There are only a low number of cities in the Czech Republic whose history is
different. Ostrava, one of these processed cities, is such an example. It is a city,
which is not centralized as other Czech cities even though it is the third largest city
in the country as far as number of inhabitants. Ostrava (north-eastern part of the
Czech Republic) arose from the small city of Moravian Ostrava and seven
neighbouring settlements in the period of opening hard coal mines in the eighteenth
century and the development of heavy industry plants – steelworks in the nineteenth
century. The city of Ostrava as a unit has existed only since 1924.
There are 593 cities in the Czech Republic. The largest one is Prague with more
than 1,290 million inhabitants. According to the present Czech law about municipalities, the lowest number of inhabitants to become a city is 3,000.
One fifth of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic live in its three largest cities –
Prague, Brno and Ostrava. Moving people from rural areal to cities is a trend that
occurs in the Czech Republic as well as in many parts of the world.
The Czech Republic was a part of Czechoslovakia with the communist political
regime before 1990. The regime did not allow its inhabitants to become owners of
enterprises, companies, etc. All decisions about land use/land cover were performed
by the government, and local, district and regional representatives of the communist
party according to a planning system of short or long periods. The change to the
political system at the end of 1989 brought substantial development in many
spheres. The previous society, where most of the population was practically on
one standard of living without important differences, started to differentiate after
1990. This differentiation created a more layered society, which is allowed and able
to control and manage the country taking into account also the financial aspects of
individual decisions. The impact of this new way of thinking and management can
be also found in, for better or worse, land use development.
5.3 Methodology
5.3.1 Definition of Terms of Urban Areas
The urban development of Czech cities after 1970 was a reason why parts of their
areas have individual names of urban areas classification. The urban changes
(highlighted below) were allowed, initiated, and decided by governmental and
local authorities.
• Administrative city areas are their entire areas in individual years. They were
determined by local, regional and country headquarters of individual cities in
individual years using cadaster data of boundaries.
• Core city areas are administrative areas of individual cities at the end of 1970s
and early 1980s. The first half of 1980s was the first period when some villages
in the neighborhood of cities were amalgamated; the second half of 1980s was
the second period. Their land enlarged the original administrative areas of these
90
L. Halounova ´ and V. Holubec
different. Ostrava, one of these processed cities, is such an example. It is a city,
which is not centralized as other Czech cities even though it is the third largest city
in the country as far as number of inhabitants. Ostrava (north-eastern part of the
Czech Republic) arose from the small city of Moravian Ostrava and seven
neighbouring settlements in the period of opening hard coal mines in the eighteenth
century and the development of heavy industry plants – steelworks in the nineteenth
century. The city of Ostrava as a unit has existed only since 1924.
There are 593 cities in the Czech Republic. The largest one is Prague with more
than 1,290 million inhabitants. According to the present Czech law about municipalities, the lowest number of inhabitants to become a city is 3,000.
One fifth of the inhabitants of the Czech Republic live in its three largest cities –
Prague, Brno and Ostrava. Moving people from rural areal to cities is a trend that
occurs in the Czech Republic as well as in many parts of the world.
The Czech Republic was a part of Czechoslovakia with the communist political
regime before 1990. The regime did not allow its inhabitants to become owners of
enterprises, companies, etc. All decisions about land use/land cover were performed
by the government, and local, district and regional representatives of the communist
party according to a planning system of short or long periods. The change to the
political system at the end of 1989 brought substantial development in many
spheres. The previous society, where most of the population was practically on
one standard of living without important differences, started to differentiate after
1990. This differentiation created a more layered society, which is allowed and able
to control and manage the country taking into account also the financial aspects of
individual decisions. The impact of this new way of thinking and management can
be also found in, for better or worse, land use development.
5.3 Methodology
5.3.1 Definition of Terms of Urban Areas
The urban development of Czech cities after 1970 was a reason why parts of their
areas have individual names of urban areas classification. The urban changes
(highlighted below) were allowed, initiated, and decided by governmental and
local authorities.
• Administrative city areas are their entire areas in individual years. They were
determined by local, regional and country headquarters of individual cities in
individual years using cadaster data of boundaries.
• Core city areas are administrative areas of individual cities at the end of 1970s
and early 1980s. The first half of 1980s was the first period when some villages
in the neighborhood of cities were amalgamated; the second half of 1980s was
the second period. Their land enlarged the original administrative areas of these
90
L. Halounova ´ and V. Holubec