Przegląd Geograficzny (2016) tom 88, zeszyt 4

Abstract The purpose of this paper is analyse 25-years of organisational-ownership transformation involving the national road carriers in Poland (PKS), Czechia and Slovakia (ČSAD), and Hungary (Volán). Included in this issue, Part I of this two-part work embraces the origin and development of the national road carriers in question, the legal frameworks and conditions underpinning their privatisation, and the characteristics of the transformations affecting haulier enterprises engaged in the carriage of freight by road. Part II, which will appear in issue 2/2017 of Przegląd Geograficzny, will focus on the transformations involving bus and coach companies in the Visegrad Group (V4) countries. A common feature of all the national carriers involved in road transport has been the co-occurrence within one public-service entity of both passenger traffic and the carriage of freight. This feature in fact placed enterprises of this kind in a disadvantageous position in comparison with those engaged in carriage that are commercial companies dedicated to a narrow group of customers connected with one branch of the economy. Another common feature is an origin in the late 1920s or 1930s that reflects a reaction of state railways joined by rapidly-arising competition from private road transport. The processes leading to the establishment of the different national road carriers were also similar in the countries of the group. A somewhat analogous situation can be observed in many restructuring processes within about 40-years of the centrally planned economies. The first period of ownership transformation in V4 countries can be regarded as chaotic ‘grass-roots’ privatisation involving companies engaged in freight carriage at the most. Disadvantageous experiences resulting from uncontrolled ‘grass roots’ privatisation initiatives (taking over fortunes and customers) have caused the privatisation processes to be placed within certain frameworks. The structure of national road transport companies was very much differentiated at the outset. Some countries like Slovakia have separated freight and passenger traffic completely, while others introduced a mixed variant. In fact, the situation in Poland was the resultant of both solutions: on the one hand there are companies engaging in the carriage of freight, while on the other there are also bus/coach companies likewise involved in goods traffic. Each of the V4 countries has taken a different approach to ownership transformation, though some processes can be observed in all countries, while others only in single countries. The involvement of staff in these processes has been different. In Poland alone, there was a special ‘path’ by which crews may buy into privatised companies. A somewhat similar solution involving worker participation has also been applied in Hungary, too. The restructuring and privatisation of freight transport in each country involved the application of different solutions. Thus, in Poland and Slovakia, numerous companies engaged in freight transport have been established. In Czechia and Hungary such companies have also been present, rather as an exception than a rule. However, complete separation of freight and passenger traffic has not proved to be a great success, since a majority of the freight companies, even the ones that have been privatised, have been closed down. This is the case in Poland, where an intermediate, multi-year stage of freight carriers existing as single-personality Treasury companies could be observed. Privatisation started much later there than in other V4 countries, but in 2015 only single independent companies engaged in the carriage of freight existed – a circumstance that speaks against such a process.

Keywords: prywatyzacja, deregulacja, przewoźnicy drogowi, PKS, CSAD, SAD, NAD, Volan, Grupa Wyszehradzka, geografia przedsiębiorstw

Zbigniew Taylor [z.taylor@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Ariel Ciechański [ariel@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland

Citation

APA: Taylor, Z., & Ciechański, A. (2016). Narodowi przewoźnicy drogowi w krajach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej – część I. Przegląd Geograficzny, 88(4), 441-467. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.2
MLA: Taylor, Zbigniew, and Ciechański, Ariel. "Narodowi przewoźnicy drogowi w krajach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej – część I". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, 2016, pp. 441-467. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.2
Chicago: Taylor, Zbigniew, and Ciechański, Ariel. "Narodowi przewoźnicy drogowi w krajach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej – część I". Przegląd Geograficzny 88, no. 4 (2016): 441-467. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.2
Harvard: Taylor, Z., & Ciechański, A. 2016. "Narodowi przewoźnicy drogowi w krajach Grupy Wyszehradzkiej – część I". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 441-467. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.2

Abstract This article presents a classifi cation of Poland’s administrative areas at the local level: communes (gminas) drawn up in 2013 to monitor spatial planning. This uses the deductive-inductive method, previously developed conceptually and methodological for Mazowieckie voivodship (province-region) (Śleszyński, 2012), as well as (in the identification of detailed criteria), the so-called functional typology for the monitoring of spatial planning (Śleszyński et all., 2007, Komornicki and Śleszyński, 2008). The division of Poland’s communes was based on a classification procedure with four consecutive components (Fig. 1), i.e.: 1) Selection and the establishment of a hierarchy of categories. A deductive hierarchy of factors allowing gminas to be differentiated and assigned to categories is applied, the a priori assumption being categories established at the beginning of the classification procedure are of greater rank and significance than remaining ones. Importance in this case thus relates to a determining factor where spatial organisation is concerned. 2) Selection of criteria typical for the given category. Every category is described on the basis of criteria corresponding to its specific features, e.g. as administrative, economic, etc.; 3) The assigning of gminas on the basis of detailed criteria. Gminas are included in the different categories on the basis of their meeting defined criteria. Moreover, at this stage, exclusion from more distant stages in the classification of gminas already assigned to a category takes place on the highest hierarchical level achievable. 4) Inductive internal differentiation Takes place, with categories of gmina as necessary divided into sub-categories on the basis of hallmark features associated with their individual specificity. This process of assignment to given subcategories entails a search for resemblances arising out of indicators that describe the developmental and morphological features of gminas. This part of the analysis is in the nature of a typical separate classification, entailing the possible division of categories into subcategories by reference to specific features and criteria. The result was the identification of 10 categories (types) of gmina, i.e. A – functional urban areas of voivodship capitals and B – their external zones; C – functional urban areas of subregional centres and D – their external zones; E – multifunctional urban centres; F – gminas with developed transport functions; G – gminas with other developed non-agricultural functions (tourism and large-scale functions, including mining); H – gminas with intensively developed agricultural functions; I – gminas of moderately developed agricultural functions; J – extensively developed gminas (with forests and nature protection areas). The specific use of the classification is associated with an evaluation of those phenomena and processes whose characteristic feature is diversity in terms of function. On the basis of this classification it is possible to study types of development direction in gminas, as well as intensities of demographic, social, economic and other processes ongoing in them. This may allow for the identification of regularities impossible or difficult to observe by reference to the traditional administrative divisions.

Keywords: klasyfikacja, metoda dedukcyjno-indukcyjna, funkcje gmin, planowanie przestrzenne, monitoring rozwoju

Przemysław Śleszyński [psleszyn@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Tomasz Komornicki [t.komorn@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland

Citation

APA: Śleszyński, P., & Komornicki, T. (2016). Klasyfikacja funkcjonalna gmin Polski na potrzeby monitoringu planowania przestrzennego. Przegląd Geograficzny, 88(4), 469-488. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.3
MLA: Śleszyński, Przemysław, and Komornicki, Tomasz. "Klasyfikacja funkcjonalna gmin Polski na potrzeby monitoringu planowania przestrzennego". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, 2016, pp. 469-488. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.3
Chicago: Śleszyński, Przemysław, and Komornicki, Tomasz. "Klasyfikacja funkcjonalna gmin Polski na potrzeby monitoringu planowania przestrzennego". Przegląd Geograficzny 88, no. 4 (2016): 469-488. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.3
Harvard: Śleszyński, P., & Komornicki, T. 2016. "Klasyfikacja funkcjonalna gmin Polski na potrzeby monitoringu planowania przestrzennego". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 469-488. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.3

Abstract There are many different domains of science whose elaborated theoretical concepts assume that development (understood in terms of the definite succession of processes and transformations (Taylor and Flint, 2000; Domański, 2005) is of a cyclical nature. Among these concepts, the one entailing generation cycles looks most convincing. Thus, in the view of co-authors William Strauss and Neil Howe (1991, 1997), social change is driven by generation cycles of 15-25 years’ duration, albeit coming together into phases some 80 years long termed saecula. M. Alexander in turn maintains that a saeculum corresponds to one Kondratieff cycle, and has also designated 36-year paradigmatic cycles identical to those found for the New York Stock Exchange. The latter are shown to comprise approximately two Strauss-Howe cycles. It is in turn Wojciech Białek (2009) who has applied the term “generation cycle” to these cycles of roughly 36 years’ duration, given that this length of time concurs with geneticists’ recently established average difference in age between consecutive generations (Tremblay and Vezina, 2000). Where the historical experience of Polish society is concerned, the existence of a 30-40 year generation cycle governing political and cultural life would not represent a truly new discovery. Norman Davies (1984, 1995) notes that: “There is no doubt that the wheel of political fortune in nineteenth-century Poland revolved with a regularity beyond the bounds of mere coincidence”. In his opinion, therefore: “strong credence must be given to the idea that the regular alternation of the two dominant ideologies was closely associated with the rise and fall of successive generations”. (…) “Neither Romantics nor Positivists could ever enjoy a run of more than three or four decades before disillusionment and failure destroyed their supremacy, and gave an opening for the revival of their opponents”. The cyclical character of definite processes observed under both Polish and American conditions in fact emerges as of a universal nature, finding its analogies throughout the world, though first and foremost within the European cultural circle. It is also possible to speak of its far reaching synchronicity, encompassing change on both local and global scales. This is witnessed by successive culminations of cycles with the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, the revolutionary surges of the 1830s and 1840s, the events of the 1860s and 1870s, the turbulences and wars of the early 20th century (notably World War I), then World War II, the great transformations of the 1980s, and the recently observed increase in political tension in various parts of the world (e.g. t e Middle East, Ukraine, etc.). In the economic sphere the symptoms are shifts in the business climate, which can even be calculated by reference to quantitative indicators. Then, in the sphere of culture, it is possible to denote successive periods in literature and the arts. In the political sphere in turn, events that shape the state or territorial order are to be observed readily. The present article thus seeks to propose the existence of a universal and synchronous 36-year generation cycle, which manifests itself in real symptoms in the world of politics, and for instance in the cyclicity seen to characterise intensit of change on the political map of Europe.

Keywords: życie polityczne, pokolenia, cykliczność, zmiany terytorialne, Polska, Europa, świat

Mariusz Kowalski [mar.kow@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland

Citation

APA: Kowalski, M. (2016). Cykle pokoleniowe w czasie i przestrzeni. Przegląd Geograficzny, 88(4), 489-510. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.4
MLA: Kowalski, Mariusz. "Cykle pokoleniowe w czasie i przestrzeni". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, 2016, pp. 489-510. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.4
Chicago: Kowalski, Mariusz. "Cykle pokoleniowe w czasie i przestrzeni". Przegląd Geograficzny 88, no. 4 (2016): 489-510. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.4
Harvard: Kowalski, M. 2016. "Cykle pokoleniowe w czasie i przestrzeni". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 489-510. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.4

Abstract The main aim of this article is to attempt to define the term “double town” as a form of settlement, and to order the terminology used in reference to this group of towns. Double towns are settlements created as a result of an administrative connection of two towns. In the literal meaning, they would be towns consisting of two elements with a town character (double towns sensu stricto). In a broader context, double towns may consist of more elements, among which two should be settlement units with a town character (double towns sensu largo). Double towns emerge via two stages, of which the first entails the creation of a concentration of towns (a bicentric agglomeration form), and the second a formal connection between the said of towns into one urban organism. The regress of double towns may in turn result from integration (a unification of spatial structure), disintegration (the gaining of administrative independence by elements of a double town), incorporation (a double town becomes part of another town/city), degradation (a loss of town privileges) or partial or total disappearance (total or partial abandonment of a town). In reference to the character of form of settlement, double towns can be divided into four groups : a) double towns in the narrow sense (sensu stricto): – with a twin layout, consisting of two towns of similar size and rank, e.g. Nowogród and Krzystkowice, Nowa Ruda and Słupiec, Kraśnik and Kraśnik Fabryczny; – with a satellite layout, where one town is considerably bigger than the other, e.g. Bełchatów and Grocholice, Sochaczew and Chodaków, Rawicz and Sarnowa. b) double towns in the broad sense (sensu largo): – with a twin layout, e.g. Czerwionka-Leszczyny, Lędziny and Hołdunów; – with a satellite layout, e.g. Zawiercie and Kromołów, Mielec and Rzochów. In the case of double towns’ functional layouts, five types can be distinguished when the towns are joined, i.e.: – double towns whose components have similar functions and constitute competing centres (usually focal centers of similar rank), e.g. Kórnik and Bnin; – double towns, whose components are specialised centres, as a result of their affiliation with a particular functional area (usually an industrial region), e.g. Nowa Ruda and Słupiec; – double towns whose components have diverse functions independent of each other as regards the functional aspect, e.g. Władysławowo and Jastrzębia Góra; – double towns with two components of disparate rank, despite their functional types (the larger town usually serving as a district centre, the smaller as the administrative centre of the local-authority area or gmina), e.g. Rawicz and Sarnowa; – double towns with an interurbation character – a settlement group whose elements have different and mutually supplemental functions (with one town being a focal centre while the other is a specialised centre), e.g. Kraśnik and Kraśnik Fabryczny.

Keywords: miasta podwójne, miasta-zlepieńce, zmiany administracyjne miast, Polska

Robert Szmytkie [robert.szmytkie@uwr.edu.pl], Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Instytut Geografii i Rozwoju Regionalnego

Citation

APA: Szmytkie, R. (2016). Miasto podwójne jako forma osadnicza. Przegląd Geograficzny, 88(4), 511-531. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.5
MLA: Szmytkie, Robert. "Miasto podwójne jako forma osadnicza". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, 2016, pp. 511-531. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.5
Chicago: Szmytkie, Robert. "Miasto podwójne jako forma osadnicza". Przegląd Geograficzny 88, no. 4 (2016): 511-531. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.5
Harvard: Szmytkie, R. 2016. "Miasto podwójne jako forma osadnicza". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 511-531. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.5

Abstract

The development of tourism is perceived worldwide as one strategy by which the economy both national and local can be fostered (Sharpley, 2002, McLennan et al., 2014). With a view to development of this kind being boosted, many states have formed a three-tier system by which to manage tourism, and engage in its promotion (at national, regional and local levels). In Poland, a new hierarchical structure of tourism development and promotion organisations was introduced in 2000, by virtue of an Act of Parliament (Ustawa z dnia 25 czerwca...). The main national organisation is the Polish Tourist Organisation (PTO). Regional and Local Tourist Organisations focus on actions to increasing the level of interest in Polish cities, regions and tourism products, among Polish and international tourists. This paper examines the way in which the LTOs in Poland function. The research questions were as follows: How do LTOs shape the overall image of Poland as an attractive tourist destination? To what extent do LTOs’ actions and collaboration with the tourist industry have an impact on the Polish tourism market? and How do actions taken by LTOs shape the regional tourism sector? To answer these research questions, a two-step survey was conducted. First e-mail questionnaires were sent to all 130 LTOs registered in Poland (as of 2013), though only 30 completed questionnaires were sent back. Members of the LTOs generating these responses then went on to participate in the second part of the study, entailing the dispatch of some 500 surveys, with just 88 entities responding and taking part. A key goal of LTOs is engagement with local communities to boost tourist attractiveness in areas covered by given organisations. However, a majority of respondents evaluated this collaboration as moderate, with cooperation only occurring in some cases. In turn, 1/3 of respondents assessed the collaboration of this kind as good and regular. The second goal of the LTOs is to develop tourism in the regions they cover. In most of these both LTOs and members corroborate that a development of tourism is taking place. While 57.6% of respondents indicate that this development is “slight”, 26.2% assert that the growth in tourism is very rapid. Collaboration with other LTOs has an essential impact on the organisations’ functioning. A majority (60%) of LTOs confirm that there is such collaboration with other LTOs, resulting in chances for experience to be gained, information exchanged, reciprocal benefit derived and better integration between members achieved. In conclusion, the operation of Polish tourist organisations at local level would seem to be highly disparate. So what should be done to improve effectiveness? According to LTO members, more tourist information points should be created, effective external funding for tourism development should be secured, regions should be promoted more effectively, tourist products should be created and members should be integrated.

Keywords: rozwój regionalny, lokalne organizacje turystyczne, współpraca miedzysektorowa, badania sondażowe, promocja, Polska

Citation

APA: Stefanowska, A., Lipko-Kowalska, M., & Darmas, A. (2016). Lokalne Organizacje Turystyczne – wpływ na rozwój turystyki w regionie, na podstawie oceny własnej LOT-ów i ich członków. Przegląd Geograficzny, 88(4), 533-552. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.6
MLA: Stefanowska, Agata, et al. "Lokalne Organizacje Turystyczne – wpływ na rozwój turystyki w regionie, na podstawie oceny własnej LOT-ów i ich członków". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, 2016, pp. 533-552. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.6
Chicago: Stefanowska, Agata, Lipko-Kowalska, Maria, and Darmas, Anna Magdalena. "Lokalne Organizacje Turystyczne – wpływ na rozwój turystyki w regionie, na podstawie oceny własnej LOT-ów i ich członków". Przegląd Geograficzny 88, no. 4 (2016): 533-552. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.6
Harvard: Stefanowska, A., Lipko-Kowalska, M., & Darmas, A. 2016. "Lokalne Organizacje Turystyczne – wpływ na rozwój turystyki w regionie, na podstawie oceny własnej LOT-ów i ich członków". Przegląd Geograficzny, vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 533-552. https://doi.org/10.7163/PrzG.2016.4.6