From service areas to empty transport corridors? The impact of border openings on service and retail facilities at Polish-Czech border crossings

Abstract Long-term changes in the development of service establishments in the vicinity of the border crossing points on the Polish-Czech border are discussed in this paper. These changes are the result of the border being opened and subsequent economic integration. A series of panel studies, which took place in 1995, 2000 and 2016, analysed of the locations and types of service establishments located within a half kilometre of 18 Polish-Czech border crossings. Given the increasing ease of crossing the border and the maintenance of passport and customs controls, the number of service and retail establishments increased until 2000. After the abolition of passport control in 2007, this number has decreased at many border crossings, with the most significant decreases in financial, insurance-related and commercial facilities (small shops). Most crossings have become little more than transport corridors that offer no important service functions. The total number of cultural, recreational and tourism-related establishments, however, has increased, mainly at border crossings located in towns and villages. The most important changes in service developments at the Polish-Czech border are discussed, as well as the probable reasons for these changes. The results may prove useful for spatial planning in municipalities that are located on the borders of countries undergoing political and economic integration.