Regional Decline and Restructuring in Ostrava Agglomeration and Katowice Conurbation

Regions of traditional industry are often perceived as doomed to economic decline. Old industrial regions in transitional countries constitute entirely new category of problem regions since their economic decay differs from their western counterparts substantially both in terms of the origin and the character of their troubles. In the early 1990s these regions suddenly faced the double shock in the form of severe international competition and rather painful inner restructuring. Restructuring of old industrial areas in Central East Europe thus represents a truly topical problem not only for the sake of its unprecedented character but also with regard to its socio-economic impacts. Some of these regions suffer from serious socio-economic problems just according to the initial gloomy prognoses on the one hand but the group of temporary winners emerged on the other hand. It is argued that differentiated transformational trajectories of old industrial regions in transitional countries cannot be satisfactorily explained by traditional theories. However, institutional approaches combined with hermeneutical methods bring acceptable clarification of the diverse development of such kind of regions in Central East Europe. The paper is devoted to the comparison of restructuring in Ostrava agglomeration (Czech Republic) and Katowice conurbation (Poland) from institutional-hermeneutical perspective. While in case of Ostrava region this restructuring turned out to be far from perfect, in Katowice area, on the contrary, pessimistic scenario did not materialise. The different course of restructuring in afore-mentioned regions will be analysed from both rank-territorial (national and regional) and functional (restructuring of traditional industries, development of new activities and communication level of restructuring) perspectives.

Some dilemmas of post-industrialism in a region of traditional industry: the case of the Katowice conurbation, Poland

The problem of using the concept of post-industrialism to define regions with traditional industries is addressed in this article. It focuses on the diversity of industrial development in the Katowice conurbation (Poland) and the difficulties of situating the region in the widely-used taxonomy by Phelps and Ozawa, which assumes a one-way transition from the late-industrial to post-industrial stage. The authors point to the fact that only some of the towns can be described as post-industrial, since there are also towns in which traditional industries continue to develop relatively well and others at an advanced stage of re-industrialisation. The proposal is made that the Katowice conurbation can be described as a “trans-industrial region” in order to account for the various stages of development in the industrial sector in the towns of the conurbation, and to underline the dynamic nature and temporal variability of the industrialisation factor in the region

Industrial activity in CEE countries: Post-crisis transformation of spatial and functional structure

Given paper deals with the problem of industry structure shifts on the example of CEE countries. The continuous evolution of spatial and functional structure of industrial activity is considered on the level of territorial-production formations. The difference in the external and internal conditions of their development (e.g. before and after global crisis effects spread) is supposed to influence the driving mechanisms of industrial complexation - from modelling to self-organisation. The problem of industrial facilities placement should be also addressed with due regard for contemporary integration trends influencing the scale of cross-border cooperation. Besides that, our investigation is resulted in the determination of the possible structural changes and prospects of the territorial-production formations in CEE in the post-crisis period. These findings are based not only on data analysis but the application of mapping methodology developed in the paper

Upper Silesia: a changing cross-border region. A field report from a Brazilian geographer

This field report deals with a peripheral, or non-central cross-border region between Poland and Czech Republic. It presents some results of bibliographical research and field observations in the cultural-historical region of Silesia (PL: Śląsk; CZ: Slezsko), mainly in its part of Upper Silesia (PL: Górny Śląsk; CZ: Horní Slezsko). After the Introduction, the question of the location and position of cultural-historical Silesia and Upper Silesia is examined between the two countries. In the second place, the spatio-temporal development of the territorial formation of Silesia is presented. In the third place, the most important territorial features of the intensive urbanization process and the Silesian-Moravian agglomeration are treated. In the fourth part, which deals with “peripheral regionalism” in Central Europe, the report tries to show that Upper Silesia is a classic cross-border central region in the sense of a strategic “Heartland” between Poland and Czech Republic. In fifth place, the report addresses the current productive reconversions in Upper Silesia, the closure of coal mines and steel mills considered unproductive, the integration of the periphery into the central macro-regional production networks of the automotive industry, the gradual adaptation to the Paris Agreement, and the search for a service-based economy, mainly through historical and ecological tourism. In sixth and final place, the report addresses cross-border management, focusing on Euroregions, the EGTC Tritia, and functional urban areas (FUAS) in both sides of the countries. A concluding Discussion highlights that the concept of periphery may not be appropriate for Upper Silesia and, to some extent, for the entire cultural-historical Silesia, even though its geo-economic role in production networks is changing today. A brief Post Scriptum highlights the current state of cross-border integration processes, which respond to the uncertainties of nationalisms, the difficulties of integrating processes and productive reconversions, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine

Inventing a Capitalist Region: Upper Silesia/Poland - Economic Transformations in Old-Industrial and Post-Socialist Spaces of Central and Eastern Europe

The thesis explores economic, political and social processes in former socialist countries with a case study in one of the biggest conurbations in Europe, Upper Silesia. The ongoing but selective economic processes of global and macro-regional economic integration have been identified as a main issue in geographical research. In particular the nexus between the global and the local seen as a dialectical relationship, composed of multiple and asymmetric interdependencies has stressed the necessity of utilising relational analysis in economic geography. The question emerges in what ways and to what extent increasing economic integration may lead to a socio-economic convergence of places or the development of 'indigenous capacities', spatial peculiarities and legacies to establish themselves in capitalist networks of production. With empirical reference to the Polish conurbation of Upper Silesia and drawing on the analytical framework from Michael Storper's 'Holy Trinity' ("The Regional World", New York, 1997), this thesis analyses post socialist urban and regional transformations from three angles. 1. While Storper analysed mainly 'successful' regions in the West, the research tries to identify the main challenges that face any simple attempt to adapt western (theoretical) approaches within a post-socialist, Central East European context. 2. The thesis then identifies the fabric of political economic actors and the path dependent 'invention' of a region, here Upper Silesia, and analysis locally and regionally embedded and recombined informal institutions and their capacity for restructuring of an old industrial space. 3. While inter- and intra-regional competition is growing in an 'era of globalisation', the thesis finally investigates the scope for action and 'reflexive' interrelations between administrative, political and economic actors in an 'ordinary region' prior to the accession to the European Union

Resilience requirements in the emerging knowledge region – the case of cities and enterprises in the Silesian conurbation

"The concept of knowledge regions (or learning regions) has become a wholly constructed model taking into account various dimensions. Reliable research on learning regions should take into account many aspects connected with human capital, the functioning of companies and institutions and also cultural specificity. The concept of resilience is one of these ideas that should be taken into account while talking about building the knowledge regions. Learning regions requires resilience and it appears as a result of cooperation between different actors and strategic planning. Having these abilities of cities and whole region it has a competitive advantage. The concept of resilience is associated primarily with the economic approach and concerns the capacity to solve the local economic problems in a way that it is the key to success. Analyzing this issue on the border on the border of economy and sociology, it is worth paying attention to these phenomena with a social background. A sequence of multiple processes depends on the state and the course of these phenomena. For these events we can include cooperation between main regional actors, their mutual adjustment and activities assessment, also the ability to set strategic goals, both by companies and local authorities. In the case of dynamic changes, that occur in industrial regions, where economic structure is changing, and the region becomes a region of knowledge – the ability to adapt to new conditions is particularly important." (fragm.

City of Walbrzych: technical assistance for mitigating the social and economic challenges of the city

This report addresses options for city renewal in the medium sized, but shrinking, Polish city of Walbrzych. It provides an overview of the impact of the rapid closure of the mining industry in the mid-1990s, in terms of high unemployment, family poverty, and the transfer of legacy buildings and housing in very poor condition. A range of EU and Polish investment programmes over the last 20 years have brought new industries and urban development, particularly through the creation of a Special Economic Zone. The report reviews current initiatives taking place in Walbrzych and explores these in the context of good practice and options from 25 EU cities, mainly of a similar size and with similar types of problem. A set of four virtual workshops over four days were held involving 9 cities and URBACT domain experts to explore in more detail the experience of Walbrzych and compare it to the problems and solutions in those other cities and networks. These workshops and discussions are described and analysed. The report concludes with an overview of possible next steps for Walbrzych. There are also five detailed case studies which present actions taken in five additional cities, complementing the detailed work in the workshops. The project was funded by the European Investment Bank and the report and the case studies are attached in the format required by the funder. ** Find out more about the project on our website: https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/CASE/_new/research/Walbrzych/default.as

The role of cities in cohesion policy 2014-2020

Urban regions are an important factor in regional development. During the 2007-2013 programming period, the main input provided by cities and urban areas was at project level. For the 2014-2020 programming period, Cohesion policy enhances the role of urban areas. Nevertheless, in practice the role of cities still seems similar in scale. As the programming phase is almost completed, there is now limited scope for further influence on the design of the new programmes. The next opportunity to involve cities will be as part of partnerships during the programming perio

PERSONAL FACTORS IN MOBILITY PLANNING WITH VIRTUAL ACTIVITIES

The main reason for contemporary transport problems related to traffic congestion in urban transport networks is the excessive number of passenger cars used by people commuting to work (i.e., to places where they carry out their work duties). During the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant reduction in traffic flow was observed due to the implementation of remote work. Currently, transport problems are similar to those observed before the pandemic period. This article presents the results of research and a discussion on various factors, the recognition and analysis of which enable the virtualization of activities related to work duties. Contribution to the development of science and knowledge in the field of transport, and in particular in urban mobility planning, justifies the need for in-depth research taking into account, among other matters, objective and subjective personal factors in the assessment of social generation preferences to carry out activities in a virtual form (e.g., remote work). Proper recognition of these factors enables the development of mobility plans that can significantly reduce traffic congestion

Minimizing the side effects of the metropolization as a condition for maintenance of transition and resilience in the post-industrial agglomerations

"The globalization phenomenon is one of the main social processes that determine our contemporary reality. It may be analysed as a phenomenon by itself but today it is becoming a rather fundamental feature of most social phenomena which, under its influence, have completely changed their character. Globalization is a phenomenon that penetrates reality so deeply that it constitutes a new paradigm that must be used in order to comprehend present reality properly. One phenomenon that cannot be comprehended without taking global processes into consideration is metropolization which is globalization’s elemental consequence in the city space. In this depiction, globalization might be defined as a phenomenon that relies on involution and the intensification of different kinds of flows and crossings of different processes which till now have been independent to a certain degree. Due to time and space compression, as indicated in the literature, a specific virtual global space was created in which interactions take place in unprecedented numbers through the actors that take part in it, and the subjects which are its content." (fragm.