The impact of COVID-19 on life in a cross-border agglomeration of Bratislava

Abstract

The emergence of cross-border suburbanisation is based on the geographical proximity of a large city and the unrestricted permeability of state borders. A social group, the 'transnational borderlanders', is emerging (Martinez, 1994), who use the territory of both states on both sides of the border daily, e.g. they live on one side and work on the other. In our case, a cross-border suburbanisation has developed, with Bratislava residents moving to nearby villages in Hungary. The open border is a prerequisite for their daily life, and they took a risk when they bought a property in another country. The study examines how the closing of borders during the COVID-19 epidemic affected the lifestyle of Slovak citizens who settled in Hungary and commuted to Bratislava and the new situation of the cross-border area. To this end, a questionnaire survey and interviews were conducted in four settlements in Hungary inhabited by Slovaks. The study summarises the results of these surveys and concludes that the temporary closure of borders did not have a significant impact on the satisfaction with cross-border lifestyle, and the willingness to move. In fact, there are signs that the lockdown has dissolved the previously entirely Bratislava-centric way of life (shopping, using services, registering an address, etc.).