Abstract
The paper explains key drivers of the post-communist transformation of the Czech countryside. It comes out from the characteristics of the Czech countryside in the 1980s. Characteristic of basic transformation steps (renewal of local self-government, transformation of agricultural organization, impact of outer condition including the EU accession) follow. Consequences of the mentioned transformation for social and demographic development of rural micro-regions manifest the core of the paper. General trends are illustrated on the case of the South-Moravian countryside. Following aspects of the development are investigated: urban-rural migration, rural labour market, multifunctional development, development of the demographic structure, education level and its consequences. Deeping of the differentiation of the Czech countryside according to its accessibility and related problem of the public transport is taken into account. Future rural development in Czechia is perceived optimistically in general, although individual settlements can develop differently.
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Notes
- 1.
Czechoslovakia existed in the periods of 1918–1938 and 1945–1992. Since 1993 Czechia (or the Czech Republic) exists. However, former Czechoslovakia was a federative state consisting of the Czech Socialist Republic and the Slovak Socialist Republic in the period of 1968–1992. Thus, when we speak about the Czech agriculture in this period, we have in mind the Czech part of the federative country.
- 2.
The general unemployment rate was 2.4% in the last quarter of 2017 (Czech Statistical Office).
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Vaishar, A., šťastná, M. (2019). Development of the Czech Countryside After 1990: Causes and Consequences. In: Bański, J. (eds) Three Decades of Transformation in the East-Central European Countryside. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21237-7_5
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