<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

An improved understanding of the geographical unevenness of the global energy transition is important. The concept of ‘sociotechnical imaginaries’ has been used extensively for understanding how desired technology futures are envisioned and differentially articulated in various contexts. Supplementing this, the concept of ‘nature imaginaries’ is proposed in this article, to specifically address collective moral visions of human/nature relations that underwrite discourses and actions by various actors. Nature plays an active role in both types of imaginaries. Their complex interactions play a part in how energy transitions unfold. The article uses this framework for a description of the energy situation in Iceland, and its largely successful transition towards renewable energy through the development of hydropower and geothermal resources. Particular sociotechnical and nature imaginaries, sometimes opposed to each other, are discernible. The article argues that the analysis of conflicting imaginaries at work in specific energy transitions might help in identifying leverage points from where it is possible to work in a small way towards a global transition.
</abstract>

Conflicting imaginaries in the energy transition? Nature and renewable energy in Iceland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The assessment of assets regarding their potential for tourism development is a well-recognised aspect of quantitative geographic research. This paper confines such matters to environmental and landscape-related attributes. The methodological objective is to propose a synthetic index for holistic measurement of a complex system of assets at the local level for Poland’s rural areas, followed by its empirical verification. The natural and landscape-related potential of a given area is perceived broadly, as the aspects involved are diverse and complementary: the quality of the landscape, the value of the environment, forest cover, relief, accessibility to surface waters and local bioclimate. The cognitive advantage of this research project is attained by confronting this index against a measure of tourist movement, as well as classifying rural areas by means of combining both dimensions. A considerable number of communes in Poland are characterised by relatively high potential, albeit they are not being exploited for tourism development to a correspondingly large degree.
</abstract>

Measuring environmental and landscape-related potential for tourism development in rural areas and assessment of its co-occurrence with tourist movement: The case of Poland

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The COVID-19 pandemic has created complex socio-political situations, as the health crisis was paralleled by the reshaping of lifestyle patterns and induced severe economic changes. By means of an online survey, this study aims to investigate the population perceptions of risk in Romania: it examines important psychological and social factors related to risk perception and behaviours, as well as attitudes toward quarantine and physical distancing. By means of statistical analysis, the data were analysed and a GIS environment was used to visualise data distributions. Our findings indicate that if the perceived risk associated to the epidemic is high, people will change their normal behaviours, adopt preventative measures, adhere to strict hygiene practices and are willing to self-isolate for the benefit of their peers, which they tend to see as running a greater risk than themselves. Women and people with higher educational status tend to be more worried about the current situation, but regarding the severity, almost all men believe they would risk a severe state if infected. In conclusion, the perception of high risk associated with COVID-19 can lead not only to positive behavioural changes (mainly physical distancing and improved hygiene), but also to a rapid mobilisation and active involvement of communities, which are vital for stopping transmission of the virus.
</abstract>

General population perceptions of risk in the Covid-19 pandemic: A Romanian case study

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

In contrast to other countries in East Central Europe, Romania stands out because of a high number of small and segregated Roma settlements. As an ethnic minority, the Roma are overrepresented in marginalised and impoverished settlements and, given the basic recommendations to contain the pandemic – wash hands, keep the distance and work from home, their situation was disproportionately exacerbated by the imposition of lockdown measures. We use secondary data to interpret the deprivation features that puts them at greater epidemic risk. In addition, the Covid-19 crisis led to a sudden return of the Romanian Roma living in Western Europe. The slums and ghettos were more strictly quarantined than regular areas, suggesting a form of negative quarantine. Quarantine was – next to its medical purpose – used as a rhetoric and disciplinary device. Roma were portrayed as infection spreaders, and racism was channelled mainly through the media. While the spread of the disease placed them at risk, the lockdown itself induced major survival challenges. By using media and social media analysis, we show how the discourse of negative quarantine unfolded. The latter was diluted in the general relaxation of containment measures, but its legacy as a practice raises questions for the future governance of areas inhabited by the Roma.
</abstract>

Vulnerable Roma communities in times of the Covid-19 negative quarantine

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The COVID-19 pandemic brought many changes to social behaviours in Europe. One of its major consequences was the temporary closure of borders, which was introduced as a measure to prevent the uncontrolled pandemic spreading and involved internal Schengen borders. This has had a major impact in the way in which cross-border cooperation has been conducted in Europe, including the Czech-Polish borderland, as it dramatically restrained all flows across borders. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of the pandemic on five roles of cross-border cooperation: 1) as a multi-level governance form; 2) as a regional development tool; 3) as a para-diplomacy form; 4) as a post-conflict reconciliation tool; and 5) as Europe-building. We argue that the impacts of the pandemic complicated regional development and the Europe-building role of cross-border cooperation in the Czech-Polish borderland. The article envisages re-bordering processes also in the Czech-Polish borderland, but with important exceptions in the regions with a high level of cross-border integration, mainly in the Euroregion Těšínské Slezsko/Śląsk Cieszyński. The paper also calls for the elaboration of the guidelines for possible repeated (Schengen) border closures and proposes modifications of the INTERREG microprojects schemes, to keep them attractive also in times of expected cuts in public finances.
</abstract>

Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Humanities and Education

The influence of the Covid-19 pandemic on Czech-Polish cross-border cooperation: From debordering to re-bordering?

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The scale and the specificity of intra-urban suburbanisation is subject to evaluation in this article, based on a case study of Wrocław city (SW Poland), using data on population changes at an intra-urban scale and on the level of construction activity in the city. Intra-urban suburbanisation is characterised by intensive construction activity and population growth in the peripheral districts of the city, while depopulation takes place in the central part of the city and in large panel block estates from the socialist period. The main factors for the development of intra-urban suburbanisation are a reaction to the unfavourable (from the perspective of the city) suburbanisation processes (outflow of residents and tax revenue, road traffic congestion and the necessity to service populations residing de facto outside the city). The existence of extensive non-urbanised areas within the larger cities of Central and Eastern Europe (identified as potential areas for investment) results from the specific nature of their territorial development in the 20th century, including incorporation processes connected with planned urbanisation.
</abstract>

Suburbanisation processes within and outside the city: The development of intra-urban suburbs in Wrocław, Poland

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 32 (2024): Issue 1 (March 2024)

Volume 31 (2023): Issue 4 (December 2023)

Volume 31 (2023): Issue 3 (September 2023)

Volume 31 (2023): Issue 2 (June 2023)

Volume 31 (2023): Issue 1 (March 2023)

Volume 30 (2022): Issue 4 (December 2022)

Volume 30 (2022): Issue 3 (September 2022)

Volume 30 (2022): Issue 2 (June 2022)

Volume 30 (2022): Issue 1 (March 2022)

Volume 29 (2021): Issue 4 (December 2021)

Volume 29 (2021): Issue 3 (September 2021)

Volume 29 (2021): Issue 2 (June 2021)

Volume 29 (2021): Issue 1 (March 2021)

Volume 28 (2020): Issue 4 (December 2020)

Volume 28 (2020): Issue 3 (September 2020)

Volume 28 (2020): Issue 2 (June 2020)

Volume 28 (2020): Issue 1 (March 2020)

Volume 27 (2019): Issue 4 (December 2019)

Volume 27 (2019): Issue 3 (September 2019)

Volume 27 (2019): Issue 2 (June 2019)

Volume 27 (2019): Issue 1 (March 2019)

Volume 26 (2018): Issue 4 (December 2018)

Volume 26 (2018): Issue 3 (September 2018)

Volume 26 (2018): Issue 2 (June 2018)

Volume 26 (2018): Issue 1 (March 2018)

Volume 25 (2017): Issue 4 (December 2017)

Volume 25 (2017): Issue 3 (September 2017)

Volume 25 (2017): Issue 2 (June 2017)

Volume 25 (2017): Issue 1 (March 2017)

Volume 24 (2016): Issue 4 (December 2016)

Volume 24 (2016): Issue 3 (September 2016)

Volume 24 (2016): Issue 2 (June 2016)

Volume 24 (2016): Issue 1 (March 2016)

Volume 23 (2015): Issue 4 (December 2015)

Volume 23 (2015): Issue 3 (September 2015)

Volume 23 (2015): Issue 2 (June 2015)

Volume 23 (2015): Issue 1 (March 2015)

Volume 22 (2014): Issue 4 (December 2014)

Volume 22 (2014): Issue 3 (September 2014)

Volume 22 (2014): Issue 2 (June 2014)

Volume 22 (2014): Issue 1 (March 2014)

Volume 21 (2013): Issue 4 (December 2013)

Volume 21 (2013): Issue 3 (September 2013)

Volume 21 (2013): Issue 2 (June 2013)

Volume 21 (2013): Issue 1 (March 2013)

Moravian Geographical Reports

 The Moravian Geographical Reports [MGR] is a peer-reviewed international journal that has been published in English continuously since 1993 by The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geonics, through its Department of Environmental Geography. The journal followed the traditions of the Reports of the Institute of Geography of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences, a journal which was published from 1963 to 1992. The title of the journal celebrates its origins in the historic lands of Moravia in the eastern half of the Czech Republic. Since 2023, the MGR is co-published by Palacký University Olomouc, Faculty of Science through its Department of Geography.  The MGR has been indexed in the SCOPUS database since 1993. In 2012, the MGR was selected for coverage in the WEB OF SCIENCE (Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics) products and customs information services. Beginning with Volume 19 (2011), this publication is indexed and abstracted in the Social Science Citation Index ®, Current Contents Connect ®, and Journal Citation Reports/Social Science Edition ®.  The Moravian Geographical Reports is a non-commercial open-access journal, publishing electronic articles in the “platinum” open-access mode (i.e., no fees for readers and no article processing charges or publication fees for authors). MGR is published four times per year -- at the end of every third month of the year. Beginning with Volume 21 (2013), the electronic contents are published also on the De Gruyter/Sciendo publishing company website. Starting with Volume 28 (2020), the journal is published only in electronic form.  As a general purpose geographical journal, MGR receives and evaluates articles contributed by both human and physical geographers, as well as by other researchers who specialize in related disciplines, including the social sciences (environmental studies, regional and urban planning, etc.) and geosciences. The MGR aims to publish rigorous and impactful research on topics responding to the role of regions and localities in a globalized society, given the geographic scale at which they are evaluated.  We recognize the challenges that our society needs to cope with during the current environmental crisis and emphasize the unique role of Geography in understanding the processes of sustainability transition and climate change adaptation, by paying attention to particular geographic settings, spatial configurations, and the dynamics of networks within which the processes are contextualized. Several inter-related questions are stressed: problems of regional economies and society; society in an urban or rural context; spatial organization of geographical systems; the quality of life and spatial behaviours; regional perspectives on the impacts of human activities on landscapes and environments; energy sustainability and environmental restoration; and geographic processes in landscape evolution, including the evaluation of hazards. Theoretical questions in geography are also addressed, especially the relations between human and physical geography in their regional dimensions.  The journal has a distinct regional orientation, broadly for countries in Europe, with a special emphasis on issues that are different for Central and/or East-Central Europe. Submissions dealing with regions outside of Europe are not accepted, except for invited contributions to thematic Special Issues. For a detailed description of the types of papers accepted for publication, our review process and indications for the preparation of submissions, see the Guide for Authors.  ACCESS TO THE JOURNAL: Information on the Journal’s aims and scope, Instructions for authors, Calls for Special Issues, and full contents are available free online at: http://www.geonika.cz/mgr.html and https://content.sciendo.com/view/journals/mgr/mgr-overview.xml  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 