{"title":"Causes and Main Routes of the Mass Immigration to Europe in 2015","authors":"M. Sobczyński","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.01","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The flow of immigrants into Europe is a phenomenon commonly known since the end of the Second World War. To a large extent it was the result of a colonial and then post-colonial relationship between metropolises and their overseas territories. Migration movements in Europe intensified after 1989 along with systemic changes in the eastern part of the continent. The phenomenon of increased migration to Europe observed since March 2015 combines both processes: economic migration, which undoubtedly dominates in terms of number, and exiles, of a much smaller scale, but given as the cause of migration by almost all migrants. A new phenomenon is the fact that a large part of migrants constitutes uncontrolled migration, which in previous years was marginal. In 2015, asylum applications were submitted in EU countries by as many as 1.25 million people. The influx of refugees to Europe has become not only a demographic phenomenon, but also a political one, evoking strong political emotions. Mass migrations also seem to be an instrument of international policy implementation by key world powers. The main purpose of the article was to present the background of the mass migration to Europe that took place in 2015. The main reasons for the decision to emigrate by the citizens of origin countries were shown, as well as the routes by which refugees flow into Europe.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"34 - 7"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48588448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Role of Cultural Heritage Sites in the Creation of Tourism Potential of Small Towns in Poland","authors":"A. Kwiatek-Sołtys, Małgorzata Bajgier-Kowalska","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.11","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Historical sites may be found in nearly all small towns in Poland. Some are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. The purpose of the paper is to discuss the role of these resources in the broader set of elements shaping the tourism potential of towns, and also to illustrate the regional differences among small towns in Poland in terms of their potential to develop a local or regional tourism sector. The study provides a typology of towns based on local natural and landscape elements, cultural heritage resources as well as hotels and other tourist accommodations. The statistical data discussed in this paper was obtained from the Local Data Bank of Statistics Poland for the period 2012–2014, while historical sites were chosen from the National Heritage Board of Poland. The study covers all small towns in Poland and has shown unequivocally that the presence of a historical site is not necessarily a factor in the overall development of a local tourism sector. The cultural resources appear to be an undervalued asset, which can be used to develop a local tourism sector, especially in towns which are searching for new development paths.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"237 - 255"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42664543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anti-Liberal, Anti-Establishment or Constituency-Driven? Spatial Econometric Analysis of Polish Parliamentary Election Results in 2015","authors":"Aleksandra Lasoń, Andrzej Torój","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.10","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.10","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract We investigated the spatial variation patterns of voting results in Polish parliamentary election in 2015 across 380 regions. That election was a milestone event in Polish politics that substantially affected Poland’s internal and foreign policy directions and promoted two emerging political parties as runners-up against the well-established ones. While socio-economic, cultural and geographical factors such as economic activity, historical legacies (post-Russian East vs post-German West) and economic dichotomies (cities vs the countryside) explain most variations for most parties, they do not appeared to fit as determinants of the new parties’ support, especially of right-wing populists. Demographic target groups of individual parties appear to be relatively unresponsive to their pre-election offerings. The spatial specification of econometric models considerably improves their statistical properties. We also examined mixed-W models to account for the unobservable spatial effects stemming from the construction of constituencies. Their distinctive sets of candidates added significantly to the explanation of the spatial variation in voting.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"199 - 236"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45835728","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Village Fund as a Support Tool in Spatial Planning Activities: A Case Study of Poland","authors":"Marcin Feltynowski","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.12","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.12","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract With respect to space, local authorities may deploy diverse instruments designed to promote the engagement of local communities in the spatial planning and decision-making process. The Village (Polish: Sołecki) Fund, established for rural and urban-rural communes, is one of the ways for achieving this goal. Resources from the Village Fund may be used for, e.g. spatial planning, which is one of a commune’s own tasks. The activities related to the Village Fund have triggered studies focused on the units which run such funds and, on the amounts, earmarked for goals pertaining to spatial planning. On top of that, the spatial distribution of communes delivering such tasks has also been assessed. The analyses covered statistics as well as budget queries in communes which allocated funds for activities connected with spatial planning.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"257 - 268"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44370925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mass Immigrations in the 21st Century Case of Belgium and the Netherlands","authors":"R. Żelichowski","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.03","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The uncontrolled wave of immigrants to the European Union countries, which reached its peak in 2015, challenged not only the well-established system of asylum policies in the Member States but also revealed the fundamental differences among them concerning the so-called “immigration issue”. The article focuses on the mechanisms and institutions which evolved during the different waves of immigrants in Belgium and the Netherlands. It also looks for an answer to the question: is mass immigration to Europe a threat or an opportunity? Depending on one’s attitude to the topic, the answer may be positive or negative.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"59 - 80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48339021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Italy’s Approach to East–West and South–North Migrations: From Lack of Knowledge to Political Use of them","authors":"A. Vitale","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.04","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract After the end of the bipolar world, the possibility of an East–West mass migration became a new issue that took root in the Italian consciousness in forms masked by the feelings of the threat of an imminent “mass invasion” from Central and Eastern Europe. This new fear stimulated restrictive measures belatedly adopted in Italy and created a de facto unjust and imbalanced condition for new migrants from Eastern Europe because the first South–North migrations’ wave had already occurred when the regimes of Central and Eastern Europe collapsed. There are many evident similarities between the beliefs, attitudes and the use of insecurity (not based on data) of the 1990s and the current Italian migration policy. What they have in common is the incorrect perception and the misuse of it by politicians and propagandists. Immigration from Eastern Europe continues to be compared to that from the South of the world and Asia which continues to be interpreted without considering their real natures and the actual trends that characterise them. According to new studies that compared survey results with population data, contemporary Italians overestimate the number of immigrants coming from outside the EU to their country more than any other Europeans. As a result, the misuse or ignorance of the data on migrations is particularly dangerous because the devaluation of them has critical implications for policymaking.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"81 - 93"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49363844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Municipal Waste in Poland: Analysis of the Spatial Dimensions of Determinants Using Geographically Weighted Regression","authors":"E. Antczak","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.09","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.09","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article provides a quantification of the territorially varied relation between socioeconomic factors and the amount of municipal waste in Polish districts. For this purpose, eight causes were identified: revenue budgets, the number and area of uncontrolled dumping sites, population density, the share of working-age population, average gross monthly wages, registrations for permanent residence, and the number of tourists accommodated. The preliminary data analysis indicated that to understand waste generation in Poland at the local level it is necessary to consider regional specificity and spatial interactions. To increase the explained variability of phenomena, and emphasise local differences in the amount of waste, geographically weighted regression was applied.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"177 - 197"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48502769","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Migration – Germany’s Past and Present Thoughts and Figures","authors":"Markus Eltges, W. Strubelt","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.02","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract In this article, the history of emigration from Germany and the immigration to Germany especially in relation to its changing borders in the 20th century is discussed. After 1945 Germany was confronted with the integration of a million German refugees. Starting in the 1950s, Germany intentionally attracted foreign workers, and integrated them fairly well. The article analyses the current discussions in Germany in relation to the impact of massive immigration of refugees from non-European areas around 2015. It concludes with a position that in the time of globalisation migration needs a society-focussed and political learning process which has not yet ended and will require more learning. But countries with a declining population are well advised to see immigration as an opportunity for future growth and social diversity.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"35 - 58"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48773417","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Integration of Migrants in Italy: Local Actors and African Communities","authors":"Mariann Dömös, I. Tarrósy","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.2.05","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Italy is undoubtedly one of the key actors in the current international “migration crisis” in the Mediterranean region. The paper aims to provide an overview of both the opportunities and problems for the Italian integration policy as of today. The authors intend to indicate the role of civil organisations in the ‘Italian migration issue’ and to emphasize the uniqueness of their initiatives. The study will provide an insight into one of the major immigrant communities, the Africans, through the civil organisations which have been working with them. The paper, based especially on empirical field experiences, is the result of a two-and-a-half-year research in Italy with different scholarships, coupled with other field trips in several sub-Saharan African countries.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"114 - 95"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45167237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Geographic Features of Zero-Emissions Urban Mobility: The Case of Electric Buses in Europe and Belarus","authors":"Andrei P. Bezruchonak","doi":"10.18778/1231-1952.26.1.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.18778/1231-1952.26.1.05","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article reviews the emerging phenomena of electric buses’ deployment in Europe and Belarus within the general framework of the concept of sustainable and electric urban mobility. The author offers a brief overview of electric bus technologies available on the market and a spatial analysis of fleet deployment in Europe. The analysis of the spatial structure of the distribution of e-buses in Europe indicated that, in terms of the number of vehicles in operation, the UK and the Netherlands are the regional leaders, while in terms of the number of cities testing e-buses – Germany, Sweden, and Poland are the leaders. The analysis showed that the main factors supporting the distribution of innovative technology and public support are legislative and regulative framework as well as clear strategic planning and cooperation between local administrations and transportation authorities. Other important aspects, such as network building features, and the location of the charging infrastructure were also discussed. The analysis of the case study of Minsk (the first city to introduce electric buses in Belarus) outlined the typical limiting factors for all types of markets: high battery costs and dependency on infrastructure; recommendations are given to emphasise bus fleet replacement (instead of trolleybus) and to develop a comprehensive sustainable urban mobility strategy.","PeriodicalId":43719,"journal":{"name":"European Spatial Research and Policy","volume":"26 1","pages":"81 - 99"},"PeriodicalIF":0.6,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43787755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}