The informal economy encompasses economic activities that operate outside formal institutional frameworks and are shaped by temporal, spatial, and activity-specific factors, particularly in urban contexts. This study investigates the spatiotemporal rhythms of informal economic actors in Zanjan (Iran) addressing the central research question: How is the temporal and spatial organization of the informal urban economy structured, and how does space consumption relate to activity type? Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach grounded in rhythmanalysis, data were collected through continuous observation and semi-structured interviews and analyzed through descriptive and interpretive methods. Findings indicate that informal activities are spatially clustered across central, intermediate, and peripheral urban zones according to pedestrian flows, market density, accessibility, and product type, while temporal rhythms vary daily, weekly, and seasonally under the influence of environmental conditions and regulatory enforcement. The activity content primarily involves the provision of subsistence-oriented goods of medium to low quality. The study highlights that rhythmanalysis provides a robust framework for understanding the dynamic spatial and temporal patterns of informal economies, offering practical insights for data-informed urban planning and policy-making.
The current study explores livelihood patterns constraints, opportunities and the scope for economic empowerment of rural households in the dryland areas of West Bengal. Our work focuses on analyzing the prevalent causes of low income and backwardness among the rural household participants. The present research identifies potential avenues for sustainable resource creation to enhance the economic resilience of the studied people. For quantitative analysis, a Kruskal-Wallis test, a robust generalized linear model, and pairwise Wilcoxon tests are used. The analysis section revealed the variables responsible for vulnerability. Further, this work sheds light on the role of SDG Goal 8 in employment generation communities. The findings section demonstrates that a poor human resource base, limited access to lucrative opportunities, and a weak man-land ratio significantly contributed to the prevalence of poverty by slowing economic growth. Moreover, marginalized people need assistance from government and non-governmental sources to secure their livelihoods.
Land prices and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) serve as crucial indicators in economics and natural science, respectively. This study aims to investigate the relationship between these two indices. Jointly examining land prices and NDVI is essential for policymakers who must weigh economic development against ecological preservation within a single framework. The vector format land price data and rasterformat NDVI values were combined using a point-sampling technique. K-means clustering was then applied to this integrated dataset, classifying 249 counties in South Korea into four clusters. An inverse relationship was identified between the two indices, suggesting that urban development may undermine environmental conservation. Notably, one cluster of eight counties exhibited both high land prices and high vegetation, making these areas attractive to both residents and investors. Conversely, another cluster, with low land prices and low vegetation, underscored the challenges faced by rural counties in South Korea. Prior studies have typically focused on land prices or NDVI values independently within their respective domains. The interdisciplinary approach of this study is expected to provide insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to balance urbanization with rural conservation.
Despite the gains made towards alleviation of slums globally, the phenomenon is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, several studies have focused on various aspects while little focus is placed on livelihood empowerment in slum upgrading and redevelopment programs. This study focused on the livelihoods of slum dwellers and challenges emerging from upgrading and improving infrastructure. Therefore, a qualitative approach and case study strategy were adopted to gauge the potential reception in the Kibera slum area. Interviews with traders within the settlement and key informants from institutions engaged in the slum upgrading and infrastructure improvement were conducted. In addition, a review of official documents, particularly policies and laws affecting slum upgrading, was crucial in building the evidence-based component of the study. The study revealed that while there exist several interventions aiming at improving livelihood and economic situation of the residents, such interventions are generally perceived to be far-removed from the formal slum redevelopment program. Further, it was observed that there are limited coordination and synchronization of these efforts, resulting in disjointed support systems to small entrepreneurs and resource wastage. The research points out the potential of enterprise centres as an economic policy in slum alleviation. The concept, if well implemented, can help improve the retention of beneficiaries of slum redevelopment initiatives. Moreover, increased cost recovery from the new infrastructure can boost the replicability and sustainability of redevelopment interventions.
Modern democratic political systems are hardly conceivable without political representation. This also applies to the European Union, a unique international organisation with a directly elected and fully-fledged assembly representing citizens of the EU Member States. Because geographical factors are central to the operation of almost all electoral systems and the European Parliament is the first transnational assembly based on the Member States representation, the paper explores the geography of representation in European Parliamentary election. The Member States representation in the European Parliament may be degressively proportional, which implies malapportionment of the European Parliamentary seats across the Member States. The study aims to quantify malapportionment in European elections, examining both the European Parliament level (using the adaptation of Loosemore and Hanby's distortion index) and the Member States level (employing the advantage ratio and representation profile). It concludes that European political elites have deliberately created a system of EU Member States representation in which the geography of representation is a highly distorted reflection of the underlying geography of voting, with the aim of ensuring greater representation for less populous Member States and preventing excessive representation for Germany and other most populous Member States (i.e., deliberate degressive proportional representation). Specifically, malapportionment has been just below 15 % of the total seats, with the five most populous member states being underrepresented and the remaining twenty-two Member States enjoying an advantage in the European Parliamentary representation. At the same time, the study reveals that that the European Parliament's composition resulting from the elections did not fully meet the requirement for degressively proportional representation set out in the Lisbon Treaty.
This paper examines the relationship between industrial legacies and demographic trajectories in the large Czech cities after 1990. The analysis is based on a dataset of 26 cities with more than 45000 inhabitants, combining data on the development of industrial employment and population changes from the turn of the 1980s and 1990s to the present. Industrial structures were aggregated into five sectoral categories and compared with demographic development using statistical methods (Spearman's correlation, boxplots, Webb's diagram). The results show a significant association between long-term industrial trajectories and demographic outcomes. Cities historically dominated by machinery and electrical industries have experienced more stable or growing populations, while those dependent on heavy industries such as mining and metallurgy have undergone substantial decline. The findings demonstrate the persistence of path dependency in urban development, linking economic specialization before 1989 with post-socialist demographic shrinkage. The study highlights the importance of industrial legacy for understanding regional disparities in Central Europe and provides empirical evidence for debates on deindustrialization, shrinking cities, and post-socialist urban restructuring.
As urbanization accelerates, the uneven nature of urban spatial development has led to regional disparities in residents' developmental opportunities. Children, as a significant vulnerable group, find their growth environments and life chances profoundly affected by the urban spatial context. This study, grounded in the theory of spatial justice, analyzes the spatial distribution characteristics of 139 designated Child-Friendly Community (CFC) pilot sites in Tianjin, China. By assessing the alignment of these sites with the city's child population distribution, the research investigates the equity of public resource allocation. The findings reveal a complex picture: while a spatial Gini coefficient of 0.28 suggests a relatively balanced distribution at the macro level, a deeper analysis uncovers a severe "core-periphery" disparity in practical accessibility. Resources are densely concentrated in the central urban districts, leading to walkable service radii. In contrast, peripheral suburban districts face challenges of excessively large service radii and insufficient facility coverage. This analysis underscores a structural imbalance where the allocation of public resources, guided by a top-down, state-led planning model, fails to match the demographic needs and lived realities of children in the urban fringe. The study concludes by proposing policy recommendations focused on optimizing spatial layouts and regulating resource allocation to foster more equitable and just urban development for children, offering insights relevant to other rapidly urbanizing cities facing similar challenges of spatial injustice.
This study explores the intricate relationship between visual comfort (VICO) and greenery distribution - measured by the Green View Index (GVI) - alongside object composition in the rural landscapes of Ciputri Village, Indonesia. Using panoramic imagery and semantic segmentation models, dominant visual elements were identified, categorized, and analyzed for their contributions to landscape perception. The analysis combined linear regression and Random Forest modelling to evaluate the predictors of VICO. While the linear model showed limited explanatory power (R2 = 0.37), the Random Forest model (R2 = 0.60) performed substantially better, highlighting the importance of nonlinear relationships. Key findings reveal GVI as a dominant determinant of VICO, underscoring its substantial role in enhancing visual comfort. Specific objects such as trees, mountains, and the sky positively influenced VICO when visually dominant, whereas walls had the opposite effect. Unique patterns were observed for plants and "null" objects, with their contributions varying according to their positional dominance in the visual composition. For instance, plants in primary positions were associated with reduced VICO due to perceived monotony, but they enhanced VICO when secondary or tertiary, reflecting their role as complementary elements that enrich visual diversity. Overall, these results provide a nuanced understanding of the interplay between greenery, object composition, and visual comfort, suggesting that balanced visual diversity and strategic spatial arrangements can moderately shape landscape perception, with direct implications for rural landscape planning in Indonesia.
The major transformative events in Czechia after 1989 came with many aspects of a new reality, including changes to the geographical organisation of society and public administration. Along with this reality, there was a fundamental change in the electoral behaviour of the population and its discontinuity in time and space at different scales. Given the above, it is clear that the voting behaviour of the Czech population is partly determined by socio-economic and socio-demographic factors, in addition to increasing spatial polarisation. The aim of this paper is therefore to help - using the stability index - reveal the spatial differentiation of the stability of local political elites (members of assembly) and electoral behaviour in selected types of regions in Czechia during the period from 1994 to 2022. The territory of the Pilsen Region and South Bohemian Region was chosen for the analysis. These regions represent territorial units co-determined by structural changes and at the same time, show a relatively higher internal differentiation of social, demographic, economic and other phenomena. The highest values of analysed stability were identified in low-populated rural municipalities with up to 200 inhabitants, with the exception of a few mountain municipalities in the state border areas. Conversely, it can be noted that there are a number of border municipalities with up to 200 inhabitants. The results show a significant spatial differentiation of the examined stability and its ambivalent character, determined by selected socio-economic factors. For these reasons, the selected types of regions can be identified as suitable territorial units for a pilot analysis of the stability of local political elites.
The objective of this research is to evaluate citizen participation in the territorial management of the Utcubamba River basin in Amazonas, Peru, with particular attention to community practices in conserving natural and cultural resources. The methodology combined thematic data collection with fieldwork, including direct observations and surveys administered to members of both urban and rural social organizations. The survey, consisting of eight questions, was analyzed through frequency distribution, which facilitated the identification of participation patterns and citizen perceptions. The findings reveal active community involvement in resource management, with notable initiatives such as reforestation in Luya Viejo and tourism management in Cruz Pata and Cocachimba. Nonetheless, several shortcomings were identified: 67% of respondents reported insufficient access to information, and 93% indicated they had not participated in the preparation of territorial plans, highlighting a significant disconnect between authorities and the community. Despite these limitations, 93% of participants expressed a strong interest in becoming more actively engaged in management processes. The study concludes by underscoring the need to strengthen mechanisms for information dissemination and capacity building in order to foster more effective and equitable citizen participation in integrated territorial management.
Local administrations and governments communicate with the public in both obligatory and voluntary ways. In all cases, they aim to ensure that their messages reach their recipients, are understandable, memorable and enter the citizens' decision-making process. This paper reports the results of an eye-tracking experiment combined with a structured questionnaire that tested whether positive versus negative message framing in text and images affects how well readers recall information, and how long they focus on webpage elements. Key findings show no significant effect of message framing on correct recall of either textual or visual information (p = 0,52 for text recall; p = 0,48 for picture recall) and no significant effect on time spent viewing the message itself. These results suggest that in the context of municipal website communication, positive or negative framing alone does not meaningfully enhance citizens recall. This implies that other factors (e. g. content clarity, relevance) may be more decisive.
This study addresses the lack of updated land cover and land cover change data in Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon (Philippines), while also identifying land use policy clusters and formulating spatial development options to guide the local planning. Land cover analysis was conducted using remote sensing techniques via Google Earth Engine and spatial analysis tools in QGIS. Year-on-year data from 2017 to 2022 revealed significant increases in tree cover within mangrove areas and in flooded vegetation across seagrass zones. The gradual expansion of built-up areas in urban and urbanizing barangays highlighted a noticeable rural-urban population shift and marked zones where built development - whether planned or unplanned - is likely to occur. Based on these findings, four development clusters were identified: Agroforestry, Agriculture, Commercial-Residential, Conservation. The three spatial development options were subsequently formulated and presented to the Local Development Council, from which participants then selected the Conservation-Enterprise option as the spatial development strategy most likely to realize their town's vision. This approach centers focus on the interdependence between the local economy and livelihood on the stability of the town's environment, thereby reinforcing incentives for environmental sustainability.
This study examines Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) changes over a 30-year period (1994-2024) in the Ahafo Ano Southwest District of Ghana using Landsat imagery from 1994, 2004, 2014, and 2024. Supervised classification based on the Maximum Likelihood algorithm was applied to classify the images into five LULC categories: dense vegetation, sparse vegetation, wetland, bare land, and built-up area. The classification results achieved overall accuracies above 95% with Kappa coefficients of approximately 0.92. The results indicate a substantial expansion of built-up areas, sparse vegetation, and bare land, occurring at the expense of dense vegetation and wetlands. These changes are primarily associated with increasing human activities, particularly agricultural expansion and urbanization, which corresponds with population growth in the study area. The findings provide important insights for land-use planning and the formulation of sustainable development policies aimed at enhancing forest cover, conserving ecosystems, and mitigating carbon stock loss.
Polish-Czech bilateral relations have flourished in the last years. Cross-border cooperation has helped to eliminate the border effect. It has also been the case of the Euroregion Neisse-Nysa-Nisa. The bilateral dispute over the Polish lignite mine Tur & oacute;w attracted media attention and damaged the above-illustrated picture. The article examines the impact of the dispute over the mine and its settlement on cross-border cooperation and governance. It searches for deficiencies in cross-border governance, potentially leading to the upward shift of the originally local dispute to the international and supranational levels. Observation and interviews with key stakeholders revealed that relations across the border were somewhat disrupted, but the testimonies still show a willingness to cooperate. As the competencies to bring the legal solution were imposed on the central states, we claim that the Euroregion could mitigate the absence of joint actions/communication within the controversy rather than solve the dispute in its complexity. At the same time, the Polish-Czech intergovernmental agreement on the mine includes a unique financial instrument to improve cross-border relations, with the Euroregion playing a managing role.
Climate change affects both urban areas and rural landscapes, with issues such as drought, soil erosion, and flash floods becoming increasingly prevalent. Although the scientific community has long advocated for nature-based solutions (NBS), their adoption in agricultural practice remains limited. This study explores the preferences of farmers and residents regarding NBS on agricultural land, examines the level of social acceptance, and identifies barriers to NBS implementation from the farmers’ perspective. A questionnaire survey conducted in the Oleška River Basin, Czech Republic, assessed preferences for 12 measures. The results reveal partial agreement between the two groups: for example, grassing along streams and baulks is appreciated aesthetically by both. However, differences exist in perceived functionality. Farmers, drawing from practical experience, evaluate the aesthetics and functionality of measures such as contour tillage and afforestation differently than residents. Both groups perceived measures like retention pools as less effective for flood regulation. The findings highlight that financial constraints and complex landowner-farmer relationships hinder NBS implementation. This research emphasizes the need for land-use strategies that address both stakeholder preferences and practical challenges, enabling more effective adoption of NBS to mitigate climate impacts. As the evaluation of the measures shows, some practices – such as maize cultivation – are considered by both stakeholder groups to be the least aesthetic and least effective for flood regulation, and their support is therefore not justified. In contrast, afforestation is perceived positively by both groups, being seen as both highly aesthetic and effective in flood protection. These insights underline the importance of incorporating stakeholder preferences into policy design, particularly when developing financial incentives for NBS, and avoiding the promotion of agricultural practices that are neither visually appealing nor beneficial in terms of ecosystem services.
The challenges faced by SMEs, such as limited financial resources, expertise, and scale, have been exacerbated by climate change. As a result, SMEs increasingly need to adopt collaborative strategies, such as strategic alliances, to navigate these challenges. This study examines the role of strategic alliances as a coping strategy for climate change adaptation among SMEs in Nigeria. A mixed-method approach was employed, combining a quantitative survey with qualitative interviews. Data were collected through questionnaires returned from 70 SMEs, supplemented by interviews with selected respondents to provide deeper insights and interpretations of the survey findings. The results indicated that adopting strategic alliances allowed SMEs to increase their climate awareness, share risks, build capacity, facilitate technology transfer, achieve synergy and competitive advantage, and reduce costs. The study also identified key barriers to forming strategic alliances, including lack of trust, misappropriation of partner skills, dishonesty, and abandonment of agreements. Despite these challenges, the findings suggested that strategic alliances can serve as a valuable tool for SMEs in mitigating and adapting to climate change. Therefore, policymakers should support and promote this strategy to ensure the sustainability of SME operations in Nigeria.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the Slovak population. Breast cancer, one of the most prevalent oncological diseases worldwide, is the primary cause of female mortality. Geographic analyses of the spatial distribution of breast cancer are relatively scarce in Slovak literature. In this article, we assume that, at the local and regional levels in Slovakia, breast cancer exhibits varying frequency, incidence rates, and spatial disparities. We evaluated the spatial incidence patterns of breast cancer in Slovakia at the municipal level using spatial autocorrelation analyses, specifically local Moran’s I and Anselin’s local Moran’s statistics. Our study utilized databases on female-specific mortality rates due to breast cancer, calculated per 1,000 women aged 15 and older, covering the period from 2009 to 2021. During the study period, breast cancer incidence among women showed a statistically significant positive global Moran’s index, indicating a tendency toward clustering. According to Anselin’s local Moran’s I analyses, significant clusters of breast cancer were primarily identified in the western and central regions of Slovakia.
Within the broader context of the automotive industry’s dominance in post-communist Central European countries, the primary objective of this article is to determine whether this trend has also influenced old industrial regions (OIRs). The authors focus on the Moravian-Silesian Region and the Ústí Region, both belonging to regions that, due to its sectoral specialization, ranks among the most problematic in Czechia in terms of economic restructuring. The paper seeks to demonstrate the presence of both deindustrialization and reindustrialization within these OIRs. The dynamics of these processes are evaluated using data from business accounts. The primary data source consists of the main financial records of automotive businesses, even in cases where a company’s registered headquarters differs from the location of its production site. From a methodological perspective, the article also addresses the recalculation of business account data to individual production sites within a single company. The study focuses on one key proportional indicator of the economic performance of the automotive industry: value added per employee. The main finding is that the automotive industry plays a crucial role in both OIRs under investigation, but in terms of reindustrialization, there are various drivers affecting the differential dynamics of this process in both regions. At the micro-regional level, the automotive industry is spatially highly concentrated in both regions.
The participatory planning approach is centered on inclusive idea generation, consensus building, and consideration of socioeconomic and cultural aspects. Currently, there is limited knowledge regarding whether the 2019 Dodoma master plan reflects the needs and interests of the local communities. A mixed research approach and case study strategy were deployed. Interviews, documents reviews, and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were the main data collection methods. Content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse qualitative and quantitative data respectively. The findings indicate that the 2019 Dodoma master plan marginally reflects the needs and interests of the Madukani and Msalato wards communities. This was evidenced by a lack of harmonisation of needs and interests between the City Council of Dodoma (CCD) and the local communities. The local communities prioritised individual interests (tenure security) while CCD focused on the complex public interests (sustainable city). Regardless of the importance of safeguarding public interests, the process was subjected to ineffective communication, negotiation, orientation of earmarked land uses, commitment, and inclusive decision-making. The participation practice signifies either non-participation (manipulation/therapy) or tokenism (informing/consultation) of Sherry Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation. This was proved by the power imbalance of the technocrats in accommodating the suggestions of the local communities. Again, denial of the local communities’ suggestions and ineffective information dissemination counter with the Communicative and Collaborative Planning Theory. The findings, therefore; call for inclusive decision-making to ensure the 2019 Dodoma master plan is effectively understood, owned, and observed by the local communities.
This paper deals with the assessment of the demand for cultural using participatory mapping in the Local Action Group (LAG) ties of the White Carpathians and Tren & ccaron;& iacute;n Microregion and the Bo & scaron;& aacute;& ccaron;ka vakia. CES as non-material services provided by ecosystems are development. While, tourism is not very developed in the case study of residents and visitors to the area were investigated and compared. per is to map the demand for CES, both from the perspective of and to propose appropriate forms of tourism for LAG municipalities ferent demand for CES. We collected the data using a questionnaire locations in the territory of the LAG from July to October in 2023, target groups (n=100 and n=108). Participatory mapping helped to locations in the country. Based on the results, we established a tance of locations in terms of tourism interest. The survey shows is influenced by the availability of the location as well as the about the area. In the case of attractive locations, both residents to tolerate the lack of tourism services such as small number of ing facilities, incomplete information or worse transport that high demand for CES prevails among residents and visitors in residents identified more locations where demand for CES occurs. search are of considerable importance in the implementation of the tem services in the territory development documents, since on their to strengthen and especially optimise the development of tourismHighlights for public administration, management and planning: This paper assesses demand for cultural ecosystem services (CES) tory mapping within specific regions of Slovakia, with a focus velopment in less-visited areas. Data collected from residents and visitors shows shared interest CES locations, where limited tourism infrastructure is tolerated natural and cultural appeal. Findings provide insight for integrating CES demand into plans, aiming to enhance and optimize tourism sustainably based tor preferences.
