Applying the VMCM method to assess the level of residential attractiveness of municipalities in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship

Abstract

Existing studies on the residential attractiveness of a geographical area or the housing preferences of a local community have focused mainly on the territory of a given unit (municipality/town). This paper presents the results of research whose aim and practical contribution was to assess the residential attractiveness of all municipalities in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and to identify factors which have a crucial impact on this concept. For the sake of the analysis a number of variables were adopted relating to various spheres of the problem in question: social, economic, infrastructural, environmental and administrative. The study applied one of the methods of multidimensional comparative analysis - the VMCM (Vector Measure Construction Method). The results obtained can be helpful to local decision makers as recommendations for policies designed to strengthen their municipalities’ internal capacity and to initiate positive demographic processes.