Forum geografic

The Role of Borders in the Demographic Trends of Hungary

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:24:12 +0000

Abstract: During the period of communism, international borders were closed in Hungary. Borderland regions were in a disadvantageous situation and they strove with serious out-migration. The border regions of the counties (NUTS-3 level) face a similar situation. This paper tries to describe the population change trends of the Hungarian settlements connecting with the situation of borderlands. The settlements have been divided into three groups according to their location/function (inner border, county-border, international border) and it was inferred that the population change trends of the two border regions are similar.

The Evolution and Territorial Distribution of Rural Population in Romania at the Beginning of the 21st Century

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:13:26 +0000

Abstract: As a territorial and socio-economic formation, the village represents the concrete expression of territorial permanence and continuity, directly relating to the genetic and dynamic factors of settlement phases and humanisation of the geographical space. Under the present conditions, a number of manifest phenomena are triggered by the decrease in birth-rates, internal and external migration, all of which affect the process of population ageing throughout the country. In the 20 years elapsed since the downfall of the communist regime in 1989, the population of Romania dropped by nearly 1,713,000 inhabitants, 1,195,000 of them in the countryside alone. The demographic decline continued over the 2000-2009 period as well, at higher rates in the rural (-49 ‰) than in the urban (-37‰) areas. Solving the numerous issues connected with the rural population component calls for strategic, time-stable optimal approaches.

The ‘Museum Night’ Event – the Demographic Profile of the Visitors in Serbia

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 16:05:05 +0000

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to consider the differences in the structure of visitors in tourist events, depending on the place of holding. The “Museum Night” tourist event was first held in Germany (Berlin) in 1997, with the aim of popularizing cultural tourism and museum complexes. This touristically considerable event has been very popular and frequented in Serbia since 2005. At first it was held only in Belgrade, when in the year 2007, gradually, other cities also joined the programme. Therefore, a public opinion poll was carried out for the purposes of this paper (analysis according to age, sex structure and economic activity). The sample of the population was divided into three age groups. The research, at the territorial level, included the cities of Belgrade and Novi Sad.

Challenges for Hungarian Geography: Perspectives of ‘Disability Studies’ in Hungary

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:57:03 +0000

Abstract: In Hungary people with disabilities are one of the most oppressed and marginalized social groups. During the last two decades they have become more and more ’visible’ for social sciences too, but unfortunately disability is still neglected in human geography. However, it always appears in media, public discourses and political debates and good examples for disability research from ‘Western’ geography are known and available. The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate that disability, as a research topic could be well adopted into Hungarian geography. Keeping the eyes on this goal, the paper is divided into three major parts. First, it gives a summary on the ‘geographical research’ of the mostly examined marginalized social groups in the Hungarian society and on some important research areas and results reached by scholars of various science areas. Second, it reveals some practicable approaches, research topics and methods of ‘disability geography’, a sub-discipline of Anglo-American geography. Finally, it explores how disability geography could be used in Hungary and gives an example based on own research.

Deindustrialization and Structural Changes in Commuting Flows in Serbia

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:50:29 +0000

Abstract: The aim of the paper is to point to the mutual linkage between the changes in the extent and directions of the commuting flows and contemporary changes in the economic structure of Serbia. Even though the increase in the number of commuters in total and commuters employed in the industrial sector has been evident on the national level, on the local level the research results indicate a considerable decrease in the number of industrial commuters in the case of large industrial centres (‘transition losers’). Unprepared for rapid transformation, the industrial centres faced economic (mono-functional economic structure, collapse of large systems, undeveloped entrepreneurship, slow privatisation process), structural (high unemployment), social and demographic problems. Consequently, there have been changes in the intensity and structure of the migration flows.

Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija in the Second Half of the 19th Century According to an Ethnic Map of a Part of Old Serbia

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:41:47 +0000

Abstract: This article interprets the results of the author’s cartographic work on the Ethnic map of a part of Old Serbia, 1:300,000. This map pertains to a part of the historical Old Serbia, especially Kosovo and Metohija, with the addition of the Kuršumlija nahiya. It was made on the basis of three volumes of travel notes made by Miloš S. Milojević, who travelled through this area towards the end of the 1860’s and in the early 1870’s. The map presents, in an accessible manner, through the make-up and distribution of the population in the settlements within the region, the ethnic situation at the time, relying on the ethnic-national and religious-confessional criteria; that is to say, it presents the demographic-statistical structure of the mutual relations between Serbs and Albanians immediately before the wars between Serbia and Turkey fought in 1876 and 1877/78, when Serbs were the majority and Albanians the minority population on the territory of the Kosovo and Metohija region.

The Evaluation of Rural Space through the Analysis of the Rurality Index. Case Study: the Villages of Sălaj East of Jibou

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:26:37 +0000

Abstract: This paper aims to underline the present state of development of the rural space from the Eastern part of Sălaj county, by analysing the rurality coefficient applied to 14 communes for the interval 1990-2008. The indices implemented for the evaluation are: agriculture, work force and population. The case study was accomplished based on the statistical data obtained from the County Directorate of Statistics of Sălaj County and from the evidences in the communes’ mayor’s offices, the intervals of calculation being established at every two years. The values of the rurality coefficient was obtained by applying two mathematical formulae – by the HDI calculation method – which demonstrates its positive or negative significance. The analysis of the results demonstrates the role of Rus village as a local polarizing center and the importance that this territorial-administrative unit would have regarding the sustainable development and planning of the rural space under study. The conclusion drawn from the interpretation of the indicators’ results proves that during an interval of 18 years, the values of the rurality coefficient maintained high, although some economic sectors recorded important modifications (at the indices’ level), emphasizing the strongly rural character of the Someşului Valley and Codru areas.

Distribution of Urban Green Spaces – an Indicator of Topophobia – Topophilia of Urban Residential Neighborhoods. Case Study of 5th District of Bucharest, Romania

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:15:02 +0000

Abstract: Given the lack of usable data in the correct assessment of housing quality in an urban ecosystem, it is necessary to establish a system of environmental indices that can be used to evaluate and compare the attractiveness of urban neighborhoods. Oxygen generating surfaces fulfill multiple functions and give a certain quality to urban environment and housing, especially through the green spaces. Green spaces have an unequal distribution in the area of Bucharest. The structure, functions, adding availability and/or attractiveness of green areas define the neighborhoods in which they are located, and whether they are topophile or topophobe ones. In the present study, based on field observations, processing of cartographic materials and using the green spaces as most relevant index, topophile and topophobe neighborhoods have been identified in Bucharest. The tendency of residential areas development was also evaluated and it was found that it depends on the attractiveness of existing urban parks or neighborhood gardens.

Indicators of the Human Pressure on the Environment in the Bălăciţa Piedmont

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:38:25 +0000

Abstract: The Bălăciţa Piedmont represents the western subdivision of the Getic Piedmont, being located in south-western Romania. The unit under study is an early inhabited space and, at the same time, an area of active development of numerous geodynamic phenomena. The man-induced changes had significant influences upon the environment and especially upon the relief, the increased vulnerability of the terrains to the dangerous geomorphologic phenomena being one of the most important problems that the local communities have to face nowadays. The present study aims to assess the human influence upon the emergence of environmental unbalances and especially the human actions that influence the risk geomorphologic processes. A relevant means in the process of evaluating the type and dimension of the human intervention within a given territorial unit concerns the computation of certain synthetic indicators that characterize the degree of landscape transformation. The assessment has been realized through the analysis of statistical data at the level of the administrative-territorial units that overlap the Bălăciţa Piedmont. The general research regards an interval of thirty years (1977 – 2007), while the focus was laid upon the transition period (1992, 2002, and 2007).

Industrial Landscape – a Landscape in Transition in the Municipality Area of Bucharest

cristiana — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 13:29:29 +0000

Abstract: In the municipality area of Bucharest, the capital of a former socialist state, shows profound changes in landscape structure as a result of economic transition towards market economy and the consequent conversion of certain spaces to different uses (more commerce, less industry for example). The approaches regarding the dynamics of the industrial landscape and how conversion process is taking place is however limited. The purpose of the present paper is to define the industrial landscape, current trends and evolution of this landscape type within the urban tissue. Also, models of conversion in the post-industrial landscape are pointed out in this article. The methodology used is based on evaluation sheets that have been applied in several industrial areas in Bucharest. The results obtained from the survey showed that the industrial landscape is experiencing a quick transition, many industrial units are transformed into supermarkets, malls or business buildings, and often the investors choose to demolish the industrial artifacts instead of preserve and use them. These changes are affecting the urban tissue and the communities, not always being good examples.