Demographic and social degradation in the Lubelskie Voivodeship as a peripheral area of East Poland

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.

Rural Demographic Problem Areas in Poland

“…For the same reason, the threshold value for the average natural increase/decrease rate and the net migration per 1000 population was set at -3‰ level. In order to indicate the areas of the highest concentration of people aged 65 and more, a limit value of 18% was set (see Ba ski 2002, Flaga and Weso owska 2018), while the units in which the number of women per 100 men was lower than 90 were considered as the areas of the disturbed population structure by sex (Flaga, Weso owska 2018).…”

Od gospodarki agrarnej do wielofunkcyjnej. Zmiany funkcjonalne obszarów wiejskich i wsi na przykładzie powiatu kłodzkiego

“…Wśród licznych zmian, które można było zaobserwować, jednym z dominujących trendów przemian obszarów wiejskich, szczególnie tzw. obszarów problemowych, był proces depopulacji (Flaga, Wesołowska 2018). W jego efekcie, na niektórych terenach górskich i podgórskich oraz w Polsce centralnej i wschodniej, doszło do wyludnienia wsi, a nawet ich całkowitego zaniku (Wesołowska 2018,Bański i in.…”

Tangible Heritage of the Historical Stonework Centre in Brusno Stare in the Roztocze Area (SE Poland) as an Opportunity for the Development of Geotourism

“…Forests started to occupy a part of the former settlements and agricultural lands (Skowronek and Furtak 2009). The contemporary Eastern Roztocze is characterized by low population density, an irregular settlement network, a low industrialisation rate, and poor development of urbanization (Wesołowska and Flaga 2018).…”