Suburbanization Processes of Large Cities in the Czech Republic in Terms of Migration

Abstract

The article describes changes occurred in settlements around the largest cities in the Czech Republic. At the beginning of the 1990s, emigration started to prevail over immigration in the majority of Czech towns. High migration gain is recorded in the districts of Prague East and West, Brno Countryside, and in the north and south districts of Pilsen. The growing process of suburbanization in the hinterland of Prague caused the capital city to become the region with the highest relative loss of population due to migration. People moved outside Prague, but on the other hand, migration gains in populations with higher education weakened due to the growing suburbanization process. This is particularly a matter of the wealthy population which started to vacate the prefabricated blocks of flats in towns and is moving to newly built family houses in surrounding villages. This process is stronger in times of economic growth. The migration leads to the strong growth of small settlements and, together with non-residential suburbanization, significantly disrupts the spatial structures of these settlements and reduces the quality of the environment. Process of suburbanization is regulated by the local plans of every municipality and cooperation between public administration, investors, developers and local communities. The local government must take care of the harmonious future development of these cities and solve the new problems associated with the inflow of the new population arriving into these communities. (original abstract)