Conditions of divided towns development – an example of Guben and Gubin

Agnieszka Brzosko-Sermak, Monika Płaziak

Abstrakt


The article concerns about conditions of development of a peculiar small towns – Guben (German) and Gubin (Polish). Their situation is interesting with reference to their border location, as well as peripheral and divided and because of the geopolitical context of globalization and European integration where they have to deal with it in a common way. The main objective of this article was to discover the differences and similarities of two border towns as a base for their future socio-economic development and co-operation due to the new political situation and end of barriers, both institutional and legal. Spatial analyses focused on two towns – Guben and Gubin, nowadays divided by a Polish-German border, that before World War II used to be one unit. The temporal extent of the article refers to the period of 1995–2012, but some historical background was also showed. The applied methods and data sources were based on Polish and German statis tics. The demographical and economic situation was analysed and showed a difficult and complex problems in both towns despite the fact that in details they differ from each other. Detailed analysis included: the population number, the births and deaths rates as well as migration balance. The economic and functional images of both towns are different and traffic at the border-crossing does not play a stimulant role. Due to the EU and Schengen Area enlargement in Guben and Gubin did not greatly stimulate the socio-economic situation. The representatives of both towns stated that common actions are a viable and the best solution to problems of both towns.

Słowa kluczowe


miasta przygraniczne; granica; małe miasta; rozwój społeczno-gospodarczy

Bibliografia


Andreas, P. (2003). Redrawing the Line: Borders and Security in the Twenty-First Century. International Security, 28(2), 78–111.

Andreas, P., Biersteker, T. (ed.). (2003). The Rebordering of North America. New York: Routledge.

Andreas, P., Snyder, T. (ed.). (2000). The Wall Around the West: State Borders and Immigration Controls in North America and Europe. Lanham: MD, Rowman and Littlefield.

Bafoil, F. (1999). Post-Communist Borders and Territories: Conflicts, Learning and Rule-Building in Poland. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 23, 567–568.

Brabant Van, J.M. (1993). The New East and Old Trade and Payment Problems. In: K.Z. Poznański (ed.), Stabilization and Privatization in Poland, An Economic Evaluation on the Shock Therapy Program. International Studies in Economics and Economietrics, 29, Boston, Dordrecht, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 113.

Brzosko-Sermak, A. (2007). Theoretical Deliberations on Frontier Location of Cities. In: D. Szymańska, E. Grzelak-Kostulska (ed.), Bulletin of Geography (socio-economic series), 7, Toruń, 73–86.

Chojnicki, Z. (1999). Podstawy metodologiczne i teoretyczne geografii. Poznań: Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe.

Egbert, H. (2006). Cross-border Small-scale Trading in South-Eastern Europe: Do Embeddedness and Social Capital Explain Enough? International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Vol. 30.2, Oxford and Madlen: Blackwell Publishers, 347.

Gałasińska, A., Gałasiński, D. (2005). Shopping for a New Identity. Constructions of the Polish–German border in a Polish Border community. Ethnicities, 5(4), Sage Publications, 510–529.

Herbst, M., Olejniczak, K., Smętkowski, M. (2002). The Cross-border Co-operation and Local Development in Eastern Poland Border Regions – Experiences and Prospects. Emerging Market Economies and European Economic Integration, Eksjö: Summer Institute.

Hodson, R. (1995). The Worker as Active Subject: Enlivening the New Sociology of Work. In: D.B. Bills (ed.), The New Modern Times, Factors Reshaping the World of Work. Albany: State University of New York Press.

http://www.guben-online.de (accessed: 2015, 15 January)

http://www.stat.gov.pl (accessed: 2015, 15 January)

http://www.lbv.brandenburg.de/dateien/stadt_wohnen/mbpr_Guben_2013.pdf (accessed: 2015, 18 January)

Jerczyński, M. (2002). Funkcje granic w integrującej się Europie, Biuletyn Geograficzny, 1. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Mikołaja Kopernika.

Matthiesen, U. (2005). Governance Milieus in Shrinking Post-Socialist City Regions – and their Respective Forms of Creativity: Case Miniatures and Conceptual Propositions. DISP 162, 3, 53–61.

Mayall, D. (1995). Temporary Work and Labour Market Detachment: New Mechanisms and New Opportunities. In: D.B. Bills (ed.), The New Modern Times, Factors Reshaping the World of Work. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Mayo, E. (1945). The Social Problems of an Industrial Civilization, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University.

McKinnon, R.I. (1993). Liberalizing Foreign Trade in a Socialist Economy: The Problem of Negative Value Added. In: K.Z. Poznański (ed.), Stabilization and Privatization in Poland, An Economic Evaluation on the Shock Therapy Program. International Studies in Economics and Economietrics, 29. Boston, Dordrecht, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 125.

Mittelbereichsprofil Guben (2013). Land Brandenburg, Ministerium für Infrastruktur und Landwirtschaft.

Passi, A. (2001). “A Borderless World” – Is it only rhetoric or will boundaries disappear in the globalizing world? In: P. Reubner, G. Wolkersdorfer (ed.), Politische Geographie: Handlungsorientierte Ansätze und Critical Geopolitics, Heidelberger Geographische Arbeiten, Heft 112, Im Selbstverlag des Geographischen Instituts der Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, 133.

Płaziak, M. (2004). Poziom życia ludności miast województwa małopolskiego, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem miast małych i najmniejszych. XVII Konwersatorium Wiedzy o Mieście, Zróżnicowanie warunków życia ludności w mieście. Łódź: Uniwersytet Łódzki, 121–129.

Płaziak, M. (2005). Wybrane aspekty sytuacji demograficzno-społecznej średnich miast Polski w porównaniach regionalnych. XVIII Konwersatorium Wiedzy o Mieście, Współczesne procesy urbanizacji i ich skutki. Łódź: Uniwersytet Łódzki, 257–268.

Ratti, R., Reichman, S. (ed.) (1993). Theory and practise of transborder cooperation. Basel/Frankfurt am Main: Helbig and Lichtenhahn.

Rosser, S.V. (1995). Potential Effects of Increasing the Number of Women in the Scientific and Technological Workforce. In: D.B. Bills (ed.), The New Modern Times, Factors Reshaping the World of Work. Albany: State University of New York Press, 235.

Sachs, J. (1993). The Economic Transformation of Eastern Europe: The Case of Poland. In: Poznański, K.Z. (ed.), Stabilization and Privatization in Poland, An Economic Evaluation on the Shock Therapy Program. International Studies in Economics and Economietrics, 29, Boston, Dordrecht, London: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Teixeira, R.A. (1995). Skills Shortage or Management Shortage. In: D.B. Bills (ed.), The New Modern Times, Factors Reshaping the World of Work. Albany: State University of New York Press.


Pełny tekst: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.