Ladislav Novotný

1. Socio-economic stratification and segregation of the population are not only a spatial manifestation of inequalities, but also a mechanism of their reproduction (Sýkora, 2014; Van Ham et al., 20...

The research on international migration is usually focused on the most attractive destinations of migrations or areas of origin of migration flows suffering from considerable migration loss. This paper analyses the development and spatial patterns of migration from Ukraine to Slovakia with a special emphasis on Eastern Slovakia, which is employed as a case study of an economically lagging region with significant migration loss. The paper aims to assess if such a lagging region can be an attractive destination for migration from Ukraine, and to what extent migration flows from Ukraine can compensate for its migration loss. By using methods of a statistical analysis based on data from various national and international authorities, field research, and semi-structured interviews, the paper contributes to filling the gap in the research of international migration. Despite the economic lagging behind the western regions, Eastern Slovakia has attracted the majority of migrants from Ukraine to Slovakia. Because the structure of migrants from Ukraine is dominated by well-educated and skilled individuals, who are also culturally close to the domestic population and at the same time well adaptable to a host society, such migration flows are not enough to compensate the massive migration loss of Eastern Slovakia fully but can mitigate its negative consequences including loss of human capital.

The paper studies the contemporary migration of Bulgarians to countries of the Visegrad Group (V4)-the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. After making a short historical overview of this phenomenon since the 19 th century and the contemporary migration of Bulgarians in the years following 1989, the paper analyses the evolution of Bulgarian migration to the V4 countries in the recent years. The authors conclude that there are important migration flows of Bulgarian citizens towards these countries, due to job perspectives, similar social economic systems and the Bulgarian diaspora already living there.

Air pollution, largely driven by car traffic, poses significant challenges in many cities, including Košice, Slovakia. As the city explores micromobility as a part of its smart city initiatives and sustainable alternative to individual car use, understanding its spatial dynamics becomes essential. Despite the growing adoption of shared micromobility systems, research on their spatial patterns in Central Europe is still limited. This study analyzes over 900,000 trips made between 2019 and 2022 using bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, and e-mopeds in Košice’s dockless system. Using spatial analysis, we identified key hubs near public transport stops, pedestrian zones, and universities, highlighting how micromobility addresses the first/last mile transport challenge. A notable shift from bicycles to e-scooters was observed, enabling wider adoption in areas with fragmented terrain and neighborhoods farther from the city center. Our findings show a significant demand for shared micromobility, indicating its potential to reduce urban car dependency and support smart and sustainable urban transport. However, winter months remain a challenge, with high smog levels but near-zero demand for shared micromobility.

The collapse of the socialist regime led to significant changes in migration patterns, garnering considerable attention in geographical research. However, despite the increased interest, many studies on internal migration lack a detailed analysis of its spatial aspects. Spatial autocorrelation methods can reveal spatial patterns, but so far they have not been applied in the detailed research of internal migration in post-socialist countries. The aim of this study is to explore the spatial patterns of internal migration with regard to intra-regional and inter-regional migration processes using selected indicators of spatial autocorrelation (Global Moran’s I, Anselin local Moran’s I and Getis-Ord Gi* statistic) with Slovakia as a case study. A partial goal is to evaluate the benefits of applying these methods in the assessment of internal migration. Local indicators of spatial autocorrelation demonstrated significant differentiation of both intra-regional and inter-regional migration processes. The dominant intra-regional process is the decentralization of the population, which is very intensive in the regions of the largest towns and cities. Inter-regional migration displays spatial polarisation, emphasizing the importance of the location of key economic centres. The methodology employed in this study clearly displays the clusters of municipalities with above-average and below-average values. This approach enables the identification and cartographic interpretation of specific municipalities where migration contributes the most to the spatial redistribution of the population. The study serves as a valuable framework for similar analyses, emphasizing the broader applicability of spatial autocorrelation methods in studying migration patterns.

The economy has been developing exceptionally dynamically in recent decades. In the Central European countries of the former Eastern Bloc, the transformation from a centrally planned to a market economy contributed to these dynamics after 1989. Despite a large number of analyses at the national level or in particular cities, the impact of this development on rural areas has yet to be researched. This study aims to contribute to filling this gap. Its goal is to estimate and assess the development of the number, spatial distribution, and sectoral structure of jobs in the Slovak rural areas over the period 1991-2021. The study uses two approaches to the definition of rural municipalities and explores spatial differentiation of changes. Analysing data on the economically active population and commuting to work, both based on sectoral structure, provides a reliable basis for making qualified estimates regarding the quantity and composition of jobs, even at the local level. The study confirms that municipalities considered rural administratively showed neutral or positive changes in the number of jobs and strong shift from agricultural to diversified rural economy. However, positive changes were mainly driven by suburban areas. When excluding them from consideration, rural municipalities show a rapid decline in the number of jobs and changes in the sectoral structure driven mainly by the decrease in agricultural jobs.

Since the period of post-socialist transformation and the establishment of independ-ent Slovakia, limited attention has been paid to comprehensive assessment of its urban hier-archy. This study aims to address this research gap by proposing a hierarchical categorization of urban municipalities in Slovakia, reflecting their population size, transportation potential, availability of selected public amenities, jobs and positions in retail and commercial services. The analysis strives to capture the hierarchy both at a national and regional scale, offering insights into their roles within broader social-economic and spatial systems. The results are presented in two variants: one reflecting national-level accessibility and availability of ser-vices and jobs, and another focusing on regional contexts defined by a 40-minute commuting radius. This dual perspective emphasizes the importance of small towns in peripheral regions while demonstrating the varying positions of regional capitals based on their accessibility and amenities. The findings reveal significant disparities in urban hierarchy across Slovakia, driven by historical, infrastructural, and demographic factors. This research has practical implications for urban planning, regional development, and administrative reform. The cate-gorization provides a framework for identifying natural centres of development and for eval-uating the suitability of current administrative divisions. It also contributes to understanding the processes of urban development and regional transformation in Slovakia. The study also highlights the importance of further research. Significant differences in categorizations based on partial indicators point to the need for careful consideration of input variables, their weighting, and the refinement of threshold values. The study demonstrates differences between the national and regional significance of towns; however, it raises the question of setting spa-tial boundaries in the regional approach, which may vary depending on the indicators used.

Zborník abstraktov, ktorý máte pred sebou, obsahuje príspevky prezentované na X. Medzinárodnom geografickom kolokviu v Danišovciach. Ústav geografie na Prírodovedeckej fakulte UPJŠ v Košiciach toto podujatie organizuje už od svojho vzniku ako platformu na výmenu vedeckých poznatkov, primárne medzi geografmi zo Slovenska a Česka. Aktuálny jubilejný ročník spoluorganizovali Prírodovedecká fakulta UPJŠ v Košiciach, Slovenská geografická spoločnosť pri SAV v Bratislave v zastúpení jej Košickej pobočky a spoločnosť UMBRA Solutions Košice.