Abstract The efficiency-driven trend towards amalgamation characterising local government reforms in Europe seems to have escaped Romania, which displays a significant increase in the number of local governments post-1989. This is the result of rural first-tier local governments splitting into smaller units. The paper examines objective factors and subjective motivations that have shaped the behaviour of both national and local actors in dealing with territorial reform. First, it explores the rationale and rationality of a central government initiative to facilitate municipal splits against a set of criteria derived from the literature. Second, it examines the municipal splits occurring between 1991 and 2018 against alternative or concurring explanations developed in the literature based on economic, socio-cultural and political elements. The paper argues that in the highly charged political context of the post-communist countries it is reasonable to expect a dominance of subjective rather than objective factors in decision-making on territorial reform.
{"title":"Territorial fragmentation in post-communist Romania: the not so curious case of a de-amalgamation reform","authors":"Cristina Stănuș","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0044","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The efficiency-driven trend towards amalgamation characterising local government reforms in Europe seems to have escaped Romania, which displays a significant increase in the number of local governments post-1989. This is the result of rural first-tier local governments splitting into smaller units. The paper examines objective factors and subjective motivations that have shaped the behaviour of both national and local actors in dealing with territorial reform. First, it explores the rationale and rationality of a central government initiative to facilitate municipal splits against a set of criteria derived from the literature. Second, it examines the municipal splits occurring between 1991 and 2018 against alternative or concurring explanations developed in the literature based on economic, socio-cultural and political elements. The paper argues that in the highly charged political context of the post-communist countries it is reasonable to expect a dominance of subjective rather than objective factors in decision-making on territorial reform.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84675873","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This paper studies 38 splits that occurred between 1995 and 2020 in the Czech Republic. Although the initial splits, that took place during the time of democratic transition, were driven by perceived local identity and the historical memory of being a former independent municipality, the splits after 1995 were predominantly driven by economic factors, be it objective underinvestment and a perceived grievance that the mother municipality was not taking care of its fringe parts. In all cases, the mother municipality had failed to communicate with the initiator of a referendum. However, if the central municipality invested in its parts and its political leaders communicated with its citizens, the municipality did not lose its part despites the attempts of secessionist leaders.
{"title":"Local Identity or Economic Benefits? The Municipal Splits in the Czech Republic","authors":"Jakub Lysek","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0042","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0042","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper studies 38 splits that occurred between 1995 and 2020 in the Czech Republic. Although the initial splits, that took place during the time of democratic transition, were driven by perceived local identity and the historical memory of being a former independent municipality, the splits after 1995 were predominantly driven by economic factors, be it objective underinvestment and a perceived grievance that the mother municipality was not taking care of its fringe parts. In all cases, the mother municipality had failed to communicate with the initiator of a referendum. However, if the central municipality invested in its parts and its political leaders communicated with its citizens, the municipality did not lose its part despites the attempts of secessionist leaders.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75380087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The research on territorial reforms on the local level has so far focused on municipal amalgamations. However, less is known about municipal splits – a phenomenon that is less frequent, but that occurred in several European countries in recent decades. This paper deals with municipal splits in Slovakia after 1989, and it examines a set of factors that supported municipalities in their effort to obtain independence. The findings show that the massive wave of splits that began shortly after 1989 was primarily motivated by the aim of reversing the consequences of the amalgamation that had been conducted by the Communist regime. Hence, the question of identity was the main trigger leading to municipal splits. On the other hand, the analysis found that economic factors had only a limited role in the establishing of new municipalities in Slovakia.
{"title":"Reversing the Past. Municipal Splits in Slovakia After 1989","authors":"Peter Spáč","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0045","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The research on territorial reforms on the local level has so far focused on municipal amalgamations. However, less is known about municipal splits – a phenomenon that is less frequent, but that occurred in several European countries in recent decades. This paper deals with municipal splits in Slovakia after 1989, and it examines a set of factors that supported municipalities in their effort to obtain independence. The findings show that the massive wave of splits that began shortly after 1989 was primarily motivated by the aim of reversing the consequences of the amalgamation that had been conducted by the Communist regime. Hence, the question of identity was the main trigger leading to municipal splits. On the other hand, the analysis found that economic factors had only a limited role in the establishing of new municipalities in Slovakia.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81571879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The article discusses municipal boundary changes in Central and Eastern Europe, concentrating on the heavily under-researched phenomenon of municipal splits. The first part describes the basic facts of municipal secessions in the region analysed. The second part presents a model explaining the national and municipal level factors behind the variation in the occurrence of successful split initiatives. It distinguishes between national institutional settings, economic, identity (cultural) and local political factors.
{"title":"From post-communist democratic laissez-faire to prevention of territorial fragmentation: tightening the rules of municipal splits in Central and Eastern Europe after 1990","authors":"P. Swianiewicz","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0046","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The article discusses municipal boundary changes in Central and Eastern Europe, concentrating on the heavily under-researched phenomenon of municipal splits. The first part describes the basic facts of municipal secessions in the region analysed. The second part presents a model explaining the national and municipal level factors behind the variation in the occurrence of successful split initiatives. It distinguishes between national institutional settings, economic, identity (cultural) and local political factors.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2021-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82326285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract This research focuses on the 2D and 3D geospatial analysis of the Ryukyu Trench, a deep-sea trench located in the western Pacific Ocean between Japan and Taiwan. The aim of the research is to visualize regional differences in the topography of the southern (S) and northern (N) parts of the trench. Technically, the methodology is based on using the Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) scripting toolset, for modelling the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), and Earth Topography and Bathymetry dataset (ETOPO1) raster grids. The results demonstrated topographic differences in the two segments. The most frequent depths lie between −5,000 and −6,000 m. The N part has steeper gradient slopes and deeper bathymetry. Of the depth differences >−6,000 m, S has nine values with depths >−6,800 m while N shows 123 records (max −7,460 m). The submarine terraces of S have gentler slopes compared with the N segment. The technical approach presents GMT-based 2D and 3D cartographic modelling aimed at visualizing regional variations of the seafloor topography.
{"title":"Using GMT for 2D and 3D Modeling of the Ryukyu Trench Topography, Pacific Ocean","authors":"Polina Lemenkova","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0038","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This research focuses on the 2D and 3D geospatial analysis of the Ryukyu Trench, a deep-sea trench located in the western Pacific Ocean between Japan and Taiwan. The aim of the research is to visualize regional differences in the topography of the southern (S) and northern (N) parts of the trench. Technically, the methodology is based on using the Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) scripting toolset, for modelling the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), and Earth Topography and Bathymetry dataset (ETOPO1) raster grids. The results demonstrated topographic differences in the two segments. The most frequent depths lie between −5,000 and −6,000 m. The N part has steeper gradient slopes and deeper bathymetry. Of the depth differences >−6,000 m, S has nine values with depths >−6,800 m while N shows 123 records (max −7,460 m). The submarine terraces of S have gentler slopes compared with the N segment. The technical approach presents GMT-based 2D and 3D cartographic modelling aimed at visualizing regional variations of the seafloor topography.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-11-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81333586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract In 1990, a decentralized local government system was introduced in Hungary. One of the main issues of the system was fragmentation at local level. This paper examines the attempts made by the central government to deal with this issue in the last thirty years. First, the study analyses the municipal splits and maps the dynamics, the reasons, and the environmental and political factors affecting these secessions. Second, it examines the government’s attempts at reform to reduce the effects of fragmentation. The paper argues that the Fidesz-KDNP electoral victory in 2010 was a milestone in the handling of territorial issues: municipal splits became virtually impossible with the new regulation of the secession process, and de facto territorial consolidation reform was carried out through alteration of the local electoral system and functional rescaling and merging of the mayors’ offices.
{"title":"Municipal splits and hidden amalgamations in Hungary","authors":"G. Dobos","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0035","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0035","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In 1990, a decentralized local government system was introduced in Hungary. One of the main issues of the system was fragmentation at local level. This paper examines the attempts made by the central government to deal with this issue in the last thirty years. First, the study analyses the municipal splits and maps the dynamics, the reasons, and the environmental and political factors affecting these secessions. Second, it examines the government’s attempts at reform to reduce the effects of fragmentation. The paper argues that the Fidesz-KDNP electoral victory in 2010 was a milestone in the handling of territorial issues: municipal splits became virtually impossible with the new regulation of the secession process, and de facto territorial consolidation reform was carried out through alteration of the local electoral system and functional rescaling and merging of the mayors’ offices.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88515988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Illegal extraction of gold has grown to be a problem in many countries, causing the degradation of the environment. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate changes in tree cover and surface pollution. The development of a mine site has been observed and analysed with images acquired from Landsat and the Sentinel missions. The results of the study showed changes in the state of the environment, strongly suggesting the possibility of ongoing pyrite weathering processes and the transportation of clay materials down watercourses, which can cause not only the further deterioration of the environment but also slow down the natural regeneration of the forest. In addition, research has found disturbing changes in vegetation, showing a loss of tree cover in the Amazon Rainforest as high as 17%. The validity of using remote sensing methods to observe the development of individual mining sites and their characteristics was confirmed.
{"title":"Remote sensing techniques for tracking changes caused by illegal gold mining in Madre de Dios, Peru","authors":"K. Adamek, M. Lupa, M. Zawadzki","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0028","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Illegal extraction of gold has grown to be a problem in many countries, causing the degradation of the environment. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate changes in tree cover and surface pollution. The development of a mine site has been observed and analysed with images acquired from Landsat and the Sentinel missions. The results of the study showed changes in the state of the environment, strongly suggesting the possibility of ongoing pyrite weathering processes and the transportation of clay materials down watercourses, which can cause not only the further deterioration of the environment but also slow down the natural regeneration of the forest. In addition, research has found disturbing changes in vegetation, showing a loss of tree cover in the Amazon Rainforest as high as 17%. The validity of using remote sensing methods to observe the development of individual mining sites and their characteristics was confirmed.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90872766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Slovenian communities were eager to re-establish autonomous local governments after the introduction of democracy. These newly established municipalities corresponded territorially to the previous regime’s local communities; however, only 194 municipalities were formed from over 1,200 communities. Some municipalities comprised a cluster of communities, some of which later became proponents of splits, due to the sense that they were being neglected by the rest of the municipality and in the hope of receiving more funds as separate municipalities. Although stricter criteria for establishing municipalities were imposed and the scope of formal initiators was narrowed to limit the splits, the proponents found loopholes in the form of political patrons (deputies) and, as a last resort, sought justice from the constitutional court. The splits occurred in both underdeveloped and developed municipalities. The breakaway municipalities were not more developed than the mother municipality; about a third were less developed. There were no clear financial advantages in creating separate municipalities.
{"title":"Factors contributing to municipal splits in Slovenia","authors":"Irena Bačlija Brajnik, Roman Lavtar","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0026","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Slovenian communities were eager to re-establish autonomous local governments after the introduction of democracy. These newly established municipalities corresponded territorially to the previous regime’s local communities; however, only 194 municipalities were formed from over 1,200 communities. Some municipalities comprised a cluster of communities, some of which later became proponents of splits, due to the sense that they were being neglected by the rest of the municipality and in the hope of receiving more funds as separate municipalities. Although stricter criteria for establishing municipalities were imposed and the scope of formal initiators was narrowed to limit the splits, the proponents found loopholes in the form of political patrons (deputies) and, as a last resort, sought justice from the constitutional court. The splits occurred in both underdeveloped and developed municipalities. The breakaway municipalities were not more developed than the mother municipality; about a third were less developed. There were no clear financial advantages in creating separate municipalities.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79758969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract The increase in demand for food and the need to predict the impact of a warming climate on vegetation makes it critical that the best tools for assessing crop production are found. Chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) has been proposed as a direct indicator of photosynthesis and plant condition. The aim of this paper is to study the feasibility of estimating ChlF from spectral vegetation indices derived from Sentinel-2, in order to monitor crop stress and investigate ChlF changes in response to surface temperatures and meteorological observations. The regressions between thirty three Sentinel-2-derived VIs, and ChlF measured on the ground were evaluated in order to estimate the best predictors of ChlF. The r-Pearson correlation and polynomial linear regression were used. For maize, the highest correlation between ChlF and VIs were found for NDII (r=0.65) and for SIPI (r=−0.68). The weakest relationship between VIs and ChlF were found for sugar beets. Despite this, it should be noted that the highest correlation for sugar beets appeared for EVI (r=0.45) and S2REP (r=0.43). The results of this study indicate the need for a synergy of low and high resolution satellite data that will enable a more detailed analysis for estimating fluorescence and its relation to climatic conditions, environmental aspects, and VIs derived from satellite images.
{"title":"Remote sensing techniques to assess chlorophyll fluorescence in support of crop monitoring in Poland","authors":"Radosław Gurdak, M. Bartold","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0029","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The increase in demand for food and the need to predict the impact of a warming climate on vegetation makes it critical that the best tools for assessing crop production are found. Chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) has been proposed as a direct indicator of photosynthesis and plant condition. The aim of this paper is to study the feasibility of estimating ChlF from spectral vegetation indices derived from Sentinel-2, in order to monitor crop stress and investigate ChlF changes in response to surface temperatures and meteorological observations. The regressions between thirty three Sentinel-2-derived VIs, and ChlF measured on the ground were evaluated in order to estimate the best predictors of ChlF. The r-Pearson correlation and polynomial linear regression were used. For maize, the highest correlation between ChlF and VIs were found for NDII (r=0.65) and for SIPI (r=−0.68). The weakest relationship between VIs and ChlF were found for sugar beets. Despite this, it should be noted that the highest correlation for sugar beets appeared for EVI (r=0.45) and S2REP (r=0.43). The results of this study indicate the need for a synergy of low and high resolution satellite data that will enable a more detailed analysis for estimating fluorescence and its relation to climatic conditions, environmental aspects, and VIs derived from satellite images.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73561320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract Relations between metropolitan core cities and regional and sub-regional centres are part of a broader discussion on the importance of metropolitan areas for the development of regions. These relations are dealt with in this paper in the context of the growth pole theory. The paper focuses on the migration process in relation to enterprises. By moving their businesses, companies contribute to backwash and spread effects. Since company migrations between municipalities occur in both directions, the question remains open as to which migration direction dominates – whether from sub-regional centres to core cities or vice versa. This paper attempts to verify the hypothesis that regional and sub-regional centres in the Mazowieckie voivodship suffer the largest loss of enterprises due to migration to the core city of Warsaw. The results obtained were varied and the hypothesis was confirmed, especially in the case of three cities: Siedlce, Radom and Płock; and partly in the case of Ciechanów.
{"title":"Quo Vadis, Business? The migration of companies between cities using the example of the Mazowieckie voivodship in Poland","authors":"Magdalena Cybulska, Wojciech Dziemianowicz","doi":"10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0037","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2478/mgrsd-2020-0037","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Relations between metropolitan core cities and regional and sub-regional centres are part of a broader discussion on the importance of metropolitan areas for the development of regions. These relations are dealt with in this paper in the context of the growth pole theory. The paper focuses on the migration process in relation to enterprises. By moving their businesses, companies contribute to backwash and spread effects. Since company migrations between municipalities occur in both directions, the question remains open as to which migration direction dominates – whether from sub-regional centres to core cities or vice versa. This paper attempts to verify the hypothesis that regional and sub-regional centres in the Mazowieckie voivodship suffer the largest loss of enterprises due to migration to the core city of Warsaw. The results obtained were varied and the hypothesis was confirmed, especially in the case of three cities: Siedlce, Radom and Płock; and partly in the case of Ciechanów.","PeriodicalId":44469,"journal":{"name":"Miscellanea Geographica","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83715515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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