level -regions (kraj) in Czechia, we consider 384 administrative regions of Municipalities with Extended Powers (MEP), as well as from variable changes to the critical values of population density so as to better account for the Czech settlement structure. The article emphasizes the necessity of using different approaches in studying the delimitation of rural municipalities and rural areas, at various scale levels, and the inappropriateness of using the methods of delimitation for rural areas that are currently used for all EU member states, at the national scale. 183pro stanovení městských obcí v národních statistikách a jsou diskutovány velmi rozdílné hladiny počtu obyvatel obce v jednotlivých státech Evropy, aby mohla být označena jako městská obec. Kritika je také zaměřena na použití administrativně správních kritérií pro vymezení městských a tím i doplňkově městských obcí. Při vymezení venkova je důraz kladen na rozdílné přístupy pro stanovení venkovských obcí/sídel a venkovského prostoru. Ukazatele charakterizující venkovskou obce by měly být vztaženy pouze k sídlu a v venkovské obce jsou tedy v území nespojité. Příkladem takových ukazatelů je například počet obyvatel nebo počet/podíl vyjíždějících či jiné ukazatele vztahující se k obyvatelstvu. Ukazatele, které vymezují venkovský prostor, by měly být vztaženy k ploše a tím umožňují spojité kontinuální vymezení venkovského prostoru. Příkladem takových ukazatelů jsou různé modifikace hustoty zalidnění. Na základě zvolených ukaz...

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.

263Czech settlement structure is extremely disintegrated. The causes of this very high disintegration of settlement structure consist in the historical formation of the structure of towns and rural municipalities and they are conditioned above all by physical-geographical aspects, by the quality of agricultural land and by other external factors. The traditionally very disintegrated settlement structure was taken over also by the historical organization of public administration formed in the territory of Czech lands since the second half of the 19 th century. In spite of various development difficulties, this disintegrated network of municipalities has survived up to present days. In reaction to the administratively performed and ruthless integration of municipalities going on from the 1960s to the 1980s, individual rural communities proceeded immediately after loosening of the restrictive conditions to a spontaneous disintegration of municipalities. In the period between June 1990 and March 1991, more than 1 800 municipalities were re-established and during two following years, the number of municipalities in the Czech Republic grew from 4 000 at the end of the totalitarian period to 6 250. The structure of municipalities in Czechia is extremely asymmetrical. There are 551 (8.8%) municipalities with less than 100 inhabitants and in total 1 655 (26.4%) municipalities with less than 200 inhabitants. More than 60% of all municipalities have less than 500 inhabitants and nearly 80% of all municipalities less than 1 000 inhabitants.Rural municipalities, including the smallest ones, are further divided into detached settlement units which have a very low number of inhabitants, often less than 20 permanent residents, and where a great part of houses serve only for recreation and are thus not permanently used. Small rural municipalities are The co-operation of rural municipalities -chance or condition of achievement Spolupráce venkovských obcí -možnost nebo podmínka úspěchu R. PERLÍN Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech RepublicAbstract: Czech settlement structure as well as the structure of public administration on municipal level is extremely disintegrated. Besides a great number of very small villages -small settlement units -there exists a big share of very small municipalities with self-government. Those municipalities can and often do cooperate in voluntary associations, which can transfer some of their competencies by a specific municipal treaty. This paper is focused on the discussion of possibilities and limits of cooperation among rural municipalities. Different forms of existing collaboration are discussed and possibilities of new forms of municipal collaboration are drafted, including the possible presumed and real dangers of such collaboration.Key words: public administration, self-government, rural development, cooperation of municipalities, development strategies Abstrakt: Česká sídelní struktura a stejně tak i struktura veřejné správy na municipální úrovni je extrémně rozdrobená. Kromě ...